"A team of Cleveland Clinic researchers in collaboration with Nestl Research Center conducted one of the largest controlled studies of its kind on whole grains and concluded that a diet rich in whole grains may significantly lower the risk of cardiovascular disease in overweight and obese adults under the age of .  The findings published in the Journal of Nutrition today suggest that whole grains can be a key regulator of blood pressure and could provide an effective nutritional strategy to reduce cardiovascularrelated deaths and disorders. Heart disease and strokes are a leading cause of death in the United States. This research shows that eating whole grains reduces the risk of heart disease said John Kirwan Ph.D. principal investigator and director of the Metabolic Translational Research Center which is part of Cleveland Clinics Endocrinology  Metabolism Institute. Researchers conducted a doubleblind randomized controlled crossover trial. In the study a group of  overweight and obese adults followed a whole grain diet intervention or a refined grain diet control for two eightweek periods. The diets were exactly the same except for their content of whole grains or refined grains. At the beginning and end of each diet period participants spent three days undergoing metabolic testing in a clinical research setting. Participants taking antihypertensive medication were instructed to maintain medication usage throughout the study. While on the whole grain diet participants saw a threefold improvement in diastolic blood pressure the lowest pressure when your heart relaxes between beats compared to the refined grain diet. This improvement equates to reducing the risk of death from heart disease by almost onethird and the risk of death from a stroke by twofifths.  The uniqueness of this study is that each of the  participants consumed both diets said Kirwan. This level of control can only be performed for small numbers and provides the essential empirical data that cannot be obtained from large observational studies. These evidencebased data demonstrate the effect of diet on cardiovascular disease outcomes particularly diastolic blood pressure. Blood pressure is typically recorded as two numbers. Systolic is the top number that measures the pressure in the arteries when the heart beats. Diastolic is the bottom number which measures the pressure in the arteries when the heart muscle is resting between heartbeats.  Hypertension  or high blood pressure  is a common obesityrelated condition that affects about  percent of U.S. adults and it is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Before age  an elevated diastolic blood pressure is associated with increased cardiovascular disease risk. As they age people with elevated diastolic blood pressure are at a higherthanaverage risk of developing elevated systolic blood pressure.  Overall there were substantial reductions in body weight fat loss systolic blood pressure total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol during both diet periods but these differences were due to the people changing their normal dietary habits to carefully controlled diets.  This collaborative research began in . It was supported by an investigatorinitiated grant from Nestl NIH National Center for Research Resources Grant ULRR and NIH Grant T DK. Nestl Product Technology Center Solon and Cereal Partners Worldwide provided the study meals and foods. About Cleveland Clinic Cleveland Clinic is a nonprofit multispecialty academic medical center that integrates clinical and hospital care with research and education. Located in Cleveland Ohio it was founded in  by four renowned physicians with a vision of providing outstanding patient care based upon the principles of cooperation compassion and innovation. Cleveland Clinic has pioneered many medical breakthroughs including coronary artery bypass surgery and the first face transplant in the United States. U.S.News  World Report consistently names Cleveland Clinic as one of the nations best hospitals in its annual Americas Best Hospitals survey. Among Cleveland Clinics  employees are more than  fulltime salaried physicians and researchers and  nurses representing  medical specialties and subspecialties. The Cleveland Clinic health system includes a acre main campus near downtown Cleveland nine community hospitals more than  northern Ohio outpatient locations  including  fullservice family health centers and three health and wellness centers  and locations in Weston Fla. Las Vegas Nev. Toronto Canada Abu Dhabi UAE and London England. In  there were . million outpatient visits  hospital admissions and  surgical cases throughout the Cleveland Clinic health system. Patients came for treatment from every state and  countries. Visit us at http Follow us at http  Editors Note Cleveland Clinic News Service is available to provide broadcastquality interviews and Broll upon request."