New research from the Harvard School of Public Health discovers eating whole grains can reduce the risk of death by 15 percent.

The study revealed that eating grains really helps in lowering the risk of heart disease. Consuming grains such as bran and replacing daily serving of red meat can decrease cardiovascular disease risk by 20 percent. People who eat whole grains reduced their risk of death by eight percent over the study period.

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"This study further endorses the current dietary guidelines that promote whole grains as one of the major healthful foods for prevention of major chronic diseases," said senior author of the study Qi Sun, assistant professor in the Department of Nutrition at Harvard School of Public Health.

The new research examined the data of 74,000 women and 43,000 men from other studies conducted from the mid-1980s to 2010. It suggests replacing refined grains with whole grains and avoiding red meat has a greater impact on one's health.

David Jacobs, professor of epidemiology at University of Minnesota, states that other studies prove that whole-grain foods is associated with reduced total mortality and mortality from cardiovascular disease. But researchers didn't find any correlation between eating whole grains and overall cancer risk.

Both experts agree that whole grains should be part of a healthy diet. In addition, whole grains probably acquire their nutritional value from the fact they are low on the glycemic index. They don't badly affect blood-sugar levels the way refined grains do.

The new findings were published in JAMA Internal Medicine.

TagsWhole grains, red meat, diet, death risk, mortality rate, cardiovascular disease, cancer risk, dietary plan. healthy lifestyle