Knowing that we need whole grains in our diet is one thing. The other is trying to get it into our diet.
There are lots of articles that talk about the importance of grains in our diet and the health benefits it brings. One of the best we’ve seen is by MA. Glziza Lee’s The Truth About Cereals and Whole Grains.
It not only explains the reasons for adding whole grains to our diet but also provides an understanding of how much we need to get those important health benefits. We particularly like the Physicians’ Heath Study which revealed that eating whole-grain breakfast cereals, seven or more times per week, is associated with a lower risk of heart failure.
- 28 percent for those who ate whole grains seven times a week
- 22 percent for those who ate whole grains two to six times a week
- 14 percent for those who ate whole grains once a week
It further explains that breakfast cereals should contain at least 25 percent oat or bran to be classified as whole-grain cereals.
Does Your Breakfast Cereal Measure Up?
A recent survey by the British Heart Foundation (BHF) found that 9 out of 10 parents questioned misunderstood nutrition labels. The research was carried out on 1454 parents aged between 16-64 years old with kids aged 15 or under through an online survey.
The survey found 76% of parents questioned believed that seeing “wholegrain” on the food label meant that the product was likely to be healthy. Using Nestle’s Honey Shreddies, who claims to “keep your heart healthy and maintain a healthy body”, as an example, the BHF uncovered the that an average serving contains more sugar 13.6g than a doughnut 9.2g.
63% of parents thought a healthy choice was Kellogg’s Coco Pops who claims to be “a source of calcium, iron and six vitamins”. The BHF said that every 100g serving was higher in saturated fat and sugar than the average chocolate cake.
Our advice is to check the food labels. And ignore the marketing hype.
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