Easy ways to choose whole grains for health
If you are one of the millions of Americans who fall far short of that goal, there are quick and easy ways to eat more whole grains on a daily basis.,” says Susan Nitzke, Cooperative Extension specialist and Professor Emerita at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
The first step is to know a few basic terms. A whole grain food is made from the whole kernel of the wheat berry or other grain. That means the outer bran, the oily germ and the starchy endosperm are all present. In contrast, a refined grain uses only the endosperm part of the grain seed or kernel.
There are lots of nutritious and delicious whole grain choices in breakfast cereals. Read cereal labels and choosing cereals with a whole grain as the first item in the ingredients list. Most whole-grain ingredients have the word “whole” in the name, like “whole wheat” or “whole-grain corn.” Oatmeal and rolled oats are also whole grains.
When you are buying bread for sandwiches or toast, try different whole-grain varieties. Get your family members involved in a taste test of a few different brands and pick the brands you will want to buy most often.
For a healthy whole-grain snack, popcorn fits the bill, especially if it’s made with little or no added salt and butter.
It is easy to be fooled by words that sound like they might be whole grain items on an ingredient label or product name. Terms like “multi-grain,” “stone-ground,” “100% wheat,” “cracked wheat,” “seven-grain,” or “bran” are usually not whole-grain products. Bread and other grain products may look brown due to molasses or food colors, so it is better to use the ingredient list rather than color as a guide when choosing whole grain foods.
Source: Susan Nitzke, UW-Extension, Cooperative Extension and Professor Emerita, University of Wisconsin-Madison
No comments:
Post a Comment