Cereal products (cereals, pasta, bread) are one of the components of a balanced diet. However, these products are different: made from whole or processed grain. To get the maximum health benefits, you should give preference to whole grain products.
The processing process deprives grain products of a significant part of valuable substances: dietary fibers, microelements and vitamins, antioxidants.
Eating whole grains helps reduce the risk of certain diseases, including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, obesity, and some types of cancer.
The less processed a product is, the more benefits it retains.
How many whole grain products should be eaten per day?
According to the rule of a healthy plate, a quarter of the diet should be grain products. At least half of these products should be from whole grains.
Дітей також важливо привчати до цільнозернових продуктів та круп. Навіть для малюків 1–2 років рекомендовано, щоб кількість цільнозернових продуктів у раціоні переважала над кількістю оброблених.
Pay attention to the labels: choose whole grain products and minimally processed cereals.
• Eat buckwheat and millet more often: they have a lot of useful minerals. However, do not limit yourself only to them.
• Make a list of the grains you eat and find out if they contain whole grains or only processed grains, then look for processed substitutes. For example, you can replace white rice with brown rice, try rolled or whole oatmeal instead of oatmeal for breakfast.
• Choose bread or loaves with a high content of whole grains.
• Use whole-wheat flour or a mixture of white and whole-wheat flour in baking. Experiment with cereals that were not in your diet before. It can be barley, pearl barley, wheat, amaranth, millet, bulgur, buckwheat.
• Switch to whole grain products gradually, you should not do it in one day. You don't have to completely cut out processed grains, but try to include as many whole grains as possible in your diet.
Habits, including food, formed in childhood, turn into a lifestyle in adulthood. The sooner a child learns to eat a balanced diet and adjusts his relationship with food, the more benefits for his health throughout his life.