In recent years, carbohydrate-rich foods like bread and pasta have developed a bad reputation in the world of nutrition for their caloric density and lack of nutritional content. This reputation has been made even worse by the fact that most of those foods contain gluten, a protein found in some grains which many peoples’ bodies don’t tolerate. Overall, these trends have caused people to turn away from these foods, as well as their major ingredients: grains!
While foods derived from grains like white bread, cakes, and cookies are not healthy choices, it isn’t because grains themselves are unhealthy! It’s the intensive processing of grain (which removes nutrients) and addition of refined sugars that cause most common carbohydrate foods to be bad for our health.
On many occasions, I have limited my consumption of grains in attempt to make healthy choices, but it is important to remember that not all grains are created equal. In fact, unprocessed, whole grains have been a central element of the human diet since early civilization.
Whole grains contain iron, dietary fibre, and B vitamins and are a satisfying and nutritious food to include in your diet. Whole grains are digested slowly, allowing the body to keep its blood sugar levels more stable. In contrast, when grains are processed, the nutrients are removed and the starchy carbohydrates are more quickly absorbed by the body, leading to a spike in blood sugar, followed by an inevitable crash. As an excellent source of fibre, whole grains also promote healthy digestive habits.
What is the best way to add whole grains to your diet? The answer will require some experimentation to find what works for you. We all have unique digestive systems, gut microbiomes, and immune systems. As they say, one person’s food is another person’s poison. Some options to consider include corn, wheat, whole grain bread, buckwheat, millet, oats, whole grain pasta, whole grain polenta, risotto, whole grain noodles, rice, barley, sorghum, whole grain couscous, teff, kamut, spelt, bulgur, amaranth, and quinoa.
If you’re curious what I do, I soak my grains for eight hours to soften, increase digestibility, and reduce phytic acid, which is naturally found in grains and may reduce absorption of iron, zinc, and calcium and promote mineral deficiencies. Then I drain the grains and discard the soaking water.
Brown rice and quinoa are my two go to grains. They are packed with nutrition and fibre, B vitamins, minerals, and protein. Brown rice is a good source of fibre and has been shown to support a healthy body mass index (BMI) and help reduce the risk of cancer. Quinoa cooks the fastest of all the grains. While it’s technically a seed, it is usually grouped as a grain and is also cooked in a similar way. 1 cup of cooked quinoa contains 8 grams of protein.
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