Superfoods part 21
Welcome to our health & self help blog. In it we post health commentary & reviews of books, eBooks, & other things that improve or protect your health or which enable you to live longer, to be more prosperous, & to be more effective.
Today’s post: Monday, 5-15-2006
Superfoods & Honor Roll Foods, part 21
Whole Wheat, Wheat Germ, & Buckwheat.
It’s far too little known:
Because of its higher glycemic index; its lack of fiber, its reduced nutrients, & because it far too often has been in foods with added transfats (partially hydrogenated oils), added sugars, & added high fructose corn syrup --
people who eat a lot of refined wheat flour & other refined grains, tend to be fat & less healthy, due mostly to experiencing a higher rate of type II diabetes & cardiovascular disease than people who do not or who eat only whole grain foods.
But people who eat whole grains only & eat them in moderation tend to enjoy robust health & have far fewer health problems.
In addition, people who get the majority of their protein from plant sources like beans & lentils, and nuts (like almonds & walnuts), & from some whole grains, are far healthier than people who eat some kind of meat or cheese at every meal, three times a day.
A diet with lots of fruits & vegetables, extra virgin olive oil, & the vast majority of its protein from plant sources tends to create low blood levels of LDL cholesterol & of homocysteine. And, it has mega-doses of antioxidants & other vitamins, minerals, & micronutrients that protect your health.
This is critical for your health -- since high levels of LDL cholesterol & homocysteine trigger accelerated aging, heart attacks, strokes, impotence, age related mental decline, & even may trigger Alzheimer’s disease.
Whole Wheat, Wheat Germ, & Buckwheat are three whole grain foods that provide lots of plant protein, B vitamins, fiber, & other nutrients.
Buckwheat is included for people who cannot eat wheat due to allergies & for those who cannot eat or prefer not to eat gluten. (Wheat has lots of gluten.)
Buckwheat groats are a whole grain & can be boiled & eaten in that form. Buckwheat groats are sometimes called & sold under the name: Kasha. Buckwheat is NOT wheat -- & has NO gluten.
And, the gluten-free buckwheat flour from a company called Bob’s Red Mill was reported to me as being reliably gluten free.
(However a miller who processes wheat & buckwheat with the same equipment cannot do what Bob’s Red Mill does since buckwheat flour made that way will have traces of wheat flour & gluten in it.)
The good news is that Whole Wheat, Wheat Germ are superfoods for those who can eat wheat & gluten.
Wheat is unusually high in protein for a plant food.
And, Whole Wheat & Wheat Germ are high in B vitamins, fiber, & other nutrients.
(Important note: “whole wheat flour” as the only wheat flour listed on the label of a bread means that Whole Wheat is all you are getting & that it is Whole Wheat you are getting.
If “wheat flour” is listed as an ingredient at all or is the only what flour listed, you are looking a refined grain product & not looking at one with decent health benefits chances are. My recommendation is to simply never buy such bread or buy it very rarely.)
And the appearance can fool you -- since the baker may add brown coloring to make it look like whole wheat.
Wheat Germ is a superfood & honor roll food – one of the best for people who can eat it.
Since virtually all the nutrients of whole wheat are in it except the starch it’s an unusually rich source of all the B vitamins except B12; it’s very high in protein; it’s high in fiber; & it’s high in natural vitamin E.
And I believe that includes the vitamin E complex including gamma tocopherol, which may help prevent some cancers, notably prostate cancer, according to a report I saw.
In addition, one of the B vitamins in wheat germ is choline. And a serving of wheat germ of only two ounces by volume, 1/4th of a cup, has over 1400 mg of choline according to a source I saw.
Since choline boosts the level of the highly protective HDL’s in your blood & is a precursor to acetyl choline that is essential to thinking & memory, this makes wheat germ a superfood.
In fact, this unusually high choline level alone would qualify wheat germ as a superfood.
(To get this much choline, over 1400 mg, from a lecithin supplement which is sold due to its high choline content, you’d have to take five or six capsules to get that much choline. !!)
Today’s post: Monday, 5-15-2006
Superfoods & Honor Roll Foods, part 21
Whole Wheat, Wheat Germ, & Buckwheat.
It’s far too little known:
Because of its higher glycemic index; its lack of fiber, its reduced nutrients, & because it far too often has been in foods with added transfats (partially hydrogenated oils), added sugars, & added high fructose corn syrup --
people who eat a lot of refined wheat flour & other refined grains, tend to be fat & less healthy, due mostly to experiencing a higher rate of type II diabetes & cardiovascular disease than people who do not or who eat only whole grain foods.
But people who eat whole grains only & eat them in moderation tend to enjoy robust health & have far fewer health problems.
In addition, people who get the majority of their protein from plant sources like beans & lentils, and nuts (like almonds & walnuts), & from some whole grains, are far healthier than people who eat some kind of meat or cheese at every meal, three times a day.
A diet with lots of fruits & vegetables, extra virgin olive oil, & the vast majority of its protein from plant sources tends to create low blood levels of LDL cholesterol & of homocysteine. And, it has mega-doses of antioxidants & other vitamins, minerals, & micronutrients that protect your health.
This is critical for your health -- since high levels of LDL cholesterol & homocysteine trigger accelerated aging, heart attacks, strokes, impotence, age related mental decline, & even may trigger Alzheimer’s disease.
Whole Wheat, Wheat Germ, & Buckwheat are three whole grain foods that provide lots of plant protein, B vitamins, fiber, & other nutrients.
Buckwheat is included for people who cannot eat wheat due to allergies & for those who cannot eat or prefer not to eat gluten. (Wheat has lots of gluten.)
Buckwheat groats are a whole grain & can be boiled & eaten in that form. Buckwheat groats are sometimes called & sold under the name: Kasha. Buckwheat is NOT wheat -- & has NO gluten.
And, the gluten-free buckwheat flour from a company called Bob’s Red Mill was reported to me as being reliably gluten free.
(However a miller who processes wheat & buckwheat with the same equipment cannot do what Bob’s Red Mill does since buckwheat flour made that way will have traces of wheat flour & gluten in it.)
The good news is that Whole Wheat, Wheat Germ are superfoods for those who can eat wheat & gluten.
Wheat is unusually high in protein for a plant food.
And, Whole Wheat & Wheat Germ are high in B vitamins, fiber, & other nutrients.
(Important note: “whole wheat flour” as the only wheat flour listed on the label of a bread means that Whole Wheat is all you are getting & that it is Whole Wheat you are getting.
If “wheat flour” is listed as an ingredient at all or is the only what flour listed, you are looking a refined grain product & not looking at one with decent health benefits chances are. My recommendation is to simply never buy such bread or buy it very rarely.)
And the appearance can fool you -- since the baker may add brown coloring to make it look like whole wheat.
Wheat Germ is a superfood & honor roll food – one of the best for people who can eat it.
Since virtually all the nutrients of whole wheat are in it except the starch it’s an unusually rich source of all the B vitamins except B12; it’s very high in protein; it’s high in fiber; & it’s high in natural vitamin E.
And I believe that includes the vitamin E complex including gamma tocopherol, which may help prevent some cancers, notably prostate cancer, according to a report I saw.
In addition, one of the B vitamins in wheat germ is choline. And a serving of wheat germ of only two ounces by volume, 1/4th of a cup, has over 1400 mg of choline according to a source I saw.
Since choline boosts the level of the highly protective HDL’s in your blood & is a precursor to acetyl choline that is essential to thinking & memory, this makes wheat germ a superfood.
In fact, this unusually high choline level alone would qualify wheat germ as a superfood.
(To get this much choline, over 1400 mg, from a lecithin supplement which is sold due to its high choline content, you’d have to take five or six capsules to get that much choline. !!)
posted by David at 1:36 PM
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