Nerdy Millennial

Top Menu

  • About
  • Contact
  • Write For Us

Main Menu

  • Career
    • Entrepreneurship
    • Blogging
      • Social Media
      • SEO and Keyword Research
  • College
  • Arts & Culture
  • Technology
  • Health and Fitness
    • Nutrition
    • Recipes
      • Baked Goods
      • Breakfast
      • Condiments
      • Dessert
      • Fermented Foods
      • Main Dishes
      • Side Dishes
      • Snacks
      • Soup
    • Keto
    • Vegan
  • Relationships
    • Dating
    • Friendship
    • Parenting
    • Pregnancy & Birth
  • About
  • Contact
  • Write For Us

Nerdy Millennial

Nerdy Millennial

  • Career
    • Entrepreneurship
    • Blogging
      • Social Media
      • SEO and Keyword Research
  • College
  • Arts & Culture
  • Technology
  • Health and Fitness
    • Nutrition
    • Recipes
      • Baked Goods
      • Breakfast
      • Condiments
      • Dessert
      • Fermented Foods
      • Main Dishes
      • Side Dishes
      • Snacks
      • Soup
    • Keto
    • Vegan
  • Relationships
    • Dating
    • Friendship
    • Parenting
    • Pregnancy & Birth
Nutrition
Home›Health and Fitness›Nutrition›Should We Be Eating Grains?

Should We Be Eating Grains?

By Jennifer Dages
May 1, 2013
1235
5

Eating grains is a very controversial topic these days with many people avoiding gluten-containing grains like wheat, rye, and barley at the least. Others are cutting all grains out of their diets for short or long term periods of time.

So what is the problem with grains? Why are people having so much trouble with them? Should we be avoiding certain grains or avoiding them altogether?

What's Bad About Grains

There are some real issues with grains which we cannot ignore. Grains like wheat, rye, and barley do contain more gluten than they used to primarily because of hybridization. At this point, wheat is not genetically modified but it has been hybridized extensively and often with the goal of increasing the gluten in it.

Many people have gluten intolerance, including 3 members of my own family. Nearly five times as many people have gluten intolerance as in the 1950s. Refined grains have been linked to many diseases including diabetes, heart disease, and obesity.

Grains do not contain any specific nutrition that cannot be found in some other foods, so many people are opting to leave them out and avoid many of the problems that seem to go along with eating grains these days.

Benefits of Eating Grains

So what value is there in eating grains? Why not cut them out completely if there is so much controversy over them? There are several reasons why at least some of us should consider keeping grains in our diets.

  1. First, they are affordable especially for families on a budget.
  2. Second, they do contain some important vitamins and minerals which are easiest to get from grains, including B Vitamins and magnesium. Although as was mentioned, these nutrients can be found in other foods, it is not that easy to do so.
  3. Third, some people do feel better on grains because they need a higher carbohydrate diet than others.

It is possible to reduce the gluten and phytic acid in grains through soaking and use of sourdough and also increase the vitamin and mineral content and thus make them more digestible.

Anytime we cut out a whole food group it does become more difficult to keep a balanced diet. For instance, if grains are cut out and nut flours are used, the nuts are a good source of magnesium but also high in omega 6 fatty acids (the bad ones) and can lead to an imbalance of fatty acids in the body.

There are some people who do need to avoid grains, especially those with gluten. Anyone with several celiac diseases needs to stay off gluten and should consider cutting out all grains. Those with gut issues of imbalance of good and bad gut bacteria may need to be off grains during a healing process.

The answer of whether to eat grains and how much will vary with each individual.

In the next weeks, I will be presenting a series on the different grains that are available for our use and giving some suggestions on the best ways to use them. Next week I plan to write about soaking grains and using them in sourdough, the way I recommend for preparing and serving grains.

~

  • Author
  • Recent Posts
Jennifer Dages
Jennifer Dages
Jennifer is a happily married homeschooling mother of 4 who lives in small town Pennsylvania.She blogs at The Entwife's Journal and at Purposeful Nutrition.She is also an RN who is working to build a health business through blogging, speaking, and health coaching.
Jennifer Dages
Latest posts by Jennifer Dages (see all)
  • Are Pasteurized Almonds Good or Bad? - January 31, 2022
  • Nutrition of Peanuts - November 20, 2013
  • Happy With Hickory Nuts - November 13, 2013

Related posts:

  1. Baking With Coconut Flour
Tagsbenefits of grainsceliacgluten freegrainsshould we be eating grainssourdough

5 comments

  1. Guest post at Natural Family | www.purposefulnutrition.com 1 May, 2013 at 14:37 Log in to Reply

    […] Go here to read…. […]

  2. To Soak or Not to Soak? | Natural Family Today 7 May, 2013 at 23:15 Log in to Reply

    […] week we discussed the value of grains and whether to include them in a daily diet or not. My conclusion is that for many of us grains are […]

  3. The Well Floured Kitchen 9 May, 2013 at 15:19 Log in to Reply

    I appreciate the list of benefits of grains. I realize grains do pose a problem for some people, but I still think most people can successfully digest grains. We grind our own wheat (as well as other grains for variety), and do not have any digestive issues in the family. I almost feel guilty about the fact that we enjoy wheat since it is very politically incorrect in real food circles right now. I do try to manage the amount of wheat we eat, but I can’t imagine life without it. I look forward to your post on soaking, I do it rarely, but I would like to get started with sourdough.

    • Jennifer Dages 29 May, 2013 at 11:07 Log in to Reply

      I highly recommend sourdough products even if you don’t seem to have any trouble with wheat. It is all around so much better for any of us.

  4. How to Make Sourdough Bread | Natural Family Today 15 May, 2013 at 23:37 Log in to Reply

    […] I stated in some previous posts, I do not believe grains are bad. Grains have been eaten for centuries and there is evidence as far back as Egypt that bread was a […]

Leave a reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

You Might Also Like...

  • 7 Tips for Hitting Your Goals
    FeaturedHealth and Fitness

    7 Tips for Hitting Your Goals

  • The 7 Money-Saving Strategies Every Parent Needs to Know
    FeaturedFinancesFrugal LivingParenting

    The 7 Money-Saving Strategies Every Parent Needs to Know

  • How to Make Popcorn Without Oil + 6 Vegan Popcorn Seasoning Recipes
    FeaturedNutritionSnacksVegan

    How to Make Popcorn Without Oil + 6 Vegan Popcorn Seasoning Recipes

  • FeaturedHealth and Fitness

    How to Make a Bread Poultice

About Nerdy Millennial

This blog all about millennials sharing their passion, ideas, and expertise about blogging, healthy living, self-improvement, education, parenting, and more!

Interested in contributing? Contact us to pitch your idea or submit an article.

Featured Posts

FeaturedHealth and Fitness

7 Tips for Hitting Your Goals

It can be so hard to define and work towards the goals that you have set for yourself. It’s very easy to daydream, to stare into the sky, and picture ...
  • Developing a Present Moment Connection with Your Baby In Utero

    Developing a Present Moment Connection with Your Baby In Utero

    By Contributing Author
    June 5, 2022
  • The 5 Benefits Of Fishing From A Kayak

    The 5 Benefits Of Fishing From A Kayak

    By Contributing Author
    April 25, 2022
  • Treating PCOS-Related Infertility With Weight Loss Surgery

    Treating PCOS-Related Infertility With Weight Loss Surgery

    By Dr. Laura July
    April 15, 2022
  • DIY Wall String Art for Beginners

    DIY Wall String Art for Beginners

    By Ian Walsh
    April 8, 2022
  • How to Practice Gratitude in 2022

    How to Practice Gratitude in 2022

    By Dr. Krishna Bhatta
    April 8, 2022
  • 10 Ways Women Can Advance the Gender Equality Movement — Today

    By Contributing Author
    April 7, 2022
  • Are Cheat Meals or Cheat Days Allowed on Keto?

    Are Cheat Meals or Cheat Days Allowed on Keto?

    By Ian Walsh
    April 2, 2022
  • Why You Should Thoroughly Embrace Your Geeky Interests

    Why You Should Thoroughly Embrace Your Geeky Interests

    By Contributing Author
    March 9, 2022
  • Soaked Grain Recipes

    24 Super Simple Soaked Grain Recipes

    By Vanessa Pruitt, PLMHP, MS
    January 31, 2022

Join Us on Facebook

Search

  • Home
  • About
  • Contact Us
  • Write For Us
  • Comment Policy
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
Manage Cookie Consent
We use cookies to optimize our website and our service.
Functional cookies Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Manage options Manage services Manage vendors Read more about these purposes
View preferences
{title} {title} {title}