Cereals And Wholegrain Foods

Humans have been enjoying grain foods for at least the past 10,000 years. Grain foods, which include cereals, are dietary staples for many cultures around the world. Current research around the world is discovering the many and varied health benefits that cereal foods can offer, particularly in reducing the risk of diseases such as coronary heart disease and breast or colon cancers. Common cereal foods include bread, breakfast cereals, cereal grains (such as oats, rice and barley), crackers, flours and pasta.

Nutritional content of cereals
Cereals provide a rich source of many essential vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals. The typical cereal food is:

• Low in fat

• Cholesterol free

• High in both soluble and insoluble fibre

• An excellent source of carbohydrates

• A significant source of protein

• A good source of vitamins E and B-complex

• A good source of many minerals - such as iron, magnesium, phosphorus and zinc.

A host of protective chemicals:
Wholegrain cereals contain many different phytochemicals that researchers have linked to significant health benefits. These phytochemicals include:

• Lignans - a phytoestrogen that can lower the risk of coronary heart disease, and regress or slow cancers in animals.

• Phytic acid - reduces the glycaemic index of food, which is important for people with diabetes, and helps protect against the development of cancer cells in the colon.

• Saponins, phytosterols, squalene, oryzanol and tocotrienols - have been found to lower blood cholesterol.

• Phenolic compounds - have antioxidant effects.

Coronary heart disease:
Cereal fiber offers greater protection against the risk of heart attack than the fiber from fruits and vegetables. A heart attack is almost always preceded by a condition called coronary heart disease. Over the years, fatty deposits or 'plaques' build up inside one or both of the coronary arteries (atherosclerosis). This constant silting narrows the artery, until a blood clot blocks the passage of blood altogether. Too much blood cholesterol contributes to atherosclerosis. Regularly eating cereals that are rich in soluble fiber, such as oats and phylum, has been found to significantly reduce the amount of cholesterol circulating in the bloodstream. Eating just 3gm of soluble fiber from oat bran lowers the blood cholesterol by as much as two per cent.

Diabetes:
There is evidence that eating foods that are slowly digested and high in soluble fibre might reduce the risk of developing non-insulin dependent diabetes, by reducing the need for large quantities of insulin to be released into the bloodstream. Cereal fibre has been shown to be particularly protective against this condition. It is preferable for diabetics to consume wholegrain cereal products rather than refined cereals, due to the higher glycaemic index of refined cereal products.
 

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