Core Tip: Experts say that the amount of whole grains consumed by people in China is still far from enough. While increasing whole grain intake is a major premise, scientific methods of consumption are also very important. Improper consumption can actually damage your health. Are you eating your whole grains correctly?
"Eating more whole grains is good for your health" is a well-known health concept. Whole grains generally refer to grains like corn, millet, red rice, black rice, purple rice, oats, and buckwheat, as well as miscellaneous beans like mung beans, broad beans, and peas, and tuber plants like sweet potatoes, yams, and potatoes. They are not only nutritious and high in dietary fiber, which promotes regular bowel movements, but can also reduce the risk of hypertension, obesity, and cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases.
In recent years, whole grains have become a common sight on people's dining tables, and many people order whole grain dishes like "Great Harvest" at restaurants. Gift boxes of miscellaneous grains have also become a healthy gift for festivals. However, experts say that the amount of whole grains consumed by people in China is still far from enough. According to recommendations from the World Health Organization and the Chinese Nutrition Society, normal adults should consume 25-30 grams of dietary fiber daily. In real life, however, people can only intake about 10 grams on average. Problems such as constipation and even colon cancer, caused by insufficient dietary fiber intake, are not uncommon. Therefore, eating more whole grains has become an urgent priority for a healthy diet.
Under the major premise of eating more whole grains, scientific methods of consumption are also very important. Once eaten incorrectly, it can instead damage your health. Are you eating your whole grains correctly? A reporter from "Life Times" interviewed Fan Zhihong, an associate professor at the College of Food Science and Nutritional Engineering at China Agricultural University; Xu Yun, chief physician of the Nutrition and Food Hygiene Department of the Beijing Center for Disease Control and Prevention; and Fu Jinru, honorary chairman of the Tianjin Nutrition Society, to remind you of which methods of eating whole grains are not scientific or healthy.
Eating whole grains with every single meal. Some people, having heard that whole grains are good, rarely eat rice and white flour, but instead eat only whole grains for every meal for a long time. This practice is not scientific and may加重 the burden on the gastrointestinal tract, causing problems like bloating and indigestion. Although whole grains are good, they should be consumed in moderation. The Chinese Nutrition Society recommends that whole grains should account for 20%-30% of our daily diet. Relevant institutions in the United States recommend a higher amount, up to about half. Experts suggest eating at least 100 grams of whole grains daily and ensuring at least one meal contains whole grains. After all, people who eat whole grains with every meal are a minority. Only when daily fiber intake exceeds 50 grams will it cause harm to health, so it's difficult for the average person to exceed the recommended amount. A more common problem is that most people in China consume insufficient amounts of whole grains, so they can feel confident eating a bit more.
In addition, attention should be paid to a mix of whole and refined grains. Experts suggest mixing whole grains into staple foods, such as adding millet, brown rice, mung beans, or red beans when steaming rice; adding a handful of oats when cooking congee; or adding a handful of purple rice when making soy milk. This "mix of whole and refined" also tastes better. It's best to vary the whole grains consumed at breakfast, lunch, and dinner. For example, drink whole grain soy milk or congee for breakfast, eat a "mixed" staple food for lunch, and have a digestible whole grain congee for dinner.
Eating too few varieties of whole grains. When it comes to whole grains, the most commonly eaten are millet, corn, and sweet potatoes. If only these few are eaten for a long time, the variety is too monotonous, which can affect nutritional balance. Experts recommend mixing as many ingredients as possible when preparing whole grain foods to enrich the nutrition. For example, eating corn, millet, and soybeans separately is not as nutritious as mixing them in a 1:1:2 ratio, as this can have a complementary effect on proteins. You can incorporate different kinds of whole grains into your three meals. For instance, drink five-grain soy milk (including soybeans, oats, millet, purple rice, etc.) for breakfast, eat a steamed ear of corn for lunch, and eat eight-treasure congee (including red beans, mung beans, brown rice, white rice, etc.) for dinner, which is a good way to mix whole grains.
Adding sugar and oil for better taste. Because whole grains have a coarse texture and are difficult to swallow, many people add a lot of sugar, oil, and starch to improve the taste of whole grain foods. Especially in restaurants and supermarkets, whole grain foods are often pan-fried, or use edible alkali and baking powder to create a porous effect, use refined white flour and starch to enhance a smooth texture, and use sugar to improve the flavor. These processing methods greatly reduce the nutritional value of whole grains. For example, fried cornbread will absorb a large amount of fat, and its unsaturated fatty acids, vitamins, and other nutrients will also be lost. The healthiest way to prepare whole grains is to steam them. You can mix grains and miscellaneous beans in a 3:1 or 2:1 ratio, soak them overnight, and then steam them for 10-20 minutes. The steamed whole grains can be mixed with rice to cook, or you can add goji berries and walnuts to make a congee. Using a soy milk maker to blend whole grains into a paste is also a good method, especially suitable for breakfast and a late-night snack. You can also eat whole grains as a vegetable dish. For example, add some mung beans when stewing pork ribs in the summer for a refreshing and delicious flavor; add some barley when stewing bone soup in the winter to aid digestion and add flavor; five-spiced boiled broad beans are a great side dish with alcohol; peas and broad beans, cooked until soft and seasoned with salt and tomato sauce, are also a good breakfast. Experts remind that if you eat bean-based whole grains, you should reduce your staple food intake accordingly to prevent excessive consumption of starchy foods leading to obesity.
Pairing whole grains with only vegetarian dishes. Many people think that eating whole grains is for better health, so they often pair them only with vegetarian dishes, believing that this will reduce fat intake and make things even better. This is not actually the case. If you want to ensure good nutrition, the best partners for whole grains are meat and eggs. One drawback of whole grains is that their phytic acid and tannins may hinder the absorption of trace elements like iron and zinc. Choosing meat as a partner for whole grains can make up for this deficiency. Because meat, especially red meat, is an important carrier of iron, zinc, and other mineral elements. Choosing eggs as another good partner for whole grains is based on the consideration that the combination of the two can ensure adequate protein intake. Therefore, when eating whole grains, it's best to pair them with a moderate amount of meat and eggs.
Eating whole grains without considering the individual's age or physical condition. Basically, everyone is suitable to eat more whole grains, but the elderly and children need to be a bit more careful. The gastrointestinal function of the elderly and children is weaker, and eating too many whole grains can easily cause bloating and indigestion. For them, it's best not to eat too much whole grain at once and to prepare them in a "refined" way to aid digestion. Making congee is the most convenient way to do this. You can cook millet and rice together into a two-grain congee; millet flour pancakes and millet flour steamed buns are also good choices; you can also make a steamed cake by adding cornmeal to flour, or cook a nutritious and delicious cornmeal porridge with cornmeal, winter melon cubes, peanuts, and lean meat cubes. In addition, experts remind that you should choose whole grains according to your own physical condition. For example, people with poor gastrointestinal function can eat congee made from millet, yellow millet, and brown rice, which is easier to digest; people with high blood sugar, high blood lipids, or obesity are suitable for eating oats and beans; anemic people are suitable for eating millet and black rice, which is beneficial for iron supplementation. Because whole grains contain more cellulose, sufficient water is needed to ensure normal digestion in the gastrointestinal tract. Generally speaking, for every extra double of cellulose you eat, you should drink an extra double of water. So after eating whole grains, drink two more glasses of water, preferably one hour after the meal.
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