A small study published in the September issue of the Journal of the American Diet Association showed that a diet high in whole grains reduced blood pressure in men and women who had mildly elevated cholesterol. The whole grain diets consisted of whole wheat/brown rice, barley, or half wheat/half barley and were consumed for 5 weeks. After 5 weeks blood pressure declined 3.6 to 8.9 mm Hg, and subjects also lost, on average, 2.2 lb. The study only included 25 people and the abstract did not indicate if the subjects were hypertensive or overweight. However, this is yet another indicator of the importance of whole grains in the diet.

J Am Diet Assoc 2006;106:1445-1449.