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Low to no carbohydrate diets are the current craze for a nation obsessed
with being thin, yet becoming increasingly obese. With the carb cutting
rage, many people are missing the benefits of eating whole grain foods.
Whole grains are complex carbohydrates that help lower the risk of
developing some life threatening, nutrition-related diseases. They
naturally provide the body with essential nutrients that are often
lacking in processed carbohydrate foods. Choosing to go the low or no
carb route could lead to missing the benefits of whole grain, the other
carbohydrates.
Whole grains are mainly associated with providing roughage in the
diet, keeping the digestive system free flowing and healthy. However,
in addition to the excellent and long standing digestive benefits, whole
grains have many other great health benefits, such as providing cancer
fighting agents, improving cholesterol panels, and lowering the chances
of developing heart disease. Brown rice, 100% whole wheat bread, and
ready-to-eat whole grain breakfast cereals are examples of whole grain
food products that have these health benefits.
Consuming all parts of the grain is more nutritious for the body than
consuming only parts of the grain. The outer portion of the grain is
the bran. Bran contains an abundance of fiber, which helps improve
cholesterol and further reduce the risk of developing heart disease.
The bran also has phytochemicals, also called phytonutrients.
Phytochemicals are getting lots of attention because of the beneficial,
natural defense system they provide the body. Phytochemicals, the
innate defense systems of plants, help plants ward off fungi, viruses
and bacteria. When people consume a plant product, the same defense
system is inherited, which helps them fight against cancer, heart
disease and diabetes.
The smallest, but still important, part of the whole grain is the germ.
The germ also contains phytochemicals, but vitamin E as well. Vitamin
E, an antioxidant vitamin, is important in protecting against heart
disease and cancer. Depression fighting B vitamins are found in both
the germ and bran.
The powerhouse, energy portion of the whole grain is the endosperm. It
is the largest part of the grain and is used to make processed breads,
cereals, rice, and pasta, after removal of the bran and germ.
Twenty-five to ninety percent of the nutrients in whole grains are lost
when they are processed and are added back later. Although some people
may choose to consume bran and wheat germ separately from the whole
grain, it is more valuable to eat the whole grain because the nutrients
work together.
Three are key
Out of the daily six to eleven servings from the breads, cereal, rice
and pasta group that are recommend, at least three should be whole grain
products. A serving could be one slice of 100% whole wheat bread, ½ cup
of brown rice or one ounce of whole grain ready-to-eat breakfast cereal./p>
Some other whole grain products are bulgar, couscous, kasha, barley
and whole-wheat flour. Check out Web sites and books from the libraries
to learn new ways of eating whole grain foods. Also, reading the
nutrition label helps in determining if a food contains whole grains.
Look for words like 100% whole grain in foods that are high in whole
grains. Also, the word "whole" should appear in front of a grain named
first on the list of ingredients. Words like stone-ground, 100% wheat,
7-grain, organic, cracked wheat, multigrain, and bran appearing on food
labels may be misleading to consumers and these products may not contain
much whole grain at all. Even though there are health benefits of
consuming such products, it is much better to consume the whole grain.
Eliminating or reducing carbohydrates in the diet could lead to
eliminating immense nutritional benefits of the complex carbohydrates
found in whole grains. Unlike simple carbohydrates such as white bread,
white flour, and processed cereals, whole grains offer protection
against chronic diseases. The natural defense system of phytochemicals,
the antioxidant property of Vitamin E, and the digestive benefits of
fiber are not found in many carbohydrate foods. Getting at least three
servings of whole grains daily, is not as hard as it seems. Read the
food labels and experiment with new whole grain products.
Carbohydrates, especially whole grains, offer splendid nutritional
benefits that can protect your health.
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