Oats Everyday May Increase Your Lifespan, Study

One bowl of oats everyday adds many years to your life, according to a new study by Harvard University researchers.

The team went through two large probes that checked 100,000 people, who were regularly asked to fill in a survey about their diets and lifestyles for 14 years.

People who ate at least 33 grams of whole grains everyday, which could be translated into a small bowl of oatmeal, reduced the risk of "premature death" by 9 percent compared to others who barely ate whole grains at all, according to a study published in JAMA Internal Medicine.

Interestingly, death by heart disease also came down by 15 percent, even though eating whole grains did not bring down any threat from cancer, according to the study.

"Whole grains may protect the heart by lowering blood sugar and insulin levels," said Qi Sun, an assistant professor with the Harvard School of Public Health. "This type of property could improve insulin resistance to lower the risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes."

Sun added that loss of weight as well as other healthy nutrients may also enhance the advantages of consuming whole grains. However, there is not enough information about cancer that can lead the scientists to arrive at any conclusions. Earlier studies showed that the risk of colorectal cancers could reduce if there is higher consumption of food made from grains in which the germ and bran are "intact", he said, according to abcnews.com.

The study looked at additional factors such as family history, lifestyle, smoking and related dietary habits. However, the minuses of the study included the fact that it was an "observational study versus a controlled trial". Secondly, they noted that the difference between people who ate a lot of whole grains, against those who ate very little was quite high. But those who ate moderately didn't show much difference.

However, Sun noted that an extra 28-gram shoot-up in whole grains everyday could lead to greater protection for people. "It could be a dose response where you have to eat a certain amount to get the benefits and going above that would be even better," he said.

The nutritional quality of oatmeal has always been interesting. It contains beta-glucans, which is a type of soluble fibre that limits the absorption of carbohydrates into the bloodstream. It also reduces increase in blood sugar and insulin levels that would make us prone to store fats, according to theguardian.com.

Oats are also a rich source of magnesium, which is important for "enzyme function and energy production". It relaxes blood vessels, which brings down the threat of heart attacks and strokes, supporting the heart muscle, and monitoring blood pressure. Consuming magnesium-rich foods can reduce your risk of developing type 2 diabetes.