What is a Whole Grain? : SuperFoodsRx

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What is a Whole Grain?

Table of Contents

1.	Overview
2.	How Much is a Serving?
3.	Flaxseeds
4.	Super Breakfasts
5.	Wheat
6.	What is Whole Grain?
7.	Getting Enough Whole Grain Fiber
8.	Shopping Tips

A whole grain, whether it’s oats, barley, wheat, bulgur, or a host of others, contains every part of the grain. The three parts include:

• The bran: a health-promoting, fiber-rich outer layer that contains B vitamins, minerals, protein, and other phytochemicals.

• The endosperm: the middle layer that contains carbohydrates, proteins, and a small amount of B vitamins.

• The germ: the nutrient-packed inner layer that contains B vitamins, vitamin E, and other phytochemicals.

It’s the synergy of these three components that makes whole grains life sustaining. The refined carbs described earlier have been stripped of their health-promoting parts. When grains are “refined” to make white flour or white rice, for example, the bran and the germ, and all their powerful nutrients, antioxidants, and phytonutrients are stripped away, leaving a starchy substance that is to whole grain what soda pop is to 100 percent fruit juice. They can make it into bread, but they can’t make it healthy!

Whole grains are essential to health. They provide fiber, vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients, and other nutrients that are simply not available in any other effectively synergistic package. All healthy diets rely on them. Despite the fact that whole grains form the base of most food pyramids, indicating that they should be a significant part of our diet, many Americans fail to eat even one whole grain serving a day! Men and women who eat whole grains have a reduced risk of twenty types of cancer, according to a 1998 review of forty observational studies, published in the journal Nutrition and Cancer.

Whole grains also benefit the heart, according to an analysis of data from the Iowa Women’s Health Study, a nine-year study of more than 34,000 postmenopausal women. When all other factors were considered, it was found that women who ate a serving or more of whole grain foods each day had a 14 to 19 percent lower overall mortality rate than those who rarely or never ate whole grains. It really is a tragedy that we consume so few whole grains and so much refined grains. If we could shift that balance, we would all be far healthier. We’ve already seen how oats can lower cholesterol levels and stabilize blood sugar. The complete list of the health-promoting abilities of whole grains is quite long.

Vitamin E intake from food, not supplements, has been inversely related to the risk of stroke. Whole grains and nuts are the two major sources of whole food vitamin E.

Whole grain consumption has been linked to a reduction in the risk of strokes. In the Nurses’ Health Study, among the group that never smoked, a median intake of 2.7 servings of whole grains a day was associated with a 50 percent reduction in the risk ischemic stroke. Given that less than 8 percent of adults in the United States consume more than three servings of whole grains a day, it’s clear we are missing a major opportunity. When you consider that in the United States, strokes are a leading cause of morbidity and death, with an estimated 700,000 strokes annually costing roughly forty billion dollars a year, you can see that convincing Americans to add the SuperFood oats and other whole grains to their diet is well worth the effort.

One study in the Journal of the American Medical Association studied young adults and found those with the highest fiber intake had the lowest diastolic blood pressure readings. Hypertension is consistently the most important risk factor for stroke. Researchers estimated that a 2-millimeter decrease in diastolic blood pressure would result in a 17 percent decrease in the prevalence of hypertension and a 15 percent reduction in risk for stroke. Whole grains form an important part of the DASH diet (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension; see website http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/public/heart/hbp/dash/) that has repeatedly been found to lower blood pressure.

Whole grains are also helpful in preventing coronary artery disease. In the same Nurses’ Health Study mentioned earlier, women who consumed a median of 2% whole grain servings a day experienced more than a 30 percent lowered risk of coronary artery disease.

Whole grains contain folate, which helps to lower serum levels of homocysteine - an independent risk factor for stroke and cardiovascular disease.

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What is a “Super Food”?

Well, the most important thing for everyone to know is that superfoods are easy to find in every local supermarket. They’re worth looking for!

These nutritional powerhouse foods are loaded with nutrients crucial to a healthy, long life.

If you can include a variety of them in your diet, everyday, we promise they will change your life!

These foods were chosen because they contain high concentrations of crucial nutrients, as well as the fact that many of them are low in calories. Foods containing these nutrients have been proven to help prevent and, in some cases, reverse the well-known effects of aging, including cardiovascular disease, Type II Diabetes, hypertension and certain cancers.

When you click on each superfood you’ll find information including a list of the primary nutrients that elevated them to superfood status.

This is not meant to be a complete list of every single nutrient that food contains, but rather, a list of the high-profile nutrients that have shown health benefits and that are present in that food in sufficient quantity to make a difference. Many of the superfoods have “Sidekicks”. These are foods that are generally in the same category as the flagship superfood and offer a similar nutrient profile.

So click around and find recipes and tips on how to incorporate these foods in your daily diet.

SUPERFOODSRX PRINCIPLES:

Principle 1: SuperFoodsRx- the best diet in the world

Principle 2: Super Foods are whole foods

Principle 3: SuperFoods Rx equals synergy

Principle 4: SuperFoods Rx are simple and positive