Protecting Your Heart With Whole Grains

The thought of heart disease prompts you to control the fat content of your diet. Once you know that your heart is under stress, the first step is to cut down the total fat intake. Most of us are aware that fat affects the health of the heart but do you know that the same stands true for whole cereals as well? Whole cereals if incorporated properly in the diet provide protection to your heart.

What are whole cereals?

In simple terms, whole grain is the edible part of any grain. The edible part may be the inner layer (the germ), the middle layer (endosperm) and the outer layer (bran) intact. Wheat, corn, rice, oats are some of the examples of whole grains. Increased intake of bread, pasta, and breakfast cereals can result in increased intake of whole grains. The cereals from which the outer layer or the bran and most of the germ is removed are the refined cereals. Maida or white flour is a refined cereal produced from whole wheat after removing most of the germ and the bran.

Advantages of whole cereals

There are certain great reasons to have a good intake of whole cereals.

• Whole cereals are very low in fat.
• They are a very good source of dietary fibre, proteins, vitamins, minerals and provide most of the energy required by the body.
• Whole cereals need not be eaten as supplements; they can be incorporated easily into a variety of daily eaten foods such as salads.

Whole cereals are heart health

Whole grains are rich in dietary fibre, vitamins and minerals and these are the key to a heart healthy diet. Fibre has been shown to have a cholesterol lowering effect. The fibre forms a gel in the intestine, which results in the binding of bile acids, an important ingredient among the juices in the body. When an insufficient amount of bile acids reach the liver, the liver converts the cholesterol present into bile acids, there by reducing the cholesterol levels. Minerals such as magnesium present in the cereals play an important role in reducing the incidence of heart disease. A low intake of magnesium has been linked to high blood pressure and heart attacks.

Increasing the intake of whole grains

As per the dietary recommendations at least 10 servings of cereals should be taken every day. A majority of these should be the whole grain variety. The following tips can help you to incorporate whole grain cereals in your daily diet.

• In the ingredients list of any food, check for the whole grain. The ingredients are listed in the order of their importance in the production of food. So if the first ingredient is a whole cereal you are taking in a good serving.
• Do not confuse whole cereals with brown colour. The brown colour of a food is due to the caramel and not the whole grain, unless specified.
• Substitute half of the white flour with wheat flour in recipes that call for the use of white flour.
• Start the day with a good serving of whole grain cereal such as oats or cracked wheat.
• Go in for whole wheat bread instead of white bread.

Whole grain cereals can help you in protecting your heart. A slight modification of your diet can help you to improve your intake and stay healthy.