Oats (photo by Noel Clark, courtesy of morguefile.com)

'Eat more whole grains and save yourself from heart disease and stroke' is our interpretation of the findings in a new study. Yahoo! has posted a report from Reuters about the recent research findings related by lead author Dr. Philip B. Mellen of Wake Forest University School of Medicine in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

Dr. Mellen and his colleagues found that, "...those with diets containing the largest amounts of whole grains had the thinnest carotid artery walls and showed the slowest progression in artery wall thickness over a five-year period."

To increase your intake of whole grains have oatmeal on a regular basis. We like it with cinnamon, honey, banana, and the fresh berries we get at our farmers market! You might also switch from white rice to brown rice. If you want to get whole grains from bread, make sure it clearly says 'whole grain' on the package. Even 'multi-grain' breads aren't necessarily a great source of whole grains.

To read the report from Reuters as posted by Yahoo! go to: Whole grains fight hardening of the arteries