Whole Grains and Weight Loss

[Guest guest]

Lookie what I found - an argument in favour of whole grains rather than

processed (white)

grains. The argument *could* be made, of course, that if the germ and bran of

the grain is

so important to us we might be well off to increase our amounts of, say,

wheatgerm and

wheatbran too - which many of us do, of course.

 

Anyway, here's the article:

 

Washington Post

By Sally Squires

Tuesday, December 11, 2007; Page HE07

 

There are familiar, but often overlooked, foods lurking in your pantry

that

can assist with weight control and help combat abdominal fat:

whole-grain

products, from oatmeal to whole wheat bread.

 

Whether you start the day with piping-hot oatmeal or end it by dining

on

whole wheat pasta, the whole-grain fiber can help cut your risk of Type

2

diabetes and heart disease.

 

Take the results published last month by a group of British

researchers.

They analyzed 15 studies of whole grains involving nearly 120,000

people 13

and older. These studies consistently showed that those who ate about

three

servings of whole grains daily -- the amount recommended by the 2005

Dietary

Guidelines -- had significantly smaller waistlines than people who

skimped

on whole grains. Plus, whole-grain eaters also consumed significantly

less

unhealthy saturated fat and weighed less than those who ate mostly

processed

products with white flour, added sugar and little fiber.

 

No matter what your weight, there appear to be benefits from swapping

processed cereal, bread, crackers, rice and pasta for heartier,

whole-grain

fare. Reporting in October at the Obesity Society's annual meeting,

Tufts

University researchers showed that even among older, overweight people,

eating whole grains especially in cereal, was associated with lower

overall

body fat and abdominal fat.

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