It’s easy to feel confused about grains.

On the one hand, you may be reducing your total carbs, which may mean cutting way back on pasta, rice, bread and other grain-based foods.

On the other hand, whole grains such as brown rice, whole wheat, oatmeal, buckwheat, whole-grain cornmeal and quinoa are not only nutritious but linked with protection against heart disease and other chronic ills.

So what’s a health-conscious eater to do? What if you’re watching your carbs—and your weight?

The good news, based on the latest research, is that you may need just a few servings of whole grains to get big health benefits. That fits nicely into a moderately low-carbohydrate diet.

THE 90-GRAM SOLUTION

To find out how much whole grain is associated with health benefits, an international team of public health researchers reported in The BMJ on a statistical meta-analysis of 45 studies from the US, Europe and Asia. Results…

  • Key finding: Eating just three servings of whole grains a day (90 grams) was statistically associated with a 16% reduced risk for cardiovascular disease, an 11% reduced risk for cancer and an 18% reduced risk for early death. (Eating whole grains was also linked with a lower risk for diabetes, respiratory illness and infectious disease, although specific optimal daily servings couldn’t be calculated.)
  • People who ate just one or two servings of whole grains a day, compared with those who ate none at all, were also protected from these chronic illnesses—and early death—in many studies.
  • Eating more than three servings (up to seven a day) was associated with a modest additional increase in benefit—less heart disease, respiratory illness, cancer and early death in some studies.
  • Not surprisingly, people who ate more refined grains such as white bread received no health benefits.

WHY IT’S SO EASY TO EAT ENOUGH WHOLE GRAINS

The other key point is that a serving is probably a lot less than you think. The researchers defined it as 30 grams of cooked food, which is about one ounce. The USDA defines a serving, based on one-ounce servings, as one small slice of bread…one-half cup of cooked brown rice…one-half cup of cooked whole-wheat pasta.

So eating just one small bowl of whole-grain cereal at breakfast (30 grams) and one large whole-wheat pita bread at dinner (60 grams) could easily bring you up to three servings for the day. Watch out for “portion distortion,” too—a typical bagel, for example, can easily weigh in at four ounces (four servings) or more.

Bottom line: You can get most of the benefits of whole grains in your diet by aiming for three one-ounce (30-gram) servings a day.

Why not experiment with some whole grains you haven’t tried yet?