Whole Grains

What are whole grains anyway…..


Whole grains are foods that contain the entire kernel or grain, or the entire kernel that is edible. Some examples are oatmeal, whole cornmeal, popcorn, brown rice, whole rye, barley, quinoa, spelt.

When grains are refined, much of the nutritional value is lost by removing the kernel. Whole grains are more wholesome and you have a better chance of getting the vitamins, minerals, folic acid, magnesium, vitamin E, antioxidants, and other unknown factors that you lose when grains are refined.

Another important factor - you get much more fiber in your diet when you eat whole grains; and the more fiber you eat the easier it is to off-load excess estrogens from your system. The fiber content varies from grain to grain, ranging from 3.5% in rice to over 15% in barley and bulgur.

Easy ways to add more whole grains:

You can easily add whole grains to your meals. Try some of the following:

• Add half a cup of cooked bulgur, wild rice, or barley to bread stuffing, or stuffed vegetables etc.
• Add half a cup of cooked wild rice, brown rice, sorghum or barley to your favorite home-made soup.
• Use whole corn meal for corn cakes, corn breads and corn muffins.
• Make risottos, pilafs and other rice-like dishes with whole grains such as barley, brown rice, bulgur, millet, quinoa or sorghum.
• Enjoy whole grain salads like tabbouleh, rice salad, whole grain wheat free pasta salads etc.
• Look for cereals made with grains like kamut, kasha (buckwheat) or grano.