A Healthy Diet Needs Whole Grains

By the DoItYourself.com Staff

If you're like most people you already know that brown bread is better than white. What you might not be aware of is that more and more studies are pointing to the importance of eating the whole grain for optimal health. Whatever your age, it's not too late to make the dietary changes that could mean avoiding disease in the future.

What are Whole Grains?

The whole grain consists of the endosperm, bran and germ of the grain. If you remove the endosperm you’ve removed 80% of the whole grain. When this part of the grain gets processed into flour, we end up losing almost all of the nutritional punch and metabolic advantages that whole grains provide. The bran and germ portion of the grain are only about 20% of the whole grain but they contain most of the nutrients. What’s more, phytochemicals, the chemicals that are produced by plants and help our body perform various functions, are also only found in this smaller portion of the whole grain. Starting to make more sense why the whole grain is the best choice? Read on!

Whole Grain Studies

Studies have shown that men and women who add at least one serving of whole grain foods to their diet are reducing the risk of death from all diseases. When dark breads and cereals make up your diet you are given a source of fiber and starch that combine to promote perfect digestion. The indigestible carbohydrates and intestinal bacteria work together to form the fatty acids that both lower cholesterol and reduce Cancer risks. The hundreds of phytochemicals, vitamins B and E, as well as the minerals zinc and selenium are nothing to turn your nose up at, either! A Finnish study that followed male smokers for just over six years, showed that the men were able to lower their risk of chronic heart disease by increasing their rye bread consumption.

Whole Grains and Health

Bile acids tend to act like carcinogens by promoting cell proliferation. We know that cell proliferation (the sudden growth and division of cells) can lead to mutations, which in turn can become cancer. When digesting whole grains, the fatty acids that are produced seem to lower intestinal pH and reduce those harmful bile acids. The selenium found in the complete grain also lowers Cancer cell proliferation. Whole grains are digested slowly, which means you don’t get large spikes in glucose and insulin levels. Magnesium, fiber and vitamin E, which are all readily available in the whole grain diet, are needed for insulin metabolism. Why is it important to have stable glucose levels? When your glucose levels are stable you won’t feel so hungry. So, include weight management to the benefits of adding whole grains to your diet!

How Much to Eat?

On average, the North American diet consists of about one serving per day of whole grains, when the recommended serving is three per day. The challenge lies in the fact that there are only about 5% of grain foods available to consumers in whole grain form. You may have to do some digging to come up with cereals, grains and breads that provide natural disease-fighting goodness to your diet. It doesn’t help that marketers want to keep feeding us white flour, while tricking us to believe we are eating whole grains. To be sure you are choosing whole grain foods, look for labels that include: rye, whole grain or whole wheat. Watch out for confusing ingredients on labels, like wheat flour and unbleached wheat flour. While they may sound healthy, they aren’t whole grain.

Whole Grains For Life

With consumer demand, whole grain products will become more readily available. Why not start introducing more whole grains into your diet? You’ll be doing something nice for your body and you might just be pleasantly surprised by the taste!

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