Re: What is so great about grains?

x-no-archive: yes

wouldntyouliketoknow wrote:
I am not in the medical or nutritional field at all (I am a psychologist by trade but I have a basic layman's knowledge of the components of good nutrition). I am enquiring why it is important to eat grains, by which I mean cereal-based foods. I am studying informally the components of a complete diet reading texts on the net, but I can't seem to find what is unique at all about grains - in other words, what do they have that cannot be obtained elsewhere?

Nothing.

The reason I ask is because I personally find them rather too filling and bloating - especially when cooked in cakes, breads, crackers - I usually avoid those like the plague. A small portion of cooked brown rice in my salad does not have that effect, I find. Also, I do drink the many flavored rice milks (carob, vanilla, etc) so I am obviously consuming them to a small degree, and I also eat Ryvita crackers a few times a day (rye), which I find easy on digestion and producing a light rather than full feeling afterward.

However, most descriptions on the nutritional websites discuss grains from the perspective of fiber - well obviously one can get tons of fiber in fruits and vegetables and nuts (thus, not counting grains) - especially when like me one eats a lot of salads that contain numerous vegetables, fruits and nuts in them. In fact, when I look at a list of all the required minerals, vitamins and oils, I find them in abundance in the veggies, fruits and nuts.

I do realize that grains are great for producing sources of energy, and the World Health Organization recommends we eat 55% of our diet in terms of grains, but when I look at the breakdown statistics of carbohydrates in veggies and fruit, I see that they are packed in them too (some more than others, granted).

So that would seem to rule out carbohydrates and fiber (as unique to grains/cereals, that is).

There isn't anything about grains that isn't inferior to veggies as a source of nutrients and/or fiber, unless you really need to load up on calories cheaply.

Susan
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Iron
    ... eating junk all day every day. ... grains and dairy and possibly meat. ... glycemic index carbs like fruits and veggies, ... eating issues from overeating to refusal to eat. ...
    (misc.kids)
  • Re: What is so great about grains?
    ... One of the most significant problems with grains, ... eat grains, by which I mean cereal-based foods. ... fruits and nuts in them. ...
    (sci.med.nutrition)
  • Re: One hump or two?
    ... Do the people that eat dates for "easier toilet going", ... other fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and beans? ... Apres WW2 food was hard,,,,,i remember being hungry. ...
    (rec.crafts.textiles.yarn)
  • Re: Grains at the root of NIDDM and the diseases of civilization
    ... or that those on low fat do not eat broccoli and other veggies. ... a diet anyone would say is healthy. ... SAY whole grains, but then provide diet examples that have no whole grains ...
    (alt.support.diabetes)
  • Re: Grains at the root of NIDDM and the diseases of civilization
    ... or that those on low fat do not eat broccoli and other veggies. ... And that brings up a very good point, in that I think eating large doses of fresh produce is much more important to health overall than the macronutrient content of the diet. ... studies were done on whole grains, but are used to justify selling products made from milled grains. ...
    (alt.support.diabetes)