Health Benefits of Whole Grain
Whole grain for your daily diet
What are Whole Grains?
All grains start life as whole grains. In their natural state growing in the fields, whole grains are the entire seed of a plant. This seed (which industry calls a "kernel") is made up of three key parts: the bran, the germ, and the endosperm.
The bran is the multi-layered outer skin of the kernel, and is tough enough to protect the other two parts of the kernel from assaults by sunlight, pests, water, and disease. It contains important antioxidants, B vitamins and fiber.
The germ is the embryo which, if fertilized by pollen, will sprout into a new plant. It contains many B vitamins, some protein, minerals, and healthy fats.
The endosperm is the germfs food supply, which provides essential energy to the young plant so it can send roots down for water and nutrients, and send sprouts up for sunlightfs photosynthesizing power. The endosperm is by far the largest portion of the kernel. It contains starchy carbohydrates, proteins and small amounts of vitamins and minerals.
Whole grains contain all three parts of the kernel. Refining normally removes the bran and the germ, leaving only the endosperm. Without the bran and germ, about 25% of a grainfs protein is lost, along with at least seventeen key nutrients.
Whole grains may be eaten whole, cracked, split or ground. They can be milled into flour or used to make breads, cereals and other processed foods. If a food label states that the package contains whole grain, the "whole grain" part of the food inside the package is required to have virtually the same proportions of bran, germ, and endosperm as the harvested kernel does before it is processed.
What are the Benefits of Whole Grains?
Consumers are increasingly aware that fruits and vegetables contain disease-fighting phytochemicals and antioxidants, but they do not realize whole grains are often an even better source of these key nutrients. Moreover, whole grains have some valuable antioxidants not found in fruits and vegetables, as well as B vitamins, vitamin E, magnesium, iron and fiber.
The medical evidence is clear that whole grains reduce risks of heart disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes and obesity. Few foods can offer such diverse benefits.
People who eat whole grains regularly have a lower risk of obesity, as measured by their body mass index and waist-to-hip ratios. They also have lower cholesterol levels. Because of the phytochemicals and antioxidants, people who eat three daily servings of whole grains have been shown to reduce their risk of heart disease by 25-36%, stroke by 37%, Type II diabetes by 21-27%, digestive system cancers by 21-43%, and hormone-related cancers by 10-40%.A large number of scientific studies have already identified significant health benefits of eating whole grains but the full benefits are still being discovered. Here are some of the reasons why you should be including more whole grains in your diet.
Recent research shows that people with healthy hearts tend to eat more whole grain foods as part of a low fat diet and healthy lifestyle. There are a number of dietary and lifestyle steps we can take to help keep our hearts healthy:
- Quitting smoking
- Reducing stress and anxiety
- Drinking alcohol sensibly
- Increasing exercise
- Following a healthy, balanced diet
- Eating more fruit and vegetables
- Eating more whole grains
- Cutting down salt intake
- Choosing lower fat foods
Maintain healthy blood sugar levels
Whole grains are known to affect blood sugar (glucose) and insulin levels.
Replacing refined grains with whole grains may offer a simple and important way to maintain healthy blood glucose and insulin levels. It has been suggested that this might be through the combined effect of the nutrients in whole grains.
Help to maintain healthy body weight
Eating whole grains may help you to maintain a healthy body weight.
Studies show that people who eat more whole grain foods have a lower Body Mass Index and are less likely to gain weight over time.
Being low in fat and high in fibre and complex carbohydrates, whole grains can help you feel fuller for longer - helping you to avoid the temptation of snacking.
Important for overall digestive health
Whole grains are an important source of fibre, which can promote regularity and help you maintain a healthy bowel.
Two kinds of fibre can be found in whole grains - soluble and insoluble. Oats and barley are two types of whole grain that are high in soluble fibre, while insoluble fibre is found in rye and whole wheat foods. Including both sorts of whole grain fibre in your diet will help in promoting good digestive health.
Whole grain is a natural prebiotic
We are learning all the time about the goodness of whole grain and now a new research from the University of Reading has shown for the first time that whole grain is also a natural pre-biotic.
The large intestine contains up to 500 different types of bacteria, which contribute to lots of different functions in the body. Most people are aware of bad bacteria which spoil food or make you ill, but there are also lots of good bacteria which play a key role in health. To keep us healthy on the inside there must be more of the good than bad bacteria. It is therefore essential to promote the growth of the 'good' bacteria.
Probiotics and prebiotics are easily confused-they are both ways of increasing our good or efriendlyf bacteria in the intestine. Most people have heard of probiotics-these are live egoodf bacteria added to foods like yoghurts and other dairy products. Prebiotics are not live bacteria but instead they are foods or food ingredients which feed the friendly bacteria that are already present in our digestive system.
The pre-biotic passes through our system, it is not digested in the stomach or small intestine, but instead it travels through to the large intestine. Here, it acts as a food source for the friendly bacteria who break it down as they feed off of it. The bacteria can then grow, thus increasing their numbers.
Prebiotics occur naturally in lots of plants and vegetables including artichoke, asparagus, leek, onion and garlic. They are often isolated from these foods and then added into other foods for their health benefits e.g. inulin and oligofructose.What is so exciting about the new research from the University of Reading is that it shows for the first time that whole grain is a natural prebiotic, which means that we donft have to add anything extra to these cereals to give you this prebiotic goodness.
Practical tips on how to include more whole grains into your daily diet
With the wide variety of grains available, you may be surprised at how easy it is to eat several portions of whole grain foods a day.
For example:
The easiest way to get the whole grain you need is by eating a whole grain breakfast porridge, out of freshly ground grain.
Swap white bread for whole grain bread.
Choose brown rice or whole wheat pasta instead of white varieties.
Experiment with whole grains to develop tasty, new recipes:<<<
- Add freshly grinded grains to soups for a nutty flavour
- Use pearl barley as a tasty ingredient in stews and casseroles
- Add oats to biscuit recipes and crumble toppings
- Try substituting white flour with freshly ground whole grain flour
