By: Jean Johnson for Heart1
Eating whole grains protect against heart disease – as well as the usual litany of cancer, diabetes, stroke, intestinal disease and obesity. That said, consider yourself a member of the elite if you get three servings of these preferred foods a day.
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The Whole Grains Council offers the following tips on making wise and varied choices:
Amaranth – was a staple of Aztec culture, now making a comeback. It has a peppery taste and a high level of complete protein containing lysine, an amino acid missing, or negligible, in many grains.
Barley – the fiber is especially healthy and may lower cholesterol even more effectively than oat fiber.
Buckwheat – the only grain know to have high levels of the antioxidant rutin. Studies show buckwheat improves circulation and prevents LDL cholesterol from blocking blood vessels.
Bulgur– is boiled, dried, cracked wheat that’s sorted by size. Its quick cooking time and mild flavor make it ideal for those new to whole grain cooking. It has more fiber than oats, millet, buckwheat or corn.
Corn – try it as polenta, hominy, popcorn, muffins or tortillas. Eating corn with beans creates a complementary mix of amino acids that raises the protein value to humans. A new study shows that corn has the highest level of antioxidants of any grain or vegetable and almost twice that of apples.
Millet– although mostly found in U.S. bird feeders, millet has kept people around the world in good health for centuries.
Oats – like barley oats contain a special kind of fiber called beta glucan found to be especially effective in lower cholesterol. Unique among grains, oats almost never have their bran and germ removed
Quinoa(keen-wah) – this grain from the Andes contains complete protein which means that it has all the essential amino acids our bodies can’t make on their own.
Rice – rice is one of the most easily digested grains which makes it ideal for those on restricted diets or who are gluten-intolerant.
Rye – the type of fiber in rye promotes a rapid feeling of fullness, making rye a good choice for people trying to lose weight.
Spelt– spelt can be used in place of wheat in most recipes and is higher in protein.
Wheat– this grain has come to dominate the market because its gluten allows bakers to create satisfying risen breads.
Wild Rice– technically not rice, but the seed of an aquatic grass. Wild rice has twice the protein and fiber of brown rice, but less iron and calcium.
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According to wholegrain.com, a Web site created by the Grains Institute which is part of the food science and nutrition department at the University of Minnesota, “fewer than 7 percent of Americans get the three recommended servings daily.” The UM site adds that the average American eats one serving of whole grains a day, while more than 30 percent of us are chugging along with a big goose egg to our credit. “My family started out with brown rice and whole grain breads in the ’60s,” said Elizabeth Barnes of Tucson, Arizona. “Then in the 1990s the whole wheat tortillas started to come on the market so we pretty much left the world of white stuff behind. It’s frustrating, though, because even at stores that cater to health-minded types, artisan breads and pastas are still heavily weighted toward the white flour scene. There’s only one 100 percent whole grain bread out of dozens where I shop. But I guess all that paste is like sugar – once people get strung out on it, it’s tough to say ‘adios.’” Barnes says that although she’s suffered her share of “granola jokes,” her family’s health has had the last laugh and the family’s physician regularly marvels at the test results of their blood work. “We were really just ahead of the times. Now you hear it everywhere,” she said. “But the idea that we humans can polish off the nutrition and not pay a price always was folly in my mind once I started thinking about it.”
Still, Barnes concedes that making the change took some doing. “One thing I did to help sell my family on the idea was making chocolate chip oatmeal cookies with whole wheat pastry flour.” She laughs. “Add sugar to most anything, and voila!” “It was hard for us to quit white flour tortillas, though, and for a while I bought both kinds. But after a few months, our palates grew more refined I guess, and we got so we much preferred the whole wheat. The last time I chomped down on a white tortilla it was like a big wad of dough in my mouth. So my rule of thumb these days is that if you can press it together into a softball, it’s better to play with than consume. I mean we are talking about the stuff of life.” Pundits in the world of health agree. Heart Health – How Whole Grains Help
Professor of medicine and clinical nutrition at the University of Kentucky and leading researcher on whole grains, James W. Anderson, M.D. “systematically reviewed the literature for the past 20 years evaluating dietary fiber and coronary heart disease.” His study prompted Anderson to conclude that, “Foods that are rich in dietary fiber, including fruits, vegetables, legumes, and whole grain cereals, also tend to be a rich source of vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals, antioxidants, and other micronutrients. Each of these factors may be independently contributing to the cardiovascular protective effects of fiber-rich foods.”
Anderson allows for the idea that it is difficult to isolate whole grains from other healthy eating patterns. Indeed, in a 2004 editorial for the American Society for Clinical Nutrition, he wrote “It may be very difficult to discern the effect of small intakes of soyfoods, fish or nuts.
“Nevertheless, the take-home message is that consumption of generous amounts of whole grains, cereal fiber, total fiber, fruit or vegetables decreases the risk of coronary heart disease 30 percent or more, irrespective of other lifestyle behaviors,” Anderson continued. “These observations encourage us to recommend that three or more servings of whole grains be consumed daily.”
Anderson is joined by others concerned about the current health and dietary habits of Americans. "When you eat whole grains, you get more fiber and more micronutrients like folic acid, magnesium and vitamin E," said chair of the nutritional department at the Harvard School of Public Health, Walter Willett, Ph.D., "It may be almost impossible to isolate the pieces of the puzzle."
Oldways Preservation Trust and the Whole Grains Council concur, and their literature points out that, “Most people mistakenly believe that enriching white flour brings the level of nutrients back to that of whole grain flour.”
Not so, demonstrated a graph the two groups constructed jointly. “Enriching wheat flour adds back five of the [19] nutrients in amounts different from their levels in whole grain flour.” The other nutrients range from 7 to 48 percent of their original totals. More, Oldways and the Whole Grains Council noted that “While the example focuses on wheat, the most widely-consumed grain in the United States, other grains also lose a good part of their nutrients when refined by removal of bran and germ.”
They continue with the observation that, “It’s also important to keep in mind that the nutrients listed do not include all the different antioxidants and phytonutrients thought to contribute to the health benefits of whole grains.”
The Grains Institute folks at the University of Minnesota agrees; "We know that whole grains are better than refined grains because of fiber, vitamins and minerals," said researcher Joanne Slavin, Ph.D. of the University of Minnesota. "Like fruits and vegetables, it's the package of nutrients that may be important."
Getting Whole Grains to Three
Since the organization’s inception in the early ’90s, the progressive people at Oldways Preservation Trust have been working to stem America’s deterioration into what founder K. Dun Gifford calls "technofood." Gifford takes justifiable pride in the idea that when they first began their olive oil campaign, the golden elixir was rarely found on American tables.
“We consider that a great victory,” said Gifford. “Now we want to do the same with whole grains. That’s why we organized the Whole Grains Council to move ahead with the whole grains stamp and the ‘getting whole grains to three a day’ program.”
The whole grains stamp is an easily recognizable label that the Whole Grains Council issued in April of 2005. It has three designations: A “good” rating for products containing half servings of whole grains, an “excellent” rating for those that have full servings of whole grains, and a 100 percent or best notation for things made from exclusively whole grains. So far, more than 50 companies have adopted the stamp for use on their packaging from Mama Lupe’s Tortillas, to the Quaker Oats Company, to Snyders of Hanover, the folks who make pretzels and tortilla chips.
The “getting whole grains to three” campaign is also currently under way and most recently infused with ideas from a January 2006 conference sponsored by the Whole Grains Council and Oldways.
If anything, what comes through over and again from Dr. Anderson’s studies to the Whole Grains Council’s efforts, is that when informed, people will tend to make better choices. Clearly that’s a hopeful prognosis – one that shows that if given half a chance, the American people are full of heart.
