Healthy Staples
Mason O'Donnell
| 26-02-2024
· Food Team
Compared with refined rice and white flour, whole grains contain more than 50% of B vitamins, minerals, 90% of vitamin E, and almost all dietary fiber and antioxidants.
Coarse grains play an important role in preventing constipation and reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, obesity, and some tumors.
Whole grains have so many benefits, but these 3 types of people should eat less:
1. People with weak digestive function
Dietary fiber in the body can not be digested and decomposed, too much fiber will increase the burden on the gastrointestinal tract. Therefore, the elderly with gastric disease, gastrointestinal ulcer patients, inflammatory bowel disease patients, and other people should eat less whole grain cereals.
2. People with kidney disease
Whole grain grains the mineral potassium and phosphorus content is high, and excessive intake may affect kidney function, so patients with serious kidney disease should try to eat less whole grain grains.
3. People with excessive gastric acid secretion
Potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn, and other foods are likely to stimulate gastric acid secretion so that gastric juice secretion is more vigorous, and gastric acid secretion of people to eat fewer whole grains.
How much roughage is the right amount to eat every day? Do you need to replace all refined rice and white flour with whole grains?
A paper on whole grains in the BMJ confirms that eating 90 grams of whole grains a day can reduce the risk of coronary heart disease, cardiovascular disease, and stroke.
It is recommended that coarse grains account for 1/3 of your daily staple food, which means that if you eat 300 grams of staple food per day, 90 grams of coarse grains will meet the standard.
Regarding the consumption of coarse grains, there are also the following recommendations:
1. Eat coarse grains to drink more water
After eating too many coarse grains need to have enough water to guarantee the normal work of the intestines. Under normal circumstances, drink at least 1500~1700 ml of plain water per day, excluding porridge and soup.
High temperature or special working environment, constipation crowd, etc., but also to add more water.  
2. Pairing with meat
Coarse grains generally don't taste good, meat, eggs, and other meat dishes, not only can improve the taste but also can balance the diet.
3. Select as needed
People with poor stomachs and intestines can choose to eat millet, rhubarb rice, and brown rice. Choose to cook porridge to eat easier to digest, and will not increase the burden on the digestive system.
People with high blood sugar and blood fat, or obesity, are suitable for eating oats and various beans.
People with anemia are suitable for millet and black rice, which is good for iron supplementation.
People with high blood sugar and blood fat, or obese bodies, are suitable for eating oats and various kinds of beans, such as green beans and red beans.