Study: Eating cereal linked to longer life

Cereal consumption is down as Americans have flocked to other, more convenient breakfast options -- breakfast bars, yogurt and breakfast sandwiches.

However, breakfast cereal may have greater health benefits than previously believed, according to a recent study out of Harvard.

The researchers looked at survey information from over 350,000 individuals about their cereal and whole-grain intake over an average of 14 years. The study found that people who consumed the most cereal had a 19-percent lower risk of dying from any cause.

However, not all cereal is created equal, and the low-fiber/high-sugar ones have been the target of ire in the medical community for contributing to disease, not healing it.

But the benefits proposed by the study may make eating cereal an attractive option on the breakfast table.

The associative study can't necessarily prove that cereal is the causative factor; healthier people choose to eat cereal. The study is a prospective study that pulls survey data from the NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study, with data collected from 1995-97 from 500,000 individuals in six states.