Whole grains and health: from theory to practice--highlights of The Grains for Health Foundation's Whole Grains Summit 2012.

The Grains for Health Foundation's Whole Grains Summit, held May 19-22, 2012 in Minneapolis, was the first meeting of its kind to convene >300 scientists, educators, food technologists, grain breeders, food manufacturers, marketers, health professionals, and regulators from around the world. Its goals were to identify potential avenues for collaborative efforts and formulate new approaches to whole-grains research and health communications that support global public health and business. This paper summarizes some of the challenges and opportunities that researchers and nutrition educators face in expanding the knowledge base on whole grains and health and in translating and disseminating that knowledge to consumers. The consensus of the summit was that effective, long-term, public-private partnerships are needed to reach across the globe and galvanize the whole-grains community to collaborate effectively in translating whole-grains science into strategies that increase the availability and affordability of more healthful, grain-based food products. A prerequisite of that is the need to build trust among diverse multidisciplinary professionals involved in the growing, producing, marketing, and regulating of whole-grain products and between the grain and public health communities.

Epidemiological support for the protection of whole grains against diabetes.

The epidemic of type 2 diabetes among children, adolescents and adults is increasing along with the increasing prevalence of overweight and obesity. Overweight is the most powerful modifiable risk factor for type 2 diabetes. Intake of wholegrain foods may reduce diabetes risk. Three prospective studies in 160000 men and women examined the relationship of whole-grain or cereal-fibre intake with the risk of type 2 diabetes. Each study used a mailed Willett food-frequency questionnaire and similar methods of quantifying wholegrain foods and cereal fibre. The self-reported incident diabetes outcome was more reliably determined in the two studies of health-care professionals than in the study of Iowa women. Risk for incident type 2 diabetes was 21-27% lower for those in the highest quintile of whole-grain intake, and 30-36% lower in the highest quintile of cereal-fibre intake, each compared with the lowest quintile. Risk reduction persisted after adjustment for the healthier lifestyle found among habitual whole-grain consumers. Observations in non-diabetic individuals support an inverse relationship between whole-grain consumption and fasting insulin levels. In feeding studies in non-diabetic individuals insulin resistance was reduced using whole grains or diets rich in whole grains. Glucose control improved with diets rich in whole grains in feeding studies of subjects with type 2 diabetes. There is accumulating evidence to support the hypothesis that whole-grain consumption is associated with a reduced risk of incident type 2 diabetes; it may also improve glucose control in diabetic individuals.