WHOLE GRAIN BRAIN
The modern day hectic lifestyle, spurs each one of us to chase bigger dreams and higher goals. It is prudent to take a step back to re-calibrate where we stand and what small changes can be brought about in our daily life style to enhance our life quality.
Someone has correctly pointed out that “more important than years in our life, is life in our years”. There are many small changes that one can bring about and one such change is consciously choosing to make whole grains part of our daily diet.
Almost everyone knows that eating natural and healthy is the right thing to do, however when it comes to picking the food from the shelf, it’s the subconscious mind that comes into play or the last happening ad seen that sweeps away our power to make logical decisions. Awareness is the first step towards making the right choices and taking informed decisions.
So what is a whole grain?
All grains in their natural form have three parts- BRAN, GERM and ENDOSPERM and they occur in a certain proportion naturally. When all three parts of the grain are available in the same proportion in the grain as it was growing in the field it is called a whole grain. Needless to say it is in its most natural form readily available for consumption.
What is a refined grain?
Refined grain is the term used to refer to grains that are not whole, i.e. one or more of the 3 key parts is missing (Bran, Germ and Endosperm). This not only reduces the nutrient contents of the food that we eat but also leads to disastrous and widespread nutrition deficiency diseases like Pellagra and Beriberi. So came an influx of products which are fortified/ enriched with nutrients, however only a few do get added and that to in proportions that are different from the original proportion present in the grains naturally.
To place in short a refined grain is a mere shadow of the original grain form. As much as ¼ of the proteins and anywhere from ½ to 2/3rd or more of the score of nutrients are lost due to the refining process. This not only leads to poor nutrient availability in the food we eat, but also leads to a deficiencies diseases.
The chart below compares whole wheat flour to refined wheat flour and enriched wheat flour. You can see the vast difference in essential nutrients.
The natural and best way to address this is to consciously look for the words “WHOLE GRAIN” in the products that we buy, be it in the form of wheat flour that we buy or ready to eat food that we purchase.
The best alternative is to mill your own grains at home. This not only ensures that we are absolutely in know of what we eat, but also provides us the flexibility of deciding what type and proportion of blended flour we get to choose from. Obviously there is nothing like a freshly grounded flour at home that keeps our food naturally nutritive but also enhances the taste of our breads and bakery.
A smart and trendy way to do this is to mill your whole grains fresh through hAWos mills. This top mill brand from Germany, besides a legacy to great technology also packed with smart modern looks, is light weight, and super easy to operate, providing you the option to make a smarter conscious choice of a healthier lifestyle.
Enjoy your fresh whole
grain everyday…
