KTK-Nutrition

Watching your carbs?   Who hasn’t heard people who say, “I am watching my carbs.”?   Well, you should “watch your carbs” to make sure you are getting whole grains in your diet every day.   Most Americans are getting enough grains in their diet, but not enough whole grains. The Whole Grains Council lists many benefits of eating whole grains. Reduce your risk for many diseases.   Eating whole grains can reduce your risk of: o    Stroke by 30-36% o    Type 2 diabetes by 21-30% o    Heart disease by 25-28%                 And, contrary to public opinion, whole grains can make maintaining your weight easier. The American Heart Association in articles in Circulation , noted replacing refined grains like white bread with whole grains like whole wheat bread and whole grain cereals lowered one’s risk of heart disease ( Replace refined grains with whole gr...

So many people “avoid carbs” and avoid grains.   The latest diet craze is to go low carb.  Is that the healthiest choice for a longer life?  Are some carbs healthy?   Absolutely.    If you are watching carbs, you should watch to see you add whole grain carbs to your diet.   Whole grains aren’t carbs to avoid but to add to your diet.   A recent Harvard study on Whole Grains found that people who ate whole grains lowered their risk of heart disease.   How much whole grains did they eat to lower their risk of heart disease?   The more they ate they lower the risk 5% lower risk of heart disease for those eating 1 ounce a day (1 slice of whole wheat bread) 8% lower risk for those who replaced one serving of refined grains with one serving of whole grains every day   20% lower if a serving of red meat was replaced by whole grains Whole grains contain all parts of the grain including the bran.   The bran is rich in B vit...

It is amazing how many people have no idea what a whole grain is and what foods are whole grain and which are just refined grains.   To have a healthy diet, one needs whole grains in their diet, yet so many people have no idea what that means.    I was presenting at a high school class while the students ate their lunches.   All the students said they ate whole grains.   When I asked them what on their lunch tray was whole grain they pointed to the white roll, the breading on their fried chicken, the mashed potatoes.   Of course, none of these foods are whole grain.  Fortunately, I was there to help them learn what whole grains were.     I’ve asked many adults what whole grain bread is and they respond, if the bread is dark in color, any brown at all, it is whole grain.   Not true. What is whole grain?   To be whole grain, the food needs to contain 100% of all parts of the grain seed including the bran, endosperm and germ. ...