Whole Grain Consumption and Inflammatory Markers: A Systematic Literature Review of Randomized Control Trials

Abstract

Whole grain foods are rich in nutrients, dietary fibre, a range of antioxidants, and phytochemicals, and may have potential to act in an anti-inflammatory manner, which could help impact chronic disease risk. This systematic literature review aimed to examine the specific effects of whole grains on selected inflammatory markers from human clinical trials in adults. As per the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews (PRISMA) protocol, the online databases MEDLINE, Embase, Cochrane, CINAHL, and Scopus were searched from inception through to 31 August 2021. Randomized control trials (RCTs) ≥ 4 weeks in duration, reporting ≥1 of the following: C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and tumor necrosis factor (TNF), were included. A total of 31 RCTs were included, of which 16 studies recruited overweight/obese individuals, 12 had pre-existing conditions, two were in a healthy population, and one study included participants with prostate cancer. Of these 31 RCTs, three included studies with two intervention arms. A total of 32 individual studies measured CRP (10/32 were significant), 18 individual studies measured IL-6 (2/18 were significant), and 13 individual studies measured TNF (5/13 were significant). Most often, the overweight/obese population and those with pre-existing conditions showed significant reductions in inflammatory markers, mainly CRP (34% of studies). Overall, consumption of whole grain foods had a significant effect in reducing at least one inflammatory marker as demonstrated in 12/31 RCTs.

Optimised dry processing of protein concentrates from Australian pulses: A comparative study of faba bean, yellow pea and red lentil seed material

“…Previous research reported in the literature has shown that phenolics and antioxidant compounds fractionate differently between air‐classified coarse and fine fractions (Cammerata et al, 2021; Inglett & Chen, 2011). These compounds impart a range of potential health benefits to pulses and pulse‐based products, including reduced inflammation (Milesi et al, 2022) and lowering the risk of developing cardiovascular disease (Rangel‐Huerta et al, 2015) and diabetes (Charoensiddhi et al, 2022). However, there has been little attention given to the impact of air classification on these potential health‐benefitting compounds, with the primary focus being on production of protein and starch concentrates (Assatory et al, 2019; Fernando, 2021).…”

Food Habits/Preferences among Adults in a Tertiary Healthcare Institute

“…These may be partly responsible for the higher levels of obesity as reported by Rambaran et al (2018), where "the combined percentage of overweight and obese schoolchildren increased steadily from 12% in 2001 to 51.5% in 2018. High fruit, vegetable, and whole wheat/grain intake have been associated with decreased inflammation (Hosseini et al, 2018;Milesi et al, 2022), whereas inflammation has been linked to high carbohydrates (Karimi et al, 2021), saturated fats (Berg et al, 2020), protein, such as processed and red meats (Papier et al, 2022;Ley et al, 2014), sugar (Ma et al, 2022), and salt (Balan et al, 2020;Zhu et al, 2014). Pro-inflammatory (Khatun et al, 2021) foods are unhealthy and do not fit into the Mediterranean or cardiac diet (Richards, 2020).…”

Association of Dietary Fiber Intake with All-Cause Mortality and Cardiovascular Disease Mortality: A 10-Year Prospective Cohort Study

“…DF, “the seventh nutrient” of the body, is a component of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, and is non-replaceable to maintain health [ 20 ]. DF has anti-inflammatory [ 10 ] and antioxidative properties [ 21 ] and has been shown to lower blood pressure [ 7 ], reduce serum cholesterol [ 22 ] and glucose levels [ 9 ], improve endothelial function [ 23 ], reduce body weight loss, aid favorable changes of gut microbial composition, and reduce the contact time between carcinogens and intestinal mucosal cells by increasing fecal bulking and viscosity [ 24 ]. All of these biochemical effects may be potentially related to a lower risk of chronic diseases and mortality.…”

“…DF is primarily derived from plant-based foods, such as whole grain, seeds, vegetables, and fruits [ 6 ]. Various beneficial effects of fibers on serum low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, blood pressure, insulin sensitivity, controlling body weight, and chronic inflammation may exert a protective effect on the cardiovascular system [ 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 ]. Indeed, previous studies have established that DF intake reduced the total mortality and CVD mortality in healthy populations [ 8 , 11 ] Accumulating observational studies indicates that DF is inversely associated with risk of hypertension, diabetes, dyslipidemia, peripheral vascular disease, and coronary heart disease [ 12 , 13 , 14 ].…”