Consumption Of Whole Grain Falls Short Of Guidelines

[HuckleB]

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/177889.php

"Three daily servings of whole grains are recommended for prevention of type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, and excess weight gain. Yet few adolescents or young adults follow these guidelines, according to national survey data. In a study published in the February 2010 issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, researchers from the School of Public Health, University of Minnesota report that young people are consuming less than 1 serving of whole grains per day. The study took an in-depth look at influencers, modifiable factors, and interventions that are critical for successfully addressing this gap.

Using the results of Project EAT (Eating Among Teens)-II, researchers analyzed the consumption of whole grains by 792 adolescents and 1,686 young adults between the ages of 15 and 23. There were 1,110 males (44.8%) and 1,368 females (55.2%) in the sample. Demographic characteristics were also collected to identify factors associated with daily intake of whole grains.

Daily whole-grain servings were estimated by summing the reported frequency of consuming dark bread (1 slice), kasha/couscous/bulgur, popcorn (1 small bag), hot breakfast cereal (1 bowl), and cold breakfast cereal (1 bowl).

The authors examined the associations of socio-environmental, personal, and behavioral factors with whole grain intake. For increased consumption, home availability of whole grains was the only socio-environmental factor, while a preference for the taste of whole-grain breads and confidence that one could change or maintain their eating patterns to consume the recommended number of whole grain servings were the personal factors of importance. Among behavioral factors, fast-food consumption negatively affected whole grain consumption.

..."

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So, maybe more whole grain foods will be made available at the places kids eat the most? Schools? Fast food restaurants? And maybe more parents could try introducing them at an earlier age, so those taste buds don't go to waste?

Always with the questions.

[DesertFlower]

1. from what i've heard the school

lunches are pretty bad.

chic fil A has a whole grain bun, but the food is loaded with sodium.

[juno jones]

2. Don't hold your breath for whole grains to hit your restaurants or cafeterias.

In this day and age of bottom line, even fairly good restaurants only serve the cheap white bread varieties. Why? Because they are often less than half the price of whole grain varieties.

It is ironic that I can't eat my employee meal because so many selections are based on white bread/flour which I can no longer digest. (I do bring it home to family, but worry that they may someday invoke the same intolerance I have.)

If you (as customers) make enough requests, you might get some response in terms of options.

But you WILL pay for it, either for your meal, or in service as they let another employee go to keep the profit margin kosher.

[HuckleB]

3. Most of the local restaurants I eat at, high end or low end, serve the good, whole grain stuff.

Maybe it is a matter of customers demanding their wants via comments and via where they eat.

[BonnieJW]

4. Couscous is not a grain.

It's a very small pasta.

[HuckleB]

5. Bread is not a grain either.

They used products containing whole grains to track consumption.

[Warpy]

6. I'm allergic to milk and have always been on a low sodium diet

so my favorite crunchy snack in a bowl is dry cereal, either sweet or unsweet. Sweet snacks are frosted mini wheats and honey nut oat O's. Unsweet would be whole grain flakes of various types. They're tidy to munch at the computer, no crumbs.

Maybe that's how they should be packaged to kids in the school caf, baggies of it for a mid morning snack when the kids are starting to fade.

[grasswire]

7. the white bread craze also has to do with sugar

Carbs are converted to sugar by the body. Sugar produces endorphins. Endorphins produce a feel-good rush. Some people are addicted to that cycle.

White flour items feed that need for endorphins.

A girl in my family (now 17) has that addiction. Sugar and white food. For the past five years, we have worked to move her from white to brown. She now will eat brown bread (absolutely would not touch it five years ago, would rather go hungry) but she also still binges heavily on white carbs and sugar. It is truly an addiction and I believe there is a biochemical basis that hasn't been fully brought to public attention. (Having to do with the endorphin receptors.)

An addictions counselor and author who has done a lot of research in this area calls it "sugar sensitivity".

[Abq_Sarah]

8. While whole grains are preferable to processed flour

They still turn to sugar once they hit your gut. The difference is, the fiber slows down the digestion so you don't get large blood sugar spikes if you have a normal metabolism.