Swap some of your polished rice and white flour for whole grains

Cost

Brown rice, oats and whole wheat flour cost a bit more than polished rice and white flour, and take no extra time. The hard part is getting used to the texture gradually.

What you get

Pooling several follow-up studies (observational, not assigning groups): each extra 90 g of whole grains a day was linked to about 17% lower risk of death (RR 0.83). 90 g is about 3 servings. This benefit continues up to 210–225 g a day. In another pooled analysis, each extra 1 serving a day was about 8% lower (RR 0.92).

Notes

You don't have to switch everything to whole grains; swapping half already puts you in the stretch where the benefit is clearest. Keep in mind that these studies only followed people, and people who eat whole grains were healthier to begin with, so the numbers are too large. The results also differ a lot between studies (I² 83%; the larger this number, the less the studies agree).

Evidence grade

A : Specific numbers from meta-analyses, large cohorts or randomized trials; for law and policy, the statute or official text.

Sources

1. Aune D 等 (2016). Whole grain consumption and risk of cardiovascular disease, cancer, and all cause and cause specific mortality: systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis of prospective studies. BMJ. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.i2716
2. Schwingshackl L 等 (2017). Food groups and risk of all-cause mortality: a systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective studies. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. https://doi.org/10.3945/ajcn.117.153148

Translated from the Chinese original. Original book, section 2, tip 24. This section is about health and medicines. It is general information, not a substitute for a doctor’s diagnosis or prescription. Content may be out of date and rules differ by place. When you actually deal with an agency, a doctor or a court, follow what local officials, doctors and lawyers tell you. Disclaimer