You are what you eat, and so they tell. It may be a cliché, but it rightfully states that the kind of food we put in our mouth has a huge influence on a person’s holistic health condition. Food, aside from the lifestyle and environmental factors, does control a person’s wellbeing.

Through the years, grains have become an essential part of a healthy diet. Considered as the “staff of life,” grains are actually seeds of grasses that are cultivated for human consumption. It comes in various kinds such as barley, rice, buckwheat, bulgur (cracked wheat), millet, oats, and corn, among others.

Grains are a good source of complex carbohydrates, essential vitamins and minerals, and have low-fat content. Although all grains contain important nutrients, health practitioners recommend whole grains because they have fiber, selenium, potassium, and magnesium.

Whole vs refined

Whole grains are those cereal grains that contain bran, germ, and endosperm (parts of a grain) and don’t undergo complicated refining processes. On the other hand, refined  grains such as white rice and white flour are often milled and processed, thus the bran and the germ are both removed.

Most fibers are found in the bran and the germ, which is why whole grains are a good basis of a high-fibrous food. Although vitamins and minerals are added back into the refined grains after the milling process, it is believed that they still don’t have as much nutrients as whole grains do.

For example, a slice of whole-wheat bread contains 69 calories, with 3.6 grams protein and 1.9 grams fiber; while, a slice of white bread has 66 calories, with just 1.9 grams of protein and 0.6 grams fiber.

According to the American Heart Association (AHA), foods which are labeled whole grains should contain 51 percent or more whole-grain ingredients by weight per reference amount customarily consumed. Consuming 48 grams of whole grains a day helps keep a person healthy.

Grain-y truth

Studies and various research report that a diet rich in whole grains have many benefits. For one, it helps decrease the risk of cardiovascular diseases. In a research conducted by Harvard University with 75,521 respondents, those who ate the most whole grains—more or less two to three slices of whole-grain bread daily—were 30 to 40 percent less likely to have an Ischemic stroke than those who ate less.

Although most medical practitioners don’t know how whole grains are linked to prevention of stroke. Maybe, because they contain insoluble and soluble dietary fibers which help lower LVL cholesterol levels (the bad cholesterol); thus, they prevent the clogging of arteries and reduce the risk of coronary heart disease. 

During the AHA’s 47th Annual Conference on Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology and Prevention, an analysis of the observational Physicians’ Health Study indicates that eating whole-grain breakfast cereals, seven or more times per week, is associated with a lower risk of heart failure.

The study, however, indicates that breakfast cereals should contain at least 25 percent oat or bran before they are classified as whole-grain cereals.

It shows that those who ate a whole-grain breakfast cereal seven or more times a week have lower risk of developing heart failure by 28 percent; 22 percent for those who ate it for two to six times a week; and, 14 percent to those who ate it once a week.

Dr. Luc Djoussé, lead author of the study and assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Aging at Brigham & Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts, shares: “The significant health benefits of whole-grain cereal are not just for kids, but also for adults.  A whole-grain, high-fiber breakfast may lower blood pressure and bad cholesterol and prevent heart attacks.”

Women’s new BFF

Nestlé Fitnesse advocates whole grain diet because they know that eating whole grains regularly really helps in maintaining weight, definitely a good way to lose weight without doing crash diets or taking unhealthy supplements.

Recently, Nestlé Fitnesse launched its Show Your Shape promo, where women can try a 14-day meal plan. The plan entails replacing breakfast and one of the main meals (lunch or dinner) with Nestlé Fitnesse cereals, best complemented with exercises and healthy lifestyle.

The promo requires interested parties to form a team with two to eight members, follow the 14-day meal plan, post and promote their experiences during the 14-day regimen online, and ask their friends and family to vote for their entries.

And what do they get from it? Well, aside from a healthier and sexier shape in just 14 days, they could win a fashionable wardrobe from the country’s top designers such as Rhett Eala, Kate Torralba, Jun Escario, and Michi Calica as well as coveted branded items from 7 For All Mankind, Religioso, Chanel, and Hermes.

Indeed, as Chanel czar Karl Lagerfeld puts it, “Fashion is the healthiest motivation for losing weight.” So, eat your way to a healthier shape.