By William J. Cromie Gazette Staff Whole-grain cereals beat bagels and muffins as the best breakfast for women trying to protect themselves against heart disease, according to a Harvard study. Any diet high in fiber reduces the risk of heart attacks and death from heart disease, the researchers found, but cereal fiber is particularly effective. This conclusion comes from a 10-year study of 68,782 women between the ages of 37 and 64 years. This provides further reason to replace refined forms of starch with whole-grain foods. Previous studies of men concluded that food rich in fiber, particularly cereals, also protect them against heart disease.
Heart disease is the biggest killer of both males and females in the United States.
Worldwide it killed more than 7 million people last year. Fiber and Cancer Earlier this year, another Harvard study concluded that high- fiber diets do not reduce the likelihood of colon and rectal cancer. But researchers urged people not to stop eating the recommended 25 to 35 grams of fiber a day because of evidence that it protects against heart disease, diabetes, and digestive disorders. This latest study increases the weight of that evidence. Alicja Wolk of the Karolinska Institute in Sweden worked at Harvard with Manson and other colleagues at the Harvard School of Public Health, Harvard Medical School, and Brigham and Women's Hospital to analyze questionnaires completed by 68,782 nurses from 1984 to 1994.