Whole Grains for Healthy Eating

What Are Whole Grains?

Adding more whole grains to your diet for healthy eating will benefit you in many ways. I'm sure you've heard that you should eat more whole grains, but what are they, how much should you eat, and where can you easily get them? Eating at least three or more one-ounce equivalents of whole grains daily can reduce the risk of many diseases and help you achieve a healthy diet. Whole grains are hearty, healthy, and tasty. If you are earnest about seeking optimal health, whole grains provide a one-stop source for nutrients, antioxidants and phytochemicals vital to your well-being.

Whole grains are the entire seed (or kernel) of the plant. A single seed of grain contains three distinct parts: the bran, the endosperm and germ. If all three parts of the grain are included, the food is considered a whole grain.

• Bran. The outer seed layer: full of fiber, B vitamins, 50 percent to 80 percent of the grain's minerals, plus other health-promoting plant substances called phytochemicals.
• Germ. The inner embryo: full of B vitamins, vitamin E, trace minerals and small amounts of healthful unsaturated fats, phytochemicals and antioxidants.
• Endosperm. The starchy middle: contains carbohydrates, some protein and smaller amounts of B vitamins.These whole grains are ground, cracked, or flaked kernel, which includes the bran, the germ, and the inner most part of the kernel (the endosperm).

Some examples of whole grains include whole wheat, oatmeal, Corn (including whole cornmeal and popcorn), Brown Rice, Wild Rice, whole-grain Barley, whole Rye, Amaranth, Millet, Quinoa, and Buckwheat.

 Health Benefits of Whole Grains

Medical evidence has clearly proven that eating whole grains on a regular basis reduces the risks of heart disease, stroke, cancer and diabetes. Regularly eating whole grains reduces your risk of obesity, as measured by body mass index and waist-to-hip ratios, and will also lower your cholesterol levels. Few foods can offer such diverse health benefits. Whole grains also contain valuable phytochemicals and antioxidants. Eating only three daily servings of whole grains have been shown to reduce their risk of heart disease by 25-36%, stroke by 37%, Type II diabetes by 21-27%, digestive system cancers by 21-43%, and hormone-related cancers by 10-40%.

Eating the right types and amounts of whole grains can:

• Lower triglycerides
• Lower blood pressure
• Improve insulin control
• Ease constipation and other digestive disorders
• Help with weight management
• Slow the buildup of plaque in your arteries

How do I identify Whole Grains?

The ingredient list on a food label shows ingredients in the order of the most abundant by weight. When selecting products that contain whole grains, look for those that show whole grains listed first on the ingredient list. For products such as bread or pasta to be labeled whole grain, the grain can be ground, cracked, or flaked, but it must retain the same proportions of bran, germ, and endosperm. Any label that says 100% whole grain is the best product you can buy. It is really easy and fun to get three servings of whole grains a day and they are a great filler for meats.

Examples of one whole grain serving include:

• 1/2 cup cooked brown rice or other cooked grain
• 1/2 cup cooked 100% whole-grain pasta
• 1/2 cup cooked hot cereal, such as oatmeal
• 1 ounce uncooked whole grain pasta, brown rice or other grain
• 1 slice 100% whole grain bread
• 1 very small (1 oz.) 100% whole grain muffin
• 1 cup 100% whole grain ready-to-eat cereal

Here are more easy ways to incorporate whole grains into your daily diet:

• Substitute half the white flour with whole wheat flour in your regular recipes for cookies, muffins, quick breads and pancakes or add up to 20% of another whole grain flour such as quinoa or amaranth.
• Replace one third of the flour in a recipe with quick oats or old-fashioned oats.
• Add half a cup of cooked bulgur, wild rice, or barley to stuffings.
• Add half a cup of cooked wheat or rye berries, wild rice, brown rice, bulgur or barley to your favorite canned or home-made soup.
• Use whole corn meal for corn cakes, corn breads and corn muffins.
• Add three-quarters of a cup of uncooked oats for each pound of ground beef or turkey when you make meatballs, burgers or meatloaf.
• Stir a handful of oats in your yogurt, for quick crunch with no cooking necessary.

Start adding whole grains to your diet on a daily basis and reap the health benefits of whole grains.

Berries Help the Brain Stay Healthy

Scientists today reported the first evidence that eating blueberries, strawberries, and acai berries may help the aging brain stay healthy in a crucial but previously unrecognized way. Read More Here

Lack of Healthy Eating Habits can lead to Digestive Problems

Is your lack of healthy eating habits causing intestinal discomfort and leading you to poor health?

 Do you ever have a bloating feeling in your stomach or annoying gas and pain that give you discomfort? There are many causes of these symptoms and they should be a red flag to you that you need to monitor your eating habits and change those eating habits. Antacid tablets are not the answer, they only treat the symptoms, and you need to attack the cause, which is your bad eating habits

Here are a few quick tips you can follow to improve your digestion and start eating healthier:

Chew your food well. Start with the practice of chewing each bite of food 30 times. It may seem excessive at first but, saliva starts the process of digestion in your mouth and chewing well mixes the saliva with the food so it gets a start before it gets to your stomach.

One of the causes of bloating and indigestion is excess stomach acid which is partially caused by your stomach working overtime trying to digest large pieces of food. Chewing your food well necessitates slowing down and taking your time when you eat.

Do what I call “eating mindfully”. Eating mindfully is planning enough time for your meal so you are not eating in a rush. Sit down, relax, and enjoy your food. Chew each bite thoroughly, paying attention to the colors, flavors and textures of what you are eating. For some, this may be a difficult task, but you need to do it until it becomes a habit. It takes 21 days of doing something before it becomes a habit but once it does, you never have to think about it again, it will be just like walking or driving a car.

You will receive several benefits from this new habit of chewing your food well:


1) You will get enjoyment from eating, actually tasting and enjoying your food.
2) In our fast-paced lives we all need habits of slowing down during the day. Stopping yourself and slowing things down several times a day will allow you to re-energize and re-focus.
3) You will have a healthier digestive system which will lead to better long term overall health. A lot of disease starts with the foods you eat and your digestion system.
4) You will have more energy because digestion takes a lot of energy especially when your food is not well chewed.

Eat foods that are rich in fiber. Fiber flushes bad toxins out of your body, absorbs and flushes out fat, and helps keep your intestines clear of buildup. Think of fiber as scrubbers that clean the insides of your intestines keeping them clean of buildup. Good fiber foods are whole grains, fresh fruit, dried fruit, nuts, seeds, legumes and vegetables. Eating plenty of these foods will keep you “regular” and regularity is a key indicator of intestinal health. Here are a few more tips to aid you in maintaining your digestive health:


· Avoid processed food, fatty foods and fried foods. Fats are hard to digest and they leave residues in your intestines leading to constipation and other digestion problems.


· Eat smaller more moderate meals 5 times a day. Do not feast for each meal, eat just enough to fill your stomach for the next several hours. Smaller, well chewed meals will keep your stomach acid at a good level and you will avoid over-working your digestive system.


· An easy habit to start is to plan your daily snacks ahead of time. Eating light snacks of dried fruit, nuts or whole wheat biscuits in between meals will get you in the habit of eating healthier, fiber rich foods and you will not reach for the easy processed snacks


· Drink plenty of Water. Water is essential to good digestion and it is essential your overall well being. Water helps flush toxins out of the body through urination and is critical to the health of every cell in the body especially your brain cells. Since our bodies are made up of about 70% water, staying fully hydrated is key to maintaining good health. By the time you feel thirsty, you are already in a state of mild dehydration. You should aim at drinking one eight ounce glass of water every hour of the day.

Remember, poor digestive health is a sign of poor overall health, so follow these simple steps to better digestive health.

Breakfast: The most important meal of the day?

What role does breakfast play in healthy eating and a healthy diet?

Mom was right, as scientific research is now affirming, when she told us, "Breakfast is the most important meal of the day." Researchers from the National Weight Control Registry, a database of more than 3000 people who have lost at least 60 pounds and kept it off for an average of six years, found that eating breakfast every day was a weight control strategy for 78% of the people in the registry.
The word breakfast simply means to break the fast our bodies have been on since we ate the night before. When you get up in the morning your blood sugar and metabolic rate are low which means there is no glucose in your body for energy. Glucose is the main source of you body's energy and is required to fuel the muscles for physical activity throughout the day.

When you eat breakfast your metabolic rate increases and your blood glucose levels rise. The boost in your metabolism from eating breakfast signals your body to burn fat and calories giving you the energy you need for better performance. When, after not eating for 10-12 hours, you skip breakfast, your body thinks it is being starved and goes into energy conservation mode, slowing down your metabolism and storing fat. Eating a healthy, balanced breakfast will help you maintain your normal healthy body weight, give you energy for your day and insure long-term health and vitality.


When you skip a meal your metabolism slows down to conserve your energy. The reason most "diet" plans do not work is because of what I call the "Diet Metabolic Cycle." Most diet plans have you losing a lot weight right away so you feel that they are working. When you lose weight too fast, after a few days, your body quits because it thinks it is threatened with starvation and goes into survival mode. It fights to conserve fat stores, and any measurable weight loss is mostly due to the elimination of water and muscle tissue. The result is that you have to keep eating less and less to keep losing weight. You then become discouraged, give up, and start eating like you used to. But now, because of the diet metabolic cycle, you have a slower metabolic rate and you are burning less fuel so you regain all the weight you lost, plus some!


When choosing a healthy breakfast, always include a variety of foods. A complete breakfast should have some whole grains, some lean protein and some fresh fruit. Whole grains can include wholegrain breads and breakfast cereals, wheat germ, amaranth, quinoa and oatmeal. Whole grains will provide fiber, are rich in B-vitamins and digest slowly releasing glucose slowly through the day to keep blood sugar levels steady. Lean protein can come from dairy like yogurt, low-fat/no-fat milk, cheese, eggs, lean meat, legumes, nuts, or peanut butter, and your super whole grains like quinoa and amaranth. I always try to get in two servings of fruit for breakfast for a quick energy boost. Stay away from high fat and high sugar for breakfast as that will slow you down after a couple of hours.


A traditional breakfast with eggs is a great way to get some high quality protein and may even help with weight loss. In a study presented at the 2007 Experimental Biology meeting, researchers at Pennington Biomedical Research Center compared weight loss of women who ate either two eggs or a bagel for breakfast. The two breakfast meals were identical in calories and volume. "Compared to the bagel eaters, overweight women who ate two eggs for breakfast five times a week for eight weeks as part of a low-fat, reduced-calorie diet, lost 65% more weight, reduced waist circumference by 83%, reported higher energy levels, and had no significant differences in their blood cholesterol or triglyceride levels," reports researcher Nikhil V. Durhanhar, PHD.


You do not need to get on a diet program, purchase special foods or dietary supplements, or use diet pills to succeed at weight loss. In fact, the only intelligent thing to do is to start eating healthy every day starting with breakfast!


Now that you know mom was right, start eating a healthy breakfast every day in her honor!


Change your Diet, Change your Life