Whole wheat flour, health claims and measuring resilience
What it found
In people, a 12 week trial found that eating 98 g of whole-grain wheat daily improved liver and inflammatory resilience but not metabolic resilience.
Population studies link whole grains to lower risk of chronic disease, but individual trials give mixed results.
What they found
Studies in people
Population studies
Population studies show that higher whole grain intake is linked to lower risk of chronic diseases and overall death. In most studies, wheat is the main grain.
Meta-analysis of trials
A meta-analysis of 21 randomised trials found that more whole grains lowered fasting blood glucose, insulin, total and LDL cholesterol, blood pressure, and weight gain.
Mixed trial results
Individual trials using standard markers give mixed results, possibly due to differences in study design, grain type, processing, or definitions of whole grain.
Resilience trial findings
In a 12 week trial, whole-grain wheat improved liver and inflammatory resilience but not metabolic resilience, based on blood markers after a challenge test. MRI showed it prevented fatty liver.
Other findings
Health claim rejections
EFSA rejected health claims for whole grains and whole-grain foods because they were not sufficiently characterised. Whole wheat grains and whole wheat flour are likely to be considered sufficiently characterised.
What the authors conclude
“Meta-analysis provides the evidence that whole-grain wheat is beneficial for health although scientific evidence is not always straightforward with classic measurement methods.”
Also in their conclusions
- They conclude that the resilience approach could help substantiate health claims for foods like whole-grain wheat.
- They say that whole wheat grains and whole wheat flour probably would be considered sufficiently characterised by EFSA.
- They advise that the resilience method needs validation and that the effects on liver and inflammatory resilience should be confirmed in an independent study.
How it was done
Health claims on foods inform shoppers about benefits, but current rules rely on markers developed for disease treatment, which makes it hard to show health effects in healthy people. The authors propose a new way to measure health based on resilience, using whole-grain wheat as an example.
The authors reviewed existing research on whole-grain wheat and health claims. They described a 12 week trial in 50 men and women with mildly high cholesterol, who ate either 98 g of whole-grain wheat or refined wheat daily, with blood tests over 4 hours before and after.
What it can’t tell you
- The 12 week trial was small and in people with mildly high cholesterol, so results may not apply to everyone.
- The resilience method is new and needs validation for long-term clinical relevance.
- Population studies can show links but cannot prove that whole grains cause better health.
Who paid
- Funding
- Funded by Topsector Agri & Food (from the PubMed record).
- Conflicts
- The authors declare no conflict of interest.
The paper
- Title
- Next Generation Health Claims Based on Resilience: The Example of Whole-Grain Wheat
- Type
- ReviewThe authors read earlier studies and describe what they found. It isn’t a new study.
- Evidence
- Studies in people
- Summarised from
- Full text
- Cite
- Hoevenaars F, van der Kamp JW, van den Brink W, Wopereis S (2020). Next Generation Health Claims Based on Resilience: The Example of Whole-Grain Wheat. Nutrients. doi:10.3390/nu12102945Free full textPubMed 32992860DOI
Summary written 26 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error