You may have heard that eating whole grains is a great way to lose
weight, fight disease, and become healthier in general. However, you may
not know much of what you have heard about whole grains is fact and how
much is fiction. To help, here is some basic information on what whole
grains are and why they are indeed one of the healthiest things you can
add to your diet.

First, you should know what a grain actually is. A grain, sometimes also
referred to as a cereal grain, is simply a seed found in different
kinds of grassy plants. These seeds are harvested by human beings from
these grassy plants so they can later be used to make different kinds of
food.

Grains come in many different varieties. Common kinds of grain you may
have heard of include corn, rice, wheat, barley, buckwheat, rye, and
oats. Others you may not have heard of include fonio, sorghum, teff,
quinoa, millet, and triticale.

Secondly, you should know that you can find foods made from two broad
categories of grains in your local grocery store. These are whole grains
and refined grains. The difference between these two grains is what
refined grains leave out.

A whole grain must include three parts of the grain. This includes the
endosperm, the bran, and the germ. A refined grain, however, only
retains the endosperm. The bran and germ are removed during a process
that usually involves either grinding or sifting. The whole grain,
however, is not refined in this way and retains the bran and the germ.
This is where the “whole” part of the name, whole grain, comes from.

Grains include a lot of things that your body needs. These include
essential carbohydrates, vitamins, and nutrients. Unfortunately, many of
the vitamins and nutrients most important for the human body are taken
out when a grain is refined.

You may have heard that certain vitamins and nutrients are added back
into refined grains during the production process. This is indeed true.
Vitamins and nutrients added back to enrich refined grain usually
include iron, niacin, riboflavin, and thiamin. These are added back with
the idea that it will increase the nutritional value of the refined
grains. Unfortunately, the nutritional value of these elements that are
added back is only a tiny fraction of the nutritional value of the
vitamins and nutrients that are taken out during the refining process.

Some of the essential vitamins that whole grains provide and refined
grains do not are B vitamins. These are several vitamins that were once
thought to exist as the single Vitamin B. They play a very important
role in the body by helping cells maintain their proper metabolism.
Having a diet rich in B vitamins is extremely important for maintaining
healthy skin and strong muscles. These vitamins also play an important
part in maintaining a person’s nervous system and immune system. A diet
rich in B vitamins has also been demonstrated to be one of the best ways
to lower the risk of developing pancreatic cancer.

Another very important vitamin that can be found in whole grains is
Vitamin E. Vitamin E plays an important role in the body as an
antioxidant. Antioxidants are important for helping slow the process of
aging in the body and for staving off certain kinds of disease. A
deficiency in this vitamin can lead to serious problems in the
functioning of the nervous system and lead to neurological disorders
such as ataxia.

Magnesium can also be found in whole grains. Magnesium is a vital
component of any healthy diet. This mineral is important for the
operation of cells in the body. It is, for example, used during the
synthesis of DNA and RNA. Not getting enough magnesium may lead someone
to develop serious conditions such as diabetes and osteoporosis later in
life.

Whole grains are also a great source of iron. Iron is an element that is
found in almost all living organisms on Earth. In human beings, iron
helps move oxygen from the lungs to other parts of the body. This is why
having a diet rich in iron is extremely important for staying healthy.
Without enough iron, oxygen travels much more slowly through the body.
This can lead to a severely lowered metabolism and to very serious
health conditions such as anemia.

Lastly, whole grains are an excellent source of fiber. As you may know,
fiber is one of the healthiest things you can eat. This is because fiber
plays a very important role in maintaining the health of the
gastrointestinal tract. Due to how much water fiber can absorb, it can
be used to prevent constipation. Fiber has also been linked to lowering
the risk of developing certain diseases. This includes diseases related
to the gastrointestinal tract such as diverticulosis. It also includes
other conditions such as the development of kidney stones, cancer, and
heart disease.

Over all, the health benefits received from ingesting plenty of whole
grains have been shown to greatly diminish the likelihood of a person
developing many different kinds of diseases. For example, eating whole
grains instead of refined grains can lower a person’s cholesterol.
Having lower cholesterol is very important for avoiding heart disease.

Whole grains have also been shown to be able to help regulate glucose
in the blood. This is extremely important for people who live with
diabetes. Having whole grains as part of a person’s diet has also been
demonstrated to help stave off the risk of developing different kinds of
cancer. Lastly, studies have shown that people who regularly eat whole
grains weigh less than those that do not and are far less likely to
suffer from obesity.

The health benefits associated with whole grains are quite obvious. This
leaves the question of what kinds of whole grain foods a person should
eat. The choices are plentiful, and there is much more than simply whole
grain bread.

For example, you can choose to eat brown rice and wild rice. You may not
know that white rice is actually a refined grain. Brown and wild rice
are not and will provide you with many more health benefits. Instead of
eating regular pasta for dinner, you can eat whole grain pasta. You can
even integrate whole grains into Mexican food with whole grain
tortillas.

There are also many choices for adding whole grains to your breakfast.
Oatmeal, a common breakfast dish, is an excellent source of whole
grains. If you do not like oatmeal, there are a plethora of whole grain
cereals on the market to choose from. For pancake lovers, most grocery
stores do in fact carry whole grain pancake mix.

There are also plenty of whole grain snack choices as well. You may not
know that popcorn is a very healthy choice for a whole grain snack.
There are also numerous choices for dessert as well. Just choose baked
goods such as cakes, cookies, and muffins that use whole grain flour.

However you choose to add whole grains to your diet, the benefits of
doing so are obvious. People who do add plenty of whole grains into
their diet are certain to reap many of the health benefits that whole
grains can provide.