There are many types of cereals and it is important to vary them each day, because there are many different nutritional values that complement each other giving our body all the necessary nutrients.
In addition, if we eat the same food every day a form of addiction is created which causes less nutritional advantages because our body becomes too accustomed to it, with the risk of becoming intolerant in the future (such as with gluten-rich foods).
Every cereal contains optimum nutritional values, is rich in minerals and vitamins and has good quantities of protein.
Rice, also well known, is better as wholemeal, is good for losing weight and is easily digestible, likewise quinoa, a cereal with a high protein content and rich in calcium and millet which is cleansing and rich in minerals.
Spelt is suitable for sporty types as it contains few calories but helps to increase muscle mass and it invigorates muscles, as oats do, which are a great strengthener. Also we have barley which is refreshing and beneficial to the nervous system, and then there is rye which stimulates the metabolism and is energising.
Amaranth, good for the heart and liver, buckwheat (that, in spite of the name, is not actually a grain but for its characteristics is associated as one) is warming and mineralising.
Last but not least we have kamut, which is an ancestor of wheat, and maize, another well-known cereal, with relaxing properties that is used mainly to make polenta flour or sweets, and to make gluten-free pasta, as rice, millet, amaranth, quinoa and buckwheat can also do.
Recent developments have also shown that also oats are to be considered gluten-free although up to not long it was considered to be a cereal containing some gluten likely due to the fact that when it was cultivated it became contaminated with wheat, rye and spelt
Dehusked or pearled grain?
Pearled grain goes through a kind of process of refinery that takes away the outermost coat, while the ones that are de-husked are simply picked as they come, and so they are to be preferred to pearled grain.
If however we consume food coming from farms that use chemical fertilizers (to be avoided in any case!) it is better to favour the pearled grain as most of the chemical residue is found on the external husk.
Another advantage of pearled grain is that it does not require soaking as other types of cereals do.
Gluten
The graph shows the average amount of gluten content of various cereals. Wheat contains the greatest quantity.
Gluten is the wheat protein. The name comes from gluten which means 'glue' and it is the gluey part of the grain, the part that with a bit of water holds the flour together during the preparation of bread and pizza.
Some cereals without gluten might state on the package âMay contain glutenâ due to the fact that it is produced industrially in a factory where other types of cereal are also produced and runs the risk of coming into contact with other grains or flours that do contain gluten, for example a production line that works on other cereals.
For those who are intolerant even to the tiniest contact, this can bring about nasty side effects such as cramps and intestinal pains.
Then there are those who are not so sensitive to the ingestion of this protein in tiny amounts, but if taken in regularly they can be left feeling tired, drowsy and bloated.
Even those who do not have an intolerance should however reduce consumption, because consumption every day year in year out increases the risk of becoming intolerant.
If we have to avoid gluten, we should not only be aware of food containing this protein, such as crackers, bread sticks and rusk, but also anything with a breaded covering such as cutlets of meat or fish, fried food and even many vegetarian foods that are usually prepared with soya or wheat.
Not to forget beer, which contains malt in other words barley and certain liquors. We need to be careful with puddings, biscuits, certain types of ice cream and yoghurt and try to find gluten-free alternatives or prepare delicious dishes.
It could be trying to start with, but there are always more and more gluten-free products coming onto the market, clearly marked as such on the packaging, so you don't have to waste time at the supermarket, and once you have got the correct product in your hand things are a lot more simple.
Even if we are not gluten intolerant it is best to limit its consumption but not cut it out altogether.
Honey and Fruit
Fruit can also be considered a carbohydrate as it contains fructose, which is a sugar that is naturally present in it. Fructose consumption does not cause glycemic peaks, because like all natural things it is balanced. However it is best not to exaggerate its consumption and, if we had to choose between the two we would include it with the complex carbohydrates.
On the other hand honey is assimilated rapidly, it has excellent properties but high quantities of fructose, so it is best not to have too much of it. It is, however, certainly better to use than sugar.
Simple Carbohydrates
Simple carbohydrates rapidly release sugar into the blood causing sudden fluctuations of glycemia.
This results in dangerous peaks and the consequent collapses of energy, causing weakness, hunger, a longing for sugar and coffee, which in the long run causes weight gain and for whom is predisposed, diabetes.
Sugar is quintessentially a simple carbohydrate; it is easily and quickly digested, creating the above mentioned fluctuations.
Bread and pasta, which we regularly consume, are also derived from white flour.
We include in the same category biscuits, sweets and sugary drinks, that should not be consumed too often.
In addition, having lost all the valuable nutrients in the refining process, pasta is less filling and we then tend to eat a lot more of white pasta than wholemeal pasta, consequently gaining weight.
For this reason diets that avoid carbohydrates and prefer proteins are fashionable at the moment, but this is a big mistake because as we will see in the chapter on proteins, an excess of simple carbohydrates causes weight gain and in the long run problems with the liver and kidney.
As with all things one has to make compromises.
Be careful also with caffeine and tobacco; they also cause glycemic fluctuations.
To sum up; the refining process that foods are subjected to causes a loss in their nutritional value.
Challenge °2
As we have learnt, most of the food we consume is a result of a lengthy process of refinery which makes it more tasty but decreases the nutritional value, so we risk not only in failing to maintain our ideal weight, but also, even worse, developing problems with our health.
The first challenge consists of substituting, every so often, the foods which we are used to eating with wholemeal foods such as bread and pasta.
At first we might not like them, as we are accustomed to a more delicate flavour, but it is just a question of developing new habits.
So consider opting for whole wheat bread and pasta, or variants like kamut pasta or spelt, or something new we want to try. We can also try to substitute every now and again rice salad with grains of spelt, millet, oats or amaranth and experiment with new varieties and new flavours that are beneficial to our organism.
Chapter 3