Cereals and cereal products - a scoping review for Nordic Nutrition Recommendations 2023.
Level 5 - mechanism / opinion, no new human data
Scoping review synthesising secondary systematic reviews and supplementary literature searches without a new meta-analysis.
PubMed 38571920 · doi:10.29219/fnr.v68.10457
What was done
A scoping review was conducted for the Nordic Nutrition Recommendations 2023 to assess associations between cereal/cereal product intake and major health outcomes. Authors synthesized 5 qualified systematic reviews covering non-communicable diseases, mortality, and risk factors, supplemented by a literature search in MEDLINE and Cochrane for more recent studies and additional endpoints.
What was found
Intake of whole grains showed dose-response associations with lower risks of cardiovascular disease, colorectal cancer, type 2 diabetes, and premature mortality. The lowest risks were reported at 3 to 7 servings per day (90 to 210 g/day of fresh weight or ready-to-eat whole grain products). Evidence from randomized trials indicated whole grains reduce weight gain. Evidence for refined grains was limited and showed no clear beneficial associations. The abstract reports no relative risks, odds ratios, or confidence intervals.
Why it matters
The review provides evidence-based intake ranges (90 to 210 g/day) to support national food-based dietary guidelines aiming to reduce major chronic disease burdens.
Limits
Most primary literature was conducted in predominantly wheat-consuming populations, limiting generalizability to other specific grains such as rye. The abstract lacks quantitative effect sizes, confidence intervals, and formal risk-of-bias grading for included studies.
Cited by
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