Women with diabetes may consider adding more whole grains, and particularly bran, to their diets. A new report in the journal Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association has found that women with type 2 diabetes who ate the most bran in a study had a 35 percent lower risk of death from cardiovascular disease (CVD) and a 28 percent reduction in death from all causes than women who ate the least amount.

Researchers used data from 7,822 women diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. Participants were followed for as many as 26 years and periodically answered questionnaires about their medical history, lifestyle and disease diagnoses as well as what types of foods they ate.

They found that women in the top 20 percent for consumption of whole grain, bran, germ and cereal fiber were at a reduced risk of death from all causes and from CVD compared to the women in the bottom 20 percent.

However, after adjusting for a range of lifestyle and other factors such as smoking and physical activity, only the association with bran remained statistically significant and independent of those factors.

The American Heart Association recommends a dietary pattern rich in whole grain, high fiber foods and that half of an individual’s grain intake should come from whole grains.