Abstract P073: Increased Consumption of Wheat and Oat-based Wholegrain Foods does not Affect Serum Lipids and Lipoprotein Size and Distribution in Healthy Middle Aged People

Abstract

Epidemiological studies suggest three daily servings of whole-grain foods (WGF) might lower cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk, at least partly by lowering serum lipid levels. Wheat and oats, the main WGF consumed in the UK, might induce different lipid responses. We aimed to assess the effects of three daily portions of WGF (provided as a mixture of wheat and oats or only wheat) on lipoprotein subclasses size and concentration. A dietary randomised controlled trial involving 233 middle aged healthy individuals was carried out. After a 4weeks run-in period on a refined diet, volunteers were randomly allocated to a control (refined diet), wheat or wheat + oats group for 12 weeks. Outcome measures were serum cholesterol as well as lipoprotein subclasses size and concentration, as measured by nuclear magnetic resonance. Blood lipid levels remained unchanged after 12 weeks intervention with WGF, whereas serum total- and LDL- cholesterol concentrations decreased slightly but significantly in the refined group compared with the wheat group. However, these changes were not associated with differences in lipoprotein subclasses’ size and concentration. Our results indicate that three portions of WGF, irrelevant of the type (wheat or oat-based) do not reduce cardiovascular risk by altering beneficially the size and distribution of lipoprotein subclasses.