…takes on a whole new meaning, according to a recent entry in the Wall Street Journal’s health blog. Well, most everyone knows that eating fruits and veggies does a body good, but who knew that eating whole-grain cereal could lower your risk of heart failure?

While leafing through a recent JAMA article, WSJ author Jacob Goldstein noticed “consumption of breakfast cereals” listed among the usual heart-enriching activity lineup. He was intrigued, so he called Luc Djoussé, a Harvard doctor who had contributed to the study. Goldstein learned that “…researchers combined various risk factors together. They found that, in combination with other healthy behaviors, eating more breakfast cereal of any kind lowered the risk of heart failure.”

We’re not talking about any old bowl of cereal here – Cocoa Pebbles or my favorite junk food cereal, Cap’N’Crunch, probably won’t cut it. But whole-grain cereal that is high in fiber and low in fat can have a positive effect on your overall heart health. Granted you can’t just eat a bowl of Special K and call it a day – you need to combine your cereal-eating with other healthy habits like exercising, limiting your alcohol intake, and kicking your smoking habit to the curb.

And while Djoussé says they are “not planning a randomized trial for cereal,” it’s good to know that one of my favorite breakfast options (and my favorite college cafeteria fall-back meal) makes my heart happy!

What’s in your favorite bowl of cereal (whole-grain or not)?

-Michelle Seitzer