Oats and buckwheat intakes and cardiovascular disease risk factors in an ethnic minority of China

The relationship of oats and buckwheat intake to cardiovascular disease risk factors was studied in 850 Yi people, an ethnic minority in southwest China. Blood pressure was measured on 3 consecutive days. Serum total cholesterol, high-density-lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, and triglycerides were measured after a 14-h fast. Oats and buckwheat intakes were assessed by questionnaire. In multiple-regression analysis, oats intake (100 g/d) was associated with lower body mass index (-0.25, in kg/m²; P < 0.05), systolic (-3.1 mm Hg, P < 0.001) and diastolic (- 1.3 mm Hg, P < 0.01) blood pressure, and HDL cholesterol (0.13 mmol/L, P < 0.001). Buckwheat intake (100 g/d) was associated with lower serum total cholesterol (0.07 mmol/L, P < 0.01) and low-density-lipoprotein cholesterol (-0.06 mmol/L, P < 0.05) and a higher ratio of HDL to total cholesterol (0.01, P < 0.05). These findings suggest a role for oats and buckwheat consumption in the prevention and treatment of both hypertension and hypercholesterolemia.