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Grains and nutrition

In the option strand, Contemporary Food Issues: Nutrition, you will learn about the role of:

diet in the development of disease
the food industry in promoting health
'active non-nutrients' in the diet.

Go Grains is a nutrition communication initiative established for the Australian grains industry, to provide quality information about the nutriton and health benefits of grains and pulses. Go Grains has been developed by BRI Australia, and is supported by grain growers and the Commonwealth government through the Grains Research and Development Corporation. One aspect of the Go Grains initiative is a Grains nutrition web site. This tutorial uses this web site to explore the health benefits of grains and pulses, in particular focusing on the role of grains in the prevention of heart disease and cancer.

Why Go Grains?

To find out why you should Go Grains, click here .

Outcomes

This material addresses aspects of the following syllabus outcomes:

H2.1 The student evaluates the relationship between food, its production, consumption, promotion and health.
H3.2 The student independently investigates contemporary food issues.

Extract from Stage 6 Food Technology Syllabus© Board of Studies NSW 1999.

Grains nutrition web site

The Go Grains: Grains nutrition web site offers a wide range of information about grains and pulses, from their origins to processing and manufacture to nutrition and health benefits. The health benefits of grains and pulses are presented as evidence-based nutrition. Evidence-based nutrition means that the nutrition advice and recommendations are
based on evidence which has been assessed in an unbiased or impartial manner.

There are three types of studies used to investigate the relationship between a specific nutrient or food component and a disease or health condition:

epidemiological studies
experimental studies
intervention studies.

Activity 1

Select the Evidence-based nutrition button to find out the meaning of each of these studies.

In July 1999, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) considered that there was sufficient evidence to support the following health claim on food products:

"Diets rich in wholegrain foods and other plant foods and low in saturated fat and cholesterol may reduce risk of coronary heart disease and certain cancers".

The US FDA defined wholegrains as "any food that is a grain or any food that contains at least 51% by weight of any combination of whole grains".
Extract from Grains Research and Development Centre, Nutrition recommendations, viewed 10.12.2002,
<http://www.gograins.com.au/grainsnutrition/ns/3frame.html>

The next two sections of the tutorial look at the evidence that grains can help prevent heart disease and some cancers.

Grains and heart disease

Activity 2

What features of grains and pulses may prevent heart disease ?
Vitamin E, selenium and phytochemicals, such as phytic acid are anti-oxidants. Phytochemicals are also known as 'active non-nutrients'. What is the function of anti-oxidants in preventing heart disease?
Why are wholegrains an excellent source of anti-oxidants?
What characteristics of grains and pulses may make them useful in weight management and prevention of heart disease?
Outline the evidence to suggest that wholegrain-based foods protect against heart disease . You will need to scroll down the page to find the answer.

Answers

For more information on heart disease visit the Towards a healthy heart tutorial.

Grains and cancer

Dietary fibre, folate, anti-oxidants and lignans are all present in grains and may prevent the development of cancer. The Cancer Council NSW recommends that at least half of your daily serves of breads and cereals should be wholegrain or wholemeal.

The Australian Guide to Healthy Eating (1998) recommends that a healthy diet for adults should include at least four serves of grain-based foods every day.

One serve is one of the following:
2 slices of bread
1 cup of cooked rice, pasta or noodles
1 cup of cooked porridge
1 1/3 cups of flaked breakfast cereal
1/2 cup muesli.

At least half of these serves should be wholegrain, since the protective components (such as fibre, antioxidants and phytoestrogens) are found in the outer layers of grains. Grains Research and Development Corporation and BRI Australia Ltd. 2002.

Activity 3

Referring to the information in Grains and cancer, complete the following questions.

How does dietary fibre prevent cancer?
What are the properties of anti-oxidants that protect against cancer?
Outline the evidence to suggest wholegrains are cancer protective.