What Are The Benefits Of Whole Grains?
by Dr Chen Tai Ho | Aug 1, 2015
Hi everyone, I hope the weekend continues to treat you well and that you are enjoying some well-deserved rest and relaxation with friends and family. For today’s topic, I want to highlight a well-known healthy alternative known as whole grain. There are whole grain breads, pastas, rice, flour and many more, all of which make a real difference to your health.
Nutritional benefits
Whole grain foods are rich in fibre, and with a normal adult requiring up to 35g of fibre every day, it’s a good idea to get some into your regular diet. For example, half a cup of brown rice contains 5.5g while the same amount of regular white rice only contains 2g. Similarly, two slices of white bread contains 1.9g of fibre while the same portion of dark rye bread contains 5.8g. It’s not hard to see the benefit of whole grains here!
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| Not only is whole grain bread healthier, it’s delicious too! (pic from wikipedia.org) |
It is also a fantastic source of B vitamins such as riboflavin, thiamine and niacin – all of these help to improve your metabolism. It also contains folate, which helps to produce red blood cells in your body, as well as preventing birth defects in newborns.
Whole grains are also a great source for essential minerals, including iron, magnesium, selenium and zinc. Iron helps your body to prevent anaemia and also transports oxygen around the body, while magnesium builds up your bones. Selenium protects your cells against oxidation and zinc keeps your immune system in tip-top condition. All of these help to improve the overall health of your body!
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| Whole grains can help your immune system become much stronger (pic from healingthebody.ca) |
Health benefits
In addition to being a rich source of various nutrients, whole grains can also have a profound effect on your body. For starters, it can help to redistribute fat around, even if you don’t actually lose any weight. Research has shown that whole grains can help reduce your body fat, and even leads to reduced belly far as well – this lowers the chances of diabetes and other health conditions.
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| If you like Italian food, keep an eye out for whole grain pasta (pic from photobucket.com) |
You will also feel full for longer, as whole grains take a much longer time to digest. This keeps you satisfied and keeps hunger away, which may make it much easier to control your weight or lose some extra pounds. It also helps with portion control, and you will find yourself stuffing your stomach far less than before!
Whole grains also help to lower the risk of heart disease because it prevents your body from absorbing bad cholesterol. It also lowers the level of triglycerides, which is also a factor in heart disease. This is backed by studies which showed that women who consumed two to three servings of whole grain foods everyday were up to 30% less likely to suffer a heart attack.
Your blood pressure will also be lowered, which is another factor that can lead to heart disease. Research has also been conducted, showing that men who consume seven servings of whole grain cereal in a week are 19% less likely to be affected by hypertension, compared to men who only consumed one serving or less.
So what are you waiting for? There’s plenty of delicious whole grain options for you nowadays, so there’s no excuse to start changing now!
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