Imagine a world where we would only eat just to get the required nutrients by our body, and giving no pleasure back. This is why lots of us love food so much, and why it can become addictive – because it also stimulates certain parts of our brain that makes us feel good and happy, in other words, giving us pleasure. Food gives us the energy we need every day for our body, it gives us the protein, fats, carbs, vitamins and minerals that we need, so that we will have a healthy life. There are so many kinds of foods, that we can surely say that there’s something for everyone’s taste and needs.
Today we will talk about cereals. Everyone eats cereals, in one form or another (let me have a bowl of cereal). They might be your kids morning milk and cereals snack, they are in bread, biscuits, pastry, cakes, crackers, and the list can go on. For thousands of years, cereals have been very important for us, because they provide important nutrients such as fats, proteins, complex carbohydrates, iron, fibers and vitamins, and also provide with a wide range of health benefits.
The nutritional value of cereals, and their benefits
For many years it has been known that cereals pack a boom of macronutrients and micronutrients, that being the reason why they are so widely used in many kinds of foods. Let’s explore some of the most important nutrition values of cereals:
- Proteins – cereals are a very good source of proteins, which are needed for all sorts of bodily functions, and to make our body stay in shape
- Fats – cereals also can contain fats. Usually they are healthy fats, such as saturated and mono saturated fats. Fats are very important for our bodies, and while consuming fats too much can make us gain weight, having a moderate amount of healthy fats in our diet is a vital part in our nutrition.
- Carbohydrates – they are the major components of all cereals, and they are needed for a balanced and healthy diet. Carbs have many functions such as giving us energy, regulate our digestion, helping our cardiovascular system stay in shape.
- Fiber: an essential ingredient needed by our body, cereals are packed with lots of fibers, and the consumption of fibers is highly recommended by nutritionists. A good example of high fiber cereal is barley or oatmeal.
- Vitamins: cereals are rich in many vitamins such as Vitamin D, B 6 and B 12. For example, vitamin D is very important for our bones, because it helps very much in the assimilation of calcium in our bones. This being the reason why you always see Calcium and Vitamin D packed together.
- Minerals: a very good source of minerals such as calcium, zinc, folate, selenium, magnesium, potassium, sodium and iron, which are vital in our body in order to perform its bodily functions and stay in shape.
- Antioxidants – cereals are also a source of antioxidants, which have a very important role in our nutrition and health.
Types of cereals
There are many, many types of cereals all over the world, and they are eaten and prepared in many ways. They can be eaten as whole grain cereal, or ground and processed. Down below we will enlist some of the most popular cereals:
- Oats: for example, oatmeal is a very healthy breakfast cereal, that can be prepared and seasoned in many ways depending on our taste.
- Wheat – is the most popular and eaten cereal in the world. It’s low in fats and high in carbs and proteins, plus it has many vitamins, antioxidants and minerals. Wheat is pretty much a complete package, and there are endless ways of preparing it in foods.
- Rice – one of my favorite! Rice is an important part in Asian cultures, and is the most eaten cereal in the world. There are many kinds of rice (for example, white, brown) and can be prepared in many ways: fried, boiled, made in flour, noodles or foils. Being very versatile, it can be mixed with meat, vegetables, sweet yogurt, you name it. Rice has a high nutritional value, including things such as vitamins, minerals, proteins, carbs and low in fat.
- Corn – perhaps the first thing you think about now is popcorn and tortillas. Corn can be used in a big variety of foods, fresh, canned or dried out and ground to be made flour. As well as the ones mentioned above, corn is very complex in nutritional value.
- Barley – is most commonly used to make beer, but it’s also used in food.
Bottom line
As you might have understood, cereals are a very important part in our diets. Our body takes from them lots of nutrients that it needs to stay in shape, stay healthy and perform bodily functions. Cereals are very healthy for us and the consumption of them is strongly recommended. Be careful though to consume them in moderation, because the basic ingredient of all cereals is, you guessed it, carbohydrates (which are commonly linked with obesity if consumed in high quantities regularly). Carbohydrates can be very good for us, but also bad. There are good carbs and bad carbs. The benefits of good carbs are obvious, but the downsides of bad carbs are many, and they can lead to health issues. Always take things in moderation, cereals included.
For more information on cereals and how they can influence your diet, we advise you to consult a certified nutritionist.
