In the American diet, dairy foods are the primary source of calcium.  Plant foods can also be a good source of dietary calcium, especially those such as as broccoli, kale, and bok choy; other plants high in calcium such as spinach, rhubarb, and beans may have lower bio-availability of calcium due to compounds called oxylates and phytates.  Because the calcium content of common plant sources is rather low, it is difficult for most Americans to meet their requirements exclusively from these foods.  Individuals who choose not to eat dairy products should therefore try to include calcium fortified foods or supplements in their diet in order to meet recommendations, and they should limit salt, protein and caffeine, all of which decrease calcium retention.
American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. September 1999;70(3 suppl):543S–8S [Weaver CM et al.]

University of California researchers fed two test meals to 11 healthy men, both containing beta-glucan. One meal was a high-fiber (15.7g) barley pasta and the other was  lower-fiber (5.0g) wheat pasta. The barley pasta blunted insulin response, and four hours after the meal, barley-eaters had significantly lower cholesterol concentration than wheat-eaters.
American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, January 1999; 69(1):55-63

A study at the University of Cape Town’s Gerontology Centre examined the diets and heart disease risk of older colored (mixed descent) South Africans. A random sample of 200 subjects aged 65 years and above in Cape Town was interviewed to obtain nutrition and life-style data, and blood samples were taken to examine markers for heart disease risk. Blood pressure was also measured according to the guidelines of the American Heart Association. Caloric intake, on average, was low, as was total fat intake. Heart disease risk was low-to-moderate, but high blood pressure was common. This population has lowered their consumption of fruit and vegetables, resulting in a low fiber intake — very different from Africa’s traditional fiber-loaded diets. The survey findings indicate a need to encourage increased physical activity levels and an increased consumption of foods including vegetables, fruit, and whole grain cereals in this population.

East African Medical Journal. 1997 Aug;74(8):478-86. (Charlton et al.)

Researchers from the U. S. Department of Agriculture in Madison, WI conducted studies that showed the healthy oil in amaranth could significantly reduce total cholesterol and LDL (“bad”) cholesterol in 6-week-old female chickens.
The Journal of Nutrition, August 1996; 126(8):1972-8

Rates of high blood pressure are rising in West Africa. Researchers at Johns Hopkins University sampled 598 participants (aged 45+ years) in southwest Nigeria (190 rural men and women, 205 urban poor men and women, and 203 retired urban railway workmen). Overall, the average blood pressure of all of these groups was low relative to westernized societies, like the U.S or Britain, and both men and women in these groups were remarkably lean. Hypertension occurrence increased across the gradient from rural farmers (14%) to urban poor (25%) to urban railway workers (29%). Sodium levels were also highest among the urban residents. These findings demonstrate that as communities become urbanized and adopt a more Western diet, hypertension rates rise.  These results also provide support for recommendations for prevention in West Africa and show that rural lifestyle and diets can provide a benchmark against which to compare populations in the African diaspora.

American Journal of Epidemiology. 1996 Jun 15;143(12):1203-18. (Kaufman et al.)

Also in Australia, researchers at the University of Sydney fed 38 different foods, one by one, to 11-13 different people, then asked them to report their “satiety” or fullness every 15 minutes for the next two hours. From this, they ranked all 38 foods in a “Satiety Index.” Oatmeal rated #3 overall for making people feel satisfied and full, and it rated #1 in the breakfast food group.
European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, September 1995; 49(9): 675-90

Researchers in India allowed proso millet to germinate for 1-7 days, then analysed the changes in its composition. They found that sprouting increased lysine (a key amino acid lacking in most grains) and concentrated the protein, as the grain overall lost weight. Increases in tryptophan, albumin and globulin were also observed, along with decreases in prolamins, a plant storage protein that may be difficult for some people to digest.
Plant Foods for Human Nutrition, February 1994; 45(2):97-102.

Nurses in Cape Peninsula, South Africa, interviewed 983 adult African men and women aged 15-64 years, as part of a larger study on the high-risk nature of heart disease in this population. The interviewees met all of the dietary recommendations for carbohydrates, fats, and proteins, but their diets were low in fiber, vitamins and minerals — indicating a nutritionally depleted diet. Comparisons with rural African populations have revealed that the dietary intake of this urbanising study population represents a transitional phase towards a progressively Western diet, which produces higher rates of heart disease.

The Central African Journal of Medicine. 1993 Dec;39(12):238-47. (Bourne et al.)

The Institute of Nutrition of Central America and Panama in Guatemala conducted a comparative study between the protein in amaranth and cheese protein.  Researchers concluded that the protein in amaranth is among the most nutritious vegetable-based protein and can be considered on par with protein from animal-based products.
Plant Foods for Human Nutrition, March 1993; 43(2):123-43

A study from Oregon Health Services University examined the impact that a transition to a more ‘affluent’ diet had on thirteen Tarahumara Indians (five women and eight men).  Tarahumara Indians are a Mexican people traditionally consuming a low-fat, high-fiber diet and with very low incidence of risk factors for cardiovascular disease.  The thirteen subjects were fed their traditional diet (2700 kcal per day) for one week and were then fed a diet typical of affluent societies, which contained excessive calories (4100 kcal per day), total fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol for five weeks.  After five weeks of consuming the affluent diet, the subjects’ mean cholesterol levels increased by 31%, and plasma triglyceride levels also increased by 18%.
New England Journal of Medicine 1991 Dec 12;325(24):1704-8. (McMurry et al.)

In an experiment at the University of Alberta, barley kernels were sprouted from 2 to 5 days, then oven-dried and milled. Researchers found decreases in dry matter, gross energy (calories) and triglycerides, and increases in fiber and diglyceride content. After the sprouted barley was fed to rats, scientists said that “digestibility data showed an enhancement of digestibility of nutrients in barley… implying that sprouting improved nutritional qualify of barley.”
Plant Foods for Human Nutrition, September 1989; 39(3):267-78.

In a 1989 meta-analysis of existing studies, JK Chavan and SS Kadam found evidence that “Sprouting of grains for a limited period causes increased activities of hydrolytic enzymes, improvement in the contents of certain essential amino acids, total sugars, and B-group vitamins, and a decrease in dry matter, starch, and antinutrients. The digestibilities of storage proteins and starch are improved due to their partial hydrolysis during sprouting.”
Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition, 1989; 28(5):401-37.