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A Better Understanding Of Whole Grain

1/18/2015

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Whole grains have phytochemicals with health-promoting activity equal to or greater than that of vegetables and fruits. This was reported at the American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) International Conference on Food, Nutrition and Cancer, by Rui Hai Liu, M.D., Ph.D., and his colleagues at Cornell University. Research showed that whole grains, such as whole wheat, contain many powerful phytonutrients whose activity has gone unrecognized because research methods have overlooked them.

Despite the fact that for years researchers have been measuring the antioxidant power of a wide array of phytonutrients, they have typically measured only the "free" forms of these substances, which dissolve quickly and are immediately absorbed into the bloodstream. They have not looked at the "bound" forms, which are attached to the walls of plant cells and must be released by intestinal bacteria during digestion before they can be absorbed.

Phenolics, powerful antioxidants that work in multiple ways to prevent disease, are one major class of phytonutrients that have been widely studied. Included in this broad category are such compounds as quercetin, curcumin, ellagic acid, catechins, and many others that appear frequently in the health news.

When Dr. Liu and his colleagues measured the relative amounts of phenolics, and whether they were present in bound or free form, in common fruits and vegetables like apples, red grapes, broccoli and spinach, they found that phenolics in the "free" form averaged 76% of the total number of phenolics in these foods. In whole grains, however, "free" phenolics accounted for less than 1% of the total, while the remaining 99% were in "bound" form.

In his presentation, Dr. Liu explained that because researchers have examined whole grains with the same process used to measure antioxidants in vegetables and fruits—looking for their content of "free" phenolics"--the amount and activity of antioxidants in whole grains has been vastly underestimated.

Despite the differences in fruits', vegetables' and whole grains' content of "free" and "bound" phenolics, the total antioxidant activity in all three types of whole foods is similar, according to Dr. Liu's research. His team measured the antioxidant activity of various foods, assigning each a rating based on a formula (micromoles of vitamin C equivalent per gram). Broccoli and spinach measured 80 and 81, respectively; apple and banana measured 98 and 65; and of the whole grains tested, corn measured 181, whole wheat 77, oats 75, and brown rice 56.

Dr. Liu's findings may help explain why studies have shown that populations eating diets high in fiber-rich whole grains consistently have lower risk for colon cancer, yet short-term clinical trials that have focused on fiber alone in lowering colon cancer risk, often to the point of giving subjects isolated fiber supplements, yield inconsistent results. The explanation is most likely that these studies have not taken into account the interactive effects of all the nutrients in whole grains—not just their fiber, but also their many phytonutrients. As far as whole grains are concerned, Dr. Liu believes that the key to their powerful cancer-fighting potential is precisely their wholeness. A grain of whole wheat consists of three parts—its endosperm (starch), bran and germ. When wheat—or any whole grain—is refined, its bran and germ are removed. Although these two parts make up only 15-17% of the grain's weight, they contain 83% of its phenolics. Dr. Liu says his recent findings on the antioxidant content of whole grains reinforce the message that a variety of foods should be eaten to achieve good health. "Different plant foods have different phytochemicals," he said. "These substances go to different organs, tissues and cells, where they perform different functions. What your body needs to ward off disease is this synergistic effect—this teamwork—that is produced by eating a wide variety of plant foods, including whole grains."


Source
Rui Hai Liu on Studying the Health Benefits of Whole Foods Scientist Interview: January 2012
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How To Add Whole Grains To Your Diet

1/18/2015

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Learning to enjoy whole grains is simply a matter of retraining your taste buds to become familiar with the fuller, nuttier flavor of the grain. There is a white hard wheat available which is lighter in color and has a milder taste...it's kid approved.

Here are eight easy ways to work more whole grains into your daily diet:

  1. Choose whole-grain breads, cereals, English muffins, waffles, bagels, and crackers. Enjoy a sandwich at lunch with two slices of whole-grain bread, or a whole-grain pita or flour tortilla, and you're two-thirds of the way toward meeting your goal.
  2. Eat popcorn. What could be easier than eating air-popped popcorn as a snack? A study in the 2008 May issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association found that people who regularly ate popcorn averaged 2.5 servings of whole grains per day, while non-popcorn eaters got less than one serving.
  3. Make your snacks whole grain. Snacks account for one-third of whole grain consumption - just make sure you choose the right ones. Check the label, because even though it's made with a whole grain, it could still be high in fat, calories, sugar and sodium.
  4. Start your day with a bowl of whole-grain cereal. Members of the National Weight Control Registry who have lost substantial amounts of weight -- and kept it off -- swear by the importance of eating a nutritious breakfast, such as hot cereal, each day. Keep in mind that even when a product is made from whole grain, it's not necessarily healthy. Read the label and select cereals based on the whole-grain content and amount of sugar it contains. The less sugar, the better.
  5. Add whole grains to your baked goods. Try blending half whole grain flour with all-purpose flour to boost the whole-grain content of your baked goods. You can also use white hard wheat flour, it makes great tasting bread and your family will not be the wiser. Gradually increase the amount of whole grain in the recipe until it's 100% whole grain.
  6. Choose brown rice, quinoa and 100% whole grain pasta. Cook up a  large batch of brown rice or quinoa and keep it in your refrigerator. They last for 4-5 days and will make side dishes a breeze in the evening just add vegetables and seasonings. Try whole-grain pasta, don't be put off by the dark color it becomes much lighter when it is cooked.
  7. Experiment with different grains. Try your hand at some of the less-familiar whole grains available. Try risottos, pilafs, whole-grain salads, and other grain dishes made with kamut, millet, quinoa, or sorghum. Add uncooked oats to meatloaf or stir oats into yogurt for crunch and added nutrition.
  8. Start your kids off right. Expose your kids to whole grains at an early age. For older kids, try the white whole grain flour when baking bread. Serve burgers on whole-grain buns or quinoa with veggies. Add whole grains to soups or dishes like shrimp Creole. Try whole grain pitas as crusts for make-your-own individual pizzas.
These are just a few ideas, be creative and introduce new dishes this year.  Let your children into the kitchen to help with the meal preparation. If they are involved in harvesting and preparing the food they are more likely to eat it.
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Be Kind To Your Grains

1/17/2015

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Only in recent decades has nutritionists recognize that white flour is an empty food, supplying calories for energy but none of the bodybuilding materials that abound in the germ and the bran of whole grains. We've take two important steps forward—but unfortunately another step backward in that now whole grain and bran products are being promoted as health foods without adequate appreciation of their dangers. These show up not only as digestive problems, Crohn's disease and colitis, but also as the mental disorders associated with celiac disease. One school of thought claims that both refined and whole grains should be avoided totally.

But many healthy societies consume products made from grains. In fact, it can be argued that the cultivation of grains made civilization possible and opened the door for mankind to live long and comfortable lives. Problems occur when we are cruel to our grains—when we fractionate them into bran, germ and naked starch; when we mill them at high temperatures; when we extrude them to make crunchy breakfast cereals; and when we consume them without careful preparation.

Grains require careful preparation because they contain a number of antinutrients that can cause serious health problems. Phytic acid, for example, is an organic acid in which phosphorus is bound. It is mostly found in the bran or outer hull of seeds. Untreated phytic acid can combine with calcium, magnesium, copper, iron and especially zinc in the intestinal tract and block their absorption. This is why a diet high in improperly prepared whole grains may lead to serious mineral deficiencies and bone loss. The modern misguided practice of consuming large amounts of unprocessed bran often improves colon transit time at first but may lead to irritable bowel syndrome and, in the long term, many other adverse effects.

Other antinutrients in whole grains include enzyme inhibitors which can inhibit digestion and put stress on the pancreas; irritating tannins; complex sugars which the body cannot break down; and gluten and related hard-to-digest proteins which may cause allergies, digestive disorders and even mental illness.

Most of these antinutrients are part of the seed's system of preservation—they prevent sprouting until the conditions are right. Plants need moisture, warmth, time and slight acidity in order to sprout. Proper preparation of grains is a kind and gentle process that imitates the process that occurs in nature. It involves soaking for a period in warm, acidulated water in the preparation of porridge, or long, slow sour dough fermentation in the making of bread. Such processes neutralize phytic acid and enzyme inhibitors. Vitamin content increases, particularly B vitamins. Tannins, complex sugars, gluten and other difficult-to-digest substances are partially broken down into simpler components that are more readily available for absorption.

Animals that nourish themselves on primarily on grain and other plant matter have as many as four stomachs. Their intestines are longer, as is the entire digestion transit time. Man, on the other hand, has but one stomach and a much shorter intestine compared to herbivorous animals. These features of his anatomy allow him to pass animal products before they putrefy in the gut but make him less well adapted to a diet high in grains—unless, of course, he prepares them properly. When grains are properly prepared through soaking, sprouting or sour leavening, the friendly bacteria of the microscopic world do some of our digesting for us in a container, just as these same lactobacilli do their work in the first and second stomachs of the herbivores.

So the well-meaning advice of many nutritionists, to consume whole grains as our ancestors did and not refined flours and polished rice, can be misleading and harmful in its consequences; for while our ancestors ate whole grains, they did not consume them as presented in our modern cookbooks in the form of quick-rise breads, granolas, bran preparations and other hastily prepared casseroles and concoctions. Our ancestors, and virtually all pre-industrialized peoples, soaked or fermented their grains before making them into porridge, breads, cakes and casseroles. A quick review of grain recipes from around the world will prove our point: In India, rice and lentils are fermented for at least two days before they are prepared as idli and dosas; in Africa the natives soak coarsely ground corn overnight before adding it to soups and stews and they ferment corn or millet for several days to produce a sour porridge called ogi; a similar dish made from oats was traditional among the Welsh; in some Oriental and Latin American countries rice receives a long fermentation before it is prepared; Ethiopians make their distinctive injera bread by fermenting a grain called teff for several days; Mexican corn cakes, called pozol, are fermented for several days and for as long as two weeks in banana leaves; before the introduction of commercial brewers yeast, Europeans made slow-rise breads from fermented starters; in America the pioneers were famous for their sourdough breads, pancakes and biscuits; and throughout Europe grains were soaked overnight, and for as long as several days, in water or soured milk before they were cooked and served as porridge or gruel. (Many of our senior citizens may remember that in earlier times the instructions on the oatmeal box called for an overnight soaking.)

Bread can be the staff of life, but modern technology has turned our bread—even our whole grain bread—into a poison. Grains are laced with pesticides during the growing season and in storage; they are milled at high temperatures so that their fatty acids turn rancid. Rancidity increases when milled flours are stored for long periods of time, particularly in open bins. The bran and germ are often removed and sold separately, when Mother Nature intended that they be eaten together with the carbohydrate portion; they're baked as quick rise breads so that antinutrients remain; synthetic vitamins and an unabsorbable form of iron added to white flour can cause numerous imbalances; dough conditioners, stabilizers, preservatives and other additives add insult to injury.

Cruelty to grains in the making of breakfast cereals is intense. Slurries of grain are forced through tiny holes at high temperatures and pressures in giant extruders, a process that destroys nutrients and turns the proteins in grains into veritable poisons. Westerners pay a lot for expensive breakfast cereals that snap, crackle and pop, including the rising toll of poor health.

The final indignity to grains is that we treat them as loners, largely ignorant of other dietary factors needed for the nutrients they provide. Fat-soluble vitamins A and D found in animal fats like butter, lard and cream help us absorb calcium, phosphorus, iron, B vitamins and the many other vitamins that grains provide. Porridge eaten with cream will do us a thousand times more good than cold breakfast cereal consumed with skim milk; sourdough whole grain bread with butter or whole cheese is a combination that contributes to optimal health.

Be kind to your grains. . . and your grains will deliver their promise as the staff of life. Buy only organic whole grains and soak them overnight to make porridge or casseroles; or grind them into flour with a home grinder and make your own sour dough bread and baked goods. .

Source: Nourishing Traditions: The Cookbook that Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and the Diet Dictocrats by Sally Fallon with Mary G. Enig, PhD.
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What Is Whole Grain

1/17/2015

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Picture
We started eating whole grain while on a low carbohydrate diet. The weight came off and we have kept it off for 5 years. I started milling my own flour to ensure we were getting whole grain. After working with whole grain flour, I not only sell the flour and mixes but offer a variety of baking classes. My mission is to teach everyone I meet that Whole Grain is not heavy and nasty. Whole Grain flour if used correctly makes wonderful light bread, biscuits, pie crusts, cakes and cookies.



What Is Whole Grain

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 parts: the bran, the germ and the endosperm.

The Bran
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


The Endosperm
The endosperm is the germ’s 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 sunlight’s 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.

Are you really getting whole grain from the products you are buying at the store find out? (click here)

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Are You Really Getting Whole Grain

1/17/2015

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Understanding food labels

These tips can help you better understand food labels and fiber content.

100% whole grain or 100% whole wheat means the product contains no refined white flour.

Whole grain Most of these products contain little or no refined white flour. Look at the label's ingredient list to see how far down on the list the enriched wheat flour, unbleached white flour, or wheat flour appears--the lower the better.

Whole-grain white This label usually appears on bread, but it does not necessarily mean anything specific. In the best case scenario, the bread was made with an albino variety of wheat. Most bread with this label contain a mix of whole and refined flour from red wheat. Look for the brands that contain more whole flour, and less refined flour.

12-grain or multigrain It does not matter how many grains are in a product. It matters how many of those grains are whole grains.

The FDA defines whole-grain foods as those containing 51% or more whole-grain ingredients by weight per reference amount customarily consumed. By law, bread labeled as "whole wheat" must be made with 100% whole-wheat flour. However, "wheat bread" often contains a combination of whole-wheat and refined white flour. Don't be fooled by the color of the item, caramel coloring can make refined products look brown.

Check the ingredient label for the first ingredient.  What type of flour is it? The first ingredient on the label is the ingredient found in the largest quantity in that food item. When shopping look for the key word "whole" (as in whole wheat or whole grain) in the first few ingredients. Examples of whole grains are barley, brown rice, bulgur, corn, oats, quinoa, rye, and wheat. Also, amaranth, buckwheat, millet, and spelt are considered whole grain. Try something new to incorporate more whole grains, fiber and some extra nutrients into your diet.

A refined grain is one in which the husk, bran and germ have been removed, leaving the endosperm.  When grains are milled (processed or refined) the bran and germ portions are removed. This removes 80% of the nutrients.

Labeling Terms for Fiber Check the "Nutrition Facts" label to find out how much fiber is in a serving of the food. If the label states "high fiber" it means there are 5 grams of fiber or more per serving. If the label states "good source" it means there are 2.5 to 4.9 grams of fiber per serving. If the label states "more or added fiber" it means that at least 2.5 grams more per serving as compared to the standard serving size of the traditional food.

The Whole Grains Council, a private business, has developed a "Whole Grains Stamp" that identifies foods that contain 8 grams of whole grains (or half of an ounce-equivalent). This stamp is used by many manufacturers to help consumers easily identify whole grain foods. Visit their website at www.wholegrainscouncil.org  for more information.

Consume 3 or more ounce-equivalents of whole grain products per day. 

Diana Young, RD, LD/N, CDE

Registered and Licensed Dietitian

Certified Diabetes Educator
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How To Cook Grains

1/14/2015

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Use these basic guidelines for cooking whole grains including amaranth, barley, buckwheat, bulgar, cornmeal, couscous, Kamut, millet, oats, pasta, quinoa, brown rice, rye berries, sorghum, spelt berries, wheat berries and wild rice
Cooking Tips
  • In order to get more nutrition from your grains try soaking them overnight in half the liquid. This will  make them more digestible. The next day add the remaining liquid to finish cooking them. Another benefit is the cooking time is greatly reduced, which uses less energy.
  • Try lightly roasting grains in a dry skillet before cooking. This gives them a lighter texture and a nuttier taste.
  • Most grains become sticky if stirred, so leave them alone while they cook. The result will be fluffier and tastier.
  • Some grain dishes, such as bulgar and couscous, are actually fluffier if you do not cook them. Just pour boiling water over the grains, let them stand for 15 to 20 minutes, then toss them with a fork before adding other ingredients or serving.
To 1 cup of this grain


Amaranth

Barley, hulled

Buckwheat

Bulgar

Cornmeal (polenta)

Couscous,       whole wheat

Kamut grain


Millet, hulled

Oats, steel cut

Pasta, whole wheat

Quinoa

Brown rice

Rye berries


Sorghum

Spelt berries


Wheat berries


Wild rice
Add this much water or broth:
2 cups

3 cups

2 cups

2 cups

4 cups


2 cups


4 cups


2 1/2 cups

4 cups

6 cups


2 cups

2 1/2 cups

4 cups


4 cups

4 cups


4 cups


3 cups
Bring to a boil then simmer for:


20-25 minutes

45-60 minutes

20 minutes

10-12 minutes

25-30 minutes


10 minutes


Soak overnight cook 45-60 min.

25-35 minutes

20 minutes

8-12 minutes (varies by size)

12-15 minutes

25-45 minutes

Soak overnight cook 45-60 min.

25-40 minutes

Soak overnight cook 45-60 min.

Soak overnight, cook 45-60 min.

45-55 minutes
Amount after cooking


3 1/2 cups


3 1/2 cups

4 cups

3 cups

2 1/2 cups


3 cups


3 cups


4 cups

4 cups

Varies


3+ cups


3-4 cups


3 cups


3 cups


3 cups



3 cups



3 1/2 cups
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