The American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) looked at hundreds of studies from decades of research over a ten-year period and created the Third Expert Report in 2018. It was a mega analysis comprised of the best data and research with the goal of creating recommendations for the prevention of cancer. Number three on their list of the top ten recommendations, after maintaining a healthy weight and exercising, is to eat a diet rich in whole grains, vegetables, fruits and beans.
Whole grains like oats, brown rice, and quinoa and whole-grain foods such as whole-wheat pasta and whole-grain bread provide vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals and an abundance of fibre, shown to be an important weapon in the fight against multiple cancers. Whole grains use all of the grain, including the germ and bran where most of the nutrients are located. Processed grains lack these vital components and are nutritionally deficient.
Action – Per the advice of the AICR, aim to eat at least 3 one-ounce servings of whole grains every day. Eating this amount lowers the risk of colorectal cancer. One ounce of whole grain is equivalent to 1/2 cup of cooked brown rice, 1/2 cup cooked oatmeal, 1/2 cup of cooked whole grain pasta, or one regular slice of whole-grain bread.
There are so many varieties of whole grains in an unprocessed form that finding ways to include them in your meals should prove easy. Choose from the following: amaranth, barley, brown rice, buckwheat, bulgur, corn, kamut, millet, quinoa, rye, oats, sorghum, spelt, teff, triticale, wheat berries, and wild rice. The options are endless.
Steps – Build your meals around grains and add vegetables, fruits, and beans to them. The AICR has recommended that 2/3 of your plate should be filled with plant-based foods and just 1/3 with a protein source. Investing in a rice cooker can make it easy to cook grains without having to spend extra time in the kitchen. Slow cookers are also perfect to use to have grain-rich meals ready for you when you get home from work.
Experiment with different grains and use a variety to fill your diet with an array of nutritious benefits. Grains are filling and will make it much easier for you to maintain a healthy weight when they are the focus of your meals
Why It Makes You Feel Better – Whole grain consumption has been linked with fewer deaths from inflammatory and infectious causes, such as rheumatoid arthritis, gout, asthma, ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s disease, and neurodegenerative diseases. In a report from the Iowa Women’s Health Study, compared with women who rarely or never ate whole-grain foods, those who had at least two or more servings a day were 30% less likely to have died from an inflammation-related condition over a 17-year period.
Eating whole instead of refined grains substantially lowers total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, triglycerides, and insulin levels. In the Harvard-based Nurses’ Health Study, women who ate two to three servings of whole-grain products each day were 30% less likely to have a heart attack or die from heart disease over a 10-year period than women who ate less than one serving per week.
Example – A bowl of oatmeal in the morning with fruit, a bean soup or salad with whole-grain garlic bread for lunch, and a stir-fry with tofu and brown rice for dinner can provide you with all of the fibre, phytochemicals, vitamins and minerals that whole grains provide, as well as the healthy benefits of beans.
If you aren’t used to eating a lot of fibre-rich foods, start out slowly and allow your system to adjust over a period of a couple of weeks. The benefits will be worth it.