Do you eat whole grains? You may not be eating enough of them, according to a new study. Scientists have found that Americans are getting less than the recommended amounts of whole grains and dietary fiber, and that the two are potentially linked.
Whole grains can be found in a variety of food products. These products actually contain all of the essentially parts and naturally-occurring ingredients of the entire grain seed in the original proportions. Eating whole grains has been tied to a reduced risk of type 2 diabetes and heart disease among adults. This health benefit is partially due to the fiber present in whole grains, according to Reuters.
"Most people do not consume whole grains in amounts that can be most beneficial, also many people, even health professionals, are confused about the relationship between whole grain and fiber," said Marla Reicks, one of the researchers, in an email interview, according to Fox News.
In order to find out the relationship between whole grains and dietary fiber, the researchers compared whole grain and dietary fiber intakes among Americans ages two and up. They examined a large national nutrition and health survey, including data from 9,042 people. In the end, they found that 39 percent of children and teens and 42 percent of adults consumed no whole grains at all. In fact, only 3 percent of children and teens and about 8 percent of adults ate at least the recommended three servings per day.
That's not all that the researchers found, either. Those who ate the most whole grains also had the highest fiber intakes. Higher levels of fiber are associated with more health benefits, so eating whole grains each day is an important part of any diet.
So how exactly do you include whole grains in your diet? It's all about looking at the labels. Search for a special whole grain stamp when shopping; in fact, some products even indicate the whole grain content in grams on the label. In addition, take a glance at the ingredients; if the first ingredient is whole grain, then the product will probably contain enough whole grains to count it as a whole grain product.
The recent study was published in the journal Nutrition Research.
