You'd like to be as healthy as possible, wouldn't you? Then be sure you eat whole grains. Eating at least three servings of whole grains daily will help you fight diseases, such as heart disease and diabetes. Whole grains can even help you fight cancer.
It's been known for years that eating a lot of vegetables and fruit can protect your health, but now nutrition experts are aware that whole grains can provide similar benefits.
Here is a list of sixteen whole grains, how they are beneficial to your health and tips on how to incorporate them into your diet.
Oats
If you eat a lot of whole grain oats and have high cholesterol, your cholesterol will probably be lowered. You can eat oats as a breakfast cereal and add oats to bread and muffin recipes.
Bran
Grain has a hard outer layer called bran. Removing this hard outer layer causes grain to lose some of its nutritional value. Bran is rich in fiber and also contains vitamins and minerals. It's a good idea to put bran in breads, cereals, pancakes, waffles and muffins to enrich them and provide more fiber.
Brown Rice
Brown rice is a type of whole grain and is much better for you than white rice. It's unbleached and chewier than white rice and has more nutritional value. It is less constipating than white rice as well. It used to be considered less desirable than white rice, but now it is more expensive since there is less of it and it is harder to store because it becomes rancid more quickly than white rice.
Buckwheat
This whole grain can be eaten as an alternate to rice and it is also used as a cereal. It isn't really a cereal grain but is related to rhubarb, which means it can be eaten as a substitute for wheat grains for those who are allergic to wheat. Buckwheat seems to be able to lower cholesterol and reduce blood pressure. It contains flavonoids which act as antioxidants. Buckwheat can help protect your body from heart disease.
Cracked Wheat
This is a wheat product made from crushed or cut whole raw wheat kernels. It is carried by many grocery stores. It can turn rancid and should be kept in a cool dry place.
Bulgur Wheat
Bulgur is similar to cracked wheat. It too is made by cracking or crushing wheat kernels. However, bulgur is made from steamed and toasted wheat kernels before being cracked. They don't need to be cooked for very long because it has already been partially cooked. Bulgur has a nutty flavor and is very nutritious with lots of fiber in it too.
Millet
Birds eat millet in their packaged bird food, but it's for people too. It's delicious and can be creamy or fluffy depending on how you cook it. It's available most of the time from grocery stores. Millet comes in several different colors and is quite small and round. Millet encompasses several different kinds of grains.
Please continue on to the next page of Basics of Nutrition article to learn about other whole grain foods that are beneficial to your health and tips on how to include them into your diet.