• A great heart healthy grain like oats
• Reduces the severity of asthma
• Reduces the frequency of migraine headaches.
• Lowers blood pressure
• Reduces the risk of heart attacks
• Great source of fiber –  lowers risk of type 2 diabetes, helps prevent gallstones, helps prevent breast cancer, fills you up sooner and longer so you eat less!

Nutrition Profile

The following table is the nutritional profile of 1 cup cooked millet courtesy of USDA.

USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, Release 22 (2009)

• Oats contain a specific type of fiber that lowers cholesterol and lower cholesterol means healthier arteries!
• Helps to keep blood sugar levels stable
• Lowers the risk of type 2 diabetes
• Antioxidants in oats protect LDL cholesterol (the good kind) which aid in a healthy cardiovascular system
• Lowers the risk of heart failure

Learn how to cook and prepare oats in many ways to better your life.

Nutrition Profile

The following table is the nutritional profile of 1 cup cooked oat groats courtesy of USDA.

Scientific Name: Avena sativa L.

USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, Release 22 (2009)

Whole wheat is a great source of fiber and therefore helps with all of the following:

• prevents gallstones
• lowers the risk of developing the Metabolic Syndrome – obesity, high cholesterol, high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes
• keeps you regular
• lowers the risk of breast cancer in women
• helps you feel full sooner and longer, so you eat less!

There are also many other nutrients that are found in whole wheat that your body uses to keep itself healthy and running properly.

• Whole wheat contains plant lignans that protect against breast and other hormone-dependent cancers as well as heart disease
• The wheat germ contains high amounts of vitamin E that protects cell membranes and brain cells from being damaged

Learn how to cook and prepare whole wheat so that you can better your life.

Nutrition Profile

The following table is the nutritional profile of 1 cup cooked whole wheat courtesy of USDA.

USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, Release 22 (2009)

• Named a “super crop” by the United Nations because of its high nutrition
• Has more protein than any other grain – up to 20 percent protein, compared with 7.5 percent for rice, 9.9 percent for millet, and 14 percent for wheat
• Is a complete protein; contains all 9 essential amino acids, including lysine, which is essential for tissue growth and repair
• A good source of fiber, manganese, magnesium, iron, copper and phosphorous.

Nutrition Profile

The following table is the nutritional profile of 1 cup cooked quinoa courtesy of USDA.

Scientific Name: Chenopodium quinoa Willd.

USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, Release 22 (2009)

A lot of people eat instant oatmeal – it’s quick, cheap, pre-flavored (usually), and fills the shelves in the breakfast aisle of your local mega-mart. Unfortunately, there’s not a lot of nutrition in those thin flakes. Here’s a great story from the famous ultra-light backpacker, Ray Jardine, in his classic backpacking book Beyond Backpacking:

I remember my first week-long climbing trip into an area of sandstone towers in the deserts of Utah. This was in the days of heavy steel pitons, and my pack was loaded with about 70 pounds of these and other types of hardware.  My partner and I could not lighten our gear, so we decided to lighten our food. For one continuous week ate packaged instant oatmeal. During the first few days all went well, but soon the rigors of climbing sapped what little energy the oatmeal could impart. Nearing the trip’s end, we were reduced to lying listlessly in our tents. We failed to climb our chosen tower for want of strength; in fact we probably could have done better by fasting. And that was my last experience with lightweight instant oatmeal.

I couldn’t agree more. Why not eat a complete whole grain vs. some denuded pre-cooked and artificially flavored substitute?