Eating more whole grains is an easy way to make your diet healthier. Whole grains are packed with nutrients including protein, fiber, B vitamins, antioxidants, and trace minerals (iron, zinc, copper, and magnesium). A diet rich in whole grains has been shown to reduce the risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, obesity, and some forms of cancer. Whole-grain diets can also improve bowel health by helping to maintain regular bowel movements and promote growth of healthy bacteria in the colon.
Yet the average American eats less than one serving per day, and over 40% never eat whole grains at all. Young adults get less than one serving daily.
6 Reasons Why We’re Not Eating HealthierAmericans know it's important to lose weight and eat more healthfully, but misconceptions and bad choices are getting in their way, according to a survey by the International Food Information Council (IFIC) Foundation. For example, 56% of Americans surveyed said they were trying to lose weight. Yet 9 out of 10 did not know how many calories they should be consuming each day (and nearly half wouldn't even hazard a guess). For its second annual Food & Health Survey,the IFIC Foundation surveyed...
Read the 6 Reasons Why We’re Not Eating Healthier article > >Why? For one thing, it's not always easy to tell just which foods are whole-grain. Scan the bread, cereal or snack packaging, and virtually every one promotes its whole-grain goodness. But not all of them actually are whole-grain. Terms like "multigrain," "100% wheat," "cracked wheat," "organic," "pumpernickel," "bran," and "stone ground" may sound healthy, but none actually indicates the product is whole-grain.
Also, many people have the perception that whole grains just don't taste good, or that it's difficult to work them into their daily diets.
To help you start reaping the benefits of a diet rich in whole grains, WebMD got the facts on how to tell which foods are made of whole grains, along with suggestions on how to fit the recommended servings into your healthy eating plan.
A whole grain contains all edible parts of the grain, including the bran, germ, and endosperm. The whole grain may be used intact or recombined, as long as all components are present in natural proportions. To recognize whole grains, keep this list handy when you go to the supermarket and choose any of the following grains:
Whole-grain corn Whole oats/oatmeal Popcorn Brown rice Whole rye Whole-grain barley Wild rice Buckwheat Triticale Bulgur (cracked wheat) Millet Quinoa Sorghum 100% whole wheat flourBut what about when you're buying processed products, such as a loaf of bread? You probably know to avoid products made of "refined" wheat. But did you know that some manufacturers strip the outer layer of bran off the whole kernel of wheat, use the refined wheat flour, add in molasses to color it brown, and call it '100% wheat' bread? That's true -- but it is not a whole grain.
That's why it's important to check the ingredients list for the word "whole" preceding the grain (such as "whole wheat flour"). Ideally, the whole grain will be the first ingredient in the list, indicating that the product contains more whole grain than any other ingredient by weight.
The amount of grains you need daily varies based on your age, sex, and physical activity level, but to keep it simple, the 2010 USDA Dietary Guidelines say whole gains should make up half of your grain intake.
