SHA Magazine Healthy Nutrition
Cereals: Properties, Nutritional Benefits and Recipes
The use of cooked wholegrain cereals is the base of a macrobiotic standar diet.
OATS “The Queen of cereals”
Properties
It’s one of the most used cereals due to its nutritive and energetic properties. It’s known as “the Queen of cereals” thanks to the high content in proteins, carbohydrates, phosphorus, trace elements, iron, nutrients, vitamins and minerals.
Benefits
- It is purifying
- Helps control blood sugar levels in the blood
- Improves digestion
- Is anti carcinogenic
- It is good for the heart
- Help the central nervous system
Prevents osteoporosis
Recipe
Oats porridge
BULGUR WHEAT
Properties
Bulgur is a cereal rich in starch, in good quality carbohydrate and it is low in fat, which makes it an interesting food for athletes.
Benefits
- Easy digestion
- Low in fat
- Useful for cholesterol
BARLEY
Properties
Barley is a cereal highly recommended, given their excellent therapeutic and nutritional properties, especially in spring and summer as it nourishes, relaxes and refreshes the liver and gallbladder.
Benefits
- Inositol source
- Barley also has B vitamins, folic acid, choline and vitamin K
- Good source of potassium, magnesium and phosphorus
- Rich in trace elements, iron, sulfur, copper, zinc, manganese, chromium, selenium, iodine and molybdenum
- Barley is the cereal with the biggest amount of fiber (17%)
Recipe
Barley soup with vegetables and miso
COUS COUS
Properties
Cous cous contains slow absorption carbohydrates, high-fiber, vegetable protein, B vitamins, especially B3 and B5, and is rich in minerals such as iron, phosphorus and potassium.
Benefits
- Provides plenty of essential Vitamins
- Source of trace elements
- Provides Dietary fiber
- Excellent source of vegetarian protein
MILLET
Properties
Considered a sacred and powerful therapeutic food for Traditional Chinese Medicine, millet is the only alkalizing cereal, besides being a great remineralizer.
Benefits
- It’s gluten free
- It’s rich in fibre
- It is a good source of magnesium
- Contains vitamins B
- It is a natural source of phosphorus
- Also contains fatty acids, iron, zinc, iodine and vitamin E
Recipe
Thanks to its compact texture once cooked, millet is a very practical cereal to make croquettes, hamburgers or vegetable cakes: Millet healthy hamburger
QUINOA
Properties
Quinoa’s properties are mainly nutritional. Almost 20% of its dry weight corresponds to vegetable proteins of very good quality for the facility to be assimilated by the body.
Benefits
- It’s gluten free
- Has twice the proteins than rice or barley
- It contains 11 amino acids
- Good source of iron, manganese and magnesium
- Quinoa has a much higher fiber content than most cereals
- Can increase the antioxidant and nutritional value of a gluten free diet
- It has anti-inflammatory, anti viral, anti-cancer and anti-depressive effects
Recipe
CORN GRITS
Properties
These grains contain protein, fiber and a variety of vitamins and minerals while not naturally a good source of any other nutrient.
Benefits
- Natural source of selenium
- Regulation of metabolism of thyroid hormones
- Antioxidants production
Start feeling the benefits of including cereals as the base of your diet!