Whole Grains

Whole grains would include, wheat, millet, quinoa, oats, barley, rice and maize(corn). Wheat is very well known in the west. Millet is available in mainly two different varieties, one is pearl millet, yellowish white in color,and the other brown variety (kodo millet) which is known as sorghum or ragi in India. Both are produced mainly in Asian and African countries as the grass from which they come from need only little water and grows in dry lands. Quinoa is of South American origin and has come to be recognized as a healthy food. The UN General Assembly has even declared 2013 as the "International Year of Quinoa" in recognition of the Andean people who have preserved the healthy grain for the present and future generations. Organically grown red and white quinoa is readily available in super markets and health food stores. Oats is well recognized as a health food in reducing LDL, the bad cholesterol. Rolled oats, steel cut oats, oat groats can be included in our diet to reap the health benefits. Barley is a cereal grain, which is also used extensively. It is used in soups and bread.

Rice is the staple food many Asian countries and is the second largest grain produced world-wide. We have a variety of them from white to black and other colors in between. Due to arsenic content in both white or brown rice produced in US due to the soil, it is better to resort to black rice which is known as purple rice (which when cooked turns purple), which has very good health benefits. Rice produced in India and Thailand have the least arsenic content. Studies show that black and red rice have pigments which help retard heart diseases. Parboiled rice is found to have the same good properties like brown rice. Brown rice in moderation should be all right. Wild rice harvested from a grass, which are grown wild and also domesticated, is known to have real health benefits. While cooking rice, it is a good plan to cook a mixture of rice varieties, like white basmati rice, red rice, black rice and wild rice.

Corn or maize is center of a great debate over genetically modified issue. Due a large production of maize, approximately 85%, in such GM (genetically modified) method, it is advisable to use only corn produced under organic conditions. Our health will surely be affected if we use any gm products. Although the producers claim that to be safe, lot of research proves otherwise. Naturally produced grains, fruits and vegetables are the ones that we should be consuming for good health.

To maintain good health, a good eating plan should be in place. Without proper eating, which will include what we eat, when we eat and why we should not eat certain foods, we will head for a health disaster. But once we get into a plan of action to eat right, we will well be on our road to good recovery and maintaining of our physical health.

There are so many plans and diet schemes around. But the one that stands out, which will give the maximum benefit to our health is one based on more consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables, with reduced intake of meat dishes. Along with fruits and vegetables, we should also take as many whole grain products as well. Adding beans of various types will fortify our bodily health.