Get to Know Grains: Why You Need Them, 和 What to Look For

Whole Grain Cracker Whole Grains 和 Fiber

全谷物 — a key feature of the 美国心脏协会’s dietary recommendations — can help you be healthy. 全谷物 lower your risk for heart disease 和中风, support healthy digestion 和 reduce risk for diabetes.

全谷物和精制谷物

全谷物 contain the entire grain, which is made up of bran, germ 和 endosperm.
精制谷物 have been milled (ground into flour or meal) in a way that removes the bran 和 germ. This gives them a finer texture 和 improves their shelf life but strips the grain of important nutrients you need, 包括B族维生素, 铁和膳食纤维. Examples include white flour, white pasta, 和 white rice. 精制谷物通常都是富含营养的. This means some of the B vitamins 和铁 are added back, or enriched, after processing. While that’s good, fiber might not be added back.

为什么我们需要全谷物

Many whole grains are good sources of dietary fiber, which we all need. Most refined grains contain little or no fiber.
Dietary fiber can help improve blood cholesterol levels 和 lower your risk of heart disease, 中风, 肥胖甚至2型糖尿病.
如果你想减肥, 纤维能让你有饱腹感, which means you’ll be satisfied with fewer calories.
Grains provide nutrients such as thiamin (vitamin B1), 核黄素(维生素B2), 烟酸(维生素B3), 叶酸(维生素B9), 铁, 镁和硒. These are all important for a variety of body functions such as forming new cells, 在血液中携带氧气的, regulating the thyroid 和 maintaining a healthy immune system.

如何辨别粗粮

Do you think you can identify whole grains by color? 再想想. 面包, 例如, can be brown because of molasses or other ingredients, not necessarily because it contains whole grains. This is why it’s so important to get into the habit of reading 营养成分标签. 对于大多数全谷物食品, you’ll see the words “whole” or “whole grain” first on the ingredient list.

以下是一些全麦食品:

苋属植物
大麦
糙米
荞麦
碾碎的干
玉米
Farro
小米
燕麦片
燕麦(轧燕麦或钢切燕麦)
爆米花
藜麦
高粱
拼写
画眉草
全麦面包
全麦面食
野生稻

你吃够了吗??

The AHA recommends choosing whole grains 和 products that contain at least 51% whole versus refined grains. Adding whole grains instead of refined grains is part of an 整体健康饮食模式. Try to get in three fiber-rich whole-grains every day. Be sure to include a variety of whole grains in your weekly eating plan.

Examples of a serving size of whole grains:

1 slice whole-grain bread (such as 100% whole-wheat bread)
1 cup ready-to-eat, whole-grain cereal
1⁄2 cup cooked whole-grain cereal, such as oatmeal, brown rice or whole-wheat pasta
5全麦饼干
3杯无盐爆米花
16英寸的全麦玉米饼