Be part of the World's Biggest Coffee Morning
A chance to win £100 worth of shopping vouchers
Grains and whole grains
You've heard of the five-a-day message for fruit and vegetables, but do you know about the three-a-day whole grain message? It's an easy way to remember that health experts recommend most people should aim to enjoy whole grains as part of a balanced diet
For 10,000 years, mankind has been cultivating grains to sustain the community and provide a year-round supply of healthy nutrition. Depending on where you are in the world, the main grain you eat might be wheat, rye, sorghum, millet, quinoa, rice, corn, or one of several other grains.
Grains are a staple in our diet and are an underlying component for good health. Grains provide carbohydrates which are needed for energy. But the type of carbohydrates we consume can make a difference to our health.
But it is only in the last 100 years that refined grains, those that have been processed to make foods such as white bread or white rice, have become widely available. While these may be useful for variety in the diet, experts recommend that we eat as our ancestors did by consuming more portions of unrefined whole grains.
Fast-releasing carbohydrates, from sugar or refined grains (such as white flour) provide fairly instant energy but do not sustain us throughout the day. On the other hand slow-releasing carbohydrates, which come from whole grains, including wild rice and popcorn, beans and vegetables, give us a steady supply of energy throughout the day.
This is important to help us to concentrate, to keep energy levels constant throughout the day (including that typical slump-time of mid-afternoon), and to help maintain a healthy weight.
1 | 2 | next
printer friendly
send to a friend
Delicious
Digg
reddit
Facebook
StumbleUpon
Horoscopes| Message Boards | Quizzes | Newsletters | Join
iVillage Ltd is a UK company registered in England & Wales (3837269) at 80-110 New Oxford Street, London WC1 1HB
