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I've been told my whole life that wheat (or whole-grained and fibrous foods in general) is healthy -- can you elaborate some more?

by cyeb 10y ago

0xfeba 10y ago
Well, in the US, the USDA promoted grains as the base of the food pyramid[1]. But this turned out to be at the behest of grain industries. Whole grains are much better for you than white or processed breads, but they should still only be a small part of your diet, not the base. [1] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_USDA_nutrition_guides#Controversy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_USDA_nutrition_guid...
- calvano915 10y ago
  I agree, and the focus should be a on a varied diet. So multiple complex carb sources (potatoes, whole grains, beans, etc).
VLM 10y ago
Fiber seems quite healthy. Something like broccoli is good for you. I don't think there's any serious disagreement with that. By playing enough games with legal serving size, which has no relationship with observed consumption, you can end up with a standard serving of broccoli having twice the fiber as a standard serving of wheat as found in bread, for example. Generally speaking it was very unusual for your ancestors to eat grains as the primary component of their diet before the very recent advent of agriculture. Grains are highly effective at fattening up large mammal livestock, such as cows, pigs, and humans. If a farmer would feed it to a pig to fatten it up, its probably a poor dietary choice for the average overweight American. Wheat is extremely healthy ... economically ... if you're a wheat farmer or perhaps in health care. For everyone else, unlimited grain consumption turns out about the same for humans as hogs, at least WRT bod fat percentages.
- calvano915 10y ago
  Not a huge fan of grains, but in moderation they are perfectly fine. They are used to fatten up livestock but I highly doubt those livestock are being fed an appropriate distribution of macros (carbs, pro, fats) to maintain their health. Seems more like they are fed primarily grains in the weeks before slaughter.
blamonet 10y ago
I've been reading a book called "Grain of Truth." The author defends wheat and blames its industrial processing on its ill effects on the human digestive system. The removal of bran, germ and other vitamins in the process leave the starchy leftovers that are what nutritionists seem to demonize. Personally I still probably wouldn't eat breads or wheat often, I'll consider it a treat every now and then.

I've been told my whole life that wheat (or whole-grained and fibrous foods in general) is healthy -- can you elaborate some more?

by cyeb 10y ago

I've been told my whole life that wheat (or whole-grained and fibrous foods in general) is healthy -- can you elaborate some more?

0xfeba 10y ago

Well, in the US, the USDA promoted grains as the base of the food pyramid[1]. But this turned out to be at the behest of grain industries. Whole grains are much better for you than white or processed breads, but they should still only be a small part of your diet, not the base. [1] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_USDA_nutrition_guides#Controversy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_USDA_nutrition_guid...

calvano915 10y ago
I agree, and the focus should be a on a varied diet. So multiple complex carb sources (potatoes, whole grains, beans, etc).

VLM 10y ago

Fiber seems quite healthy. Something like broccoli is good for you. I don't think there's any serious disagreement with that. By playing enough games with legal serving size, which has no relationship with observed consumption, you can end up with a standard serving of broccoli having twice the fiber as a standard serving of wheat as found in bread, for example. Generally speaking it was very unusual for your ancestors to eat grains as the primary component of their diet before the very recent advent of agriculture. Grains are highly effective at fattening up large mammal livestock, such as cows, pigs, and humans. If a farmer would feed it to a pig to fatten it up, its probably a poor dietary choice for the average overweight American. Wheat is extremely healthy ... economically ... if you're a wheat farmer or perhaps in health care. For everyone else, unlimited grain consumption turns out about the same for humans as hogs, at least WRT bod fat percentages.

calvano915 10y ago
Not a huge fan of grains, but in moderation they are perfectly fine. They are used to fatten up livestock but I highly doubt those livestock are being fed an appropriate distribution of macros (carbs, pro, fats) to maintain their health. Seems more like they are fed primarily grains in the weeks before slaughter.

blamonet 10y ago

I've been reading a book called "Grain of Truth." The author defends wheat and blames its industrial processing on its ill effects on the human digestive system. The removal of bran, germ and other vitamins in the process leave the starchy leftovers that are what nutritionists seem to demonize. Personally I still probably wouldn't eat breads or wheat often, I'll consider it a treat every now and then.