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Less Allergenic Wheats Identified

Scientists in Shizuoka, Japan screened 324 varieties of wheat from around the world, in an effort to find varieties less likely to trigger allergies to gluten, gliadin, and alpha-amylase inhibitor. Einkorn, along with rare varieties from Mexico, Ecuador, China, and Italy, were found to be among the least allergenic.
Journal of Nutritional Science and Vitaminology (Tokyo), June 2005; 51(3): 204-6

Magnesium May Explain Diabetes Benefits of Whole Wheat

It’s thought that foods with a lower glycemic index may improve insulin sensitivity. Yet whole wheat bread, with a glycemic index almost identical to bread made with refined wheat, has been found to promote insulin sensitivity when compared to the “white bread.” Researchers at Pantox Laboratories in San Diego, California, hypothesize that magnesium may be responsible, and urged “the strong desirability of choosing whole grain products in preference to refined grains.”
Medical Hypotheses, 2005; 64(3): 619-27

Whole Grains High In Antioxidants

Dr. Rui Hai Liu of Cornell and his colleagues discovered that whole grains contain protective antioxidants in quantities rivalling or exceeding those in fruits and vegetables. Corn, for instance, has almost twice the antioxidant activity of apples, while wheat and oats almost equal broccoli and spinach in antioxidant activity.
American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) International Conference on Food, Nutrition and Cancer, November 2004

Ancient Wheat Breads Digested Differently

Researchers at the Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University, in Frederiksberg, Denmark, compared three different loaves: einkorn bread made with honey-salt leavening; naturally-leavened einkorn bread made with crushed whole grains; and commercial yeast bread made with modern wheat. The naturally-leavened einkorn loaves significantly reduced the gastrointestinal response of GIP (glucose-dependent insulinotrophic polypeptide), a hormone important in controlling insulin secretion.
European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, October 2003; 57(1):1254-61

Oats Lower Bad Cholesterol

Researchers at Colorado State University randomly assigned thirty-six overweight middle-aged men to eat either an oat or wheat cereal daily for twelve weeks. At the end of the three-month period, the men eating the oat cereal had lower concentrations of small, dense LDL cholesterol (thought to be particularly dangerous) and lower LDL overall, compared to those in the wheat group, while their HDL (“good”) cholesterol was unchanged.
American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, August 2002; 76(2):351-8

Oats Help Control Blood Pressure

Using a randomized, controlled parallel-group pilot study, researchers followed 18 hypertensive and hyperinsulemic men and women for six weeks, while half of them ate oat cereal (5.52g/day of beta-glucan) and the others ate a lower-fiber cereal (less than 1g total fiber). The oat group enjoyed a 7.5mm Hg reduction in systolic blood pressure and a 5.5 mm Hg reduction in diastolic blood pressure, while the wheat group was unchanged.
Journal of Family Practice, April 2002; 51(4):369

Optimum Germination Conditions for Wheat

Scientists at the University of Alberta germinated wheat under various conditions to determine how to maximize the production of antioxidants.  First, they steeped the grains in water for 24 or 48 hours, then sprouted them in the dark for 9 days. Vitamins C and E and beta-carotene, which were barely detectable in the dry grains, increased steadiily during the germination period. Grains steeped for 48 hours became wet, sticky, discolored and acidic-smelling after germination, leading researchers to conclude that 24 hours of steeping and 7 days of sprouting would produce the best combination of antioxidant concentrations and sensory properties.
International Journal of Food Sciences and Nutrition, July 2001; 52(4):319-30.

Eating Buckwheat Products Produces Lower GI Response

In a joint effort to determine the characteristics of buckwheat starch and its potential for a reduced metabolic response after meals, researchers from Slovenia and Sweden scored human test subject’s responses to an assortment of buckwheat products, including boiled buckwheat groats, breads baked with 30-70% buckwheat flour, and bread baked from buckwheat groats. The highest level of resistant starch was found in the boiled buckwheat groats, while the resistant starch levels in the buckwheat breads were significantly lower, depending on whether flour or grouts had been used. The conclusion? All buckwheat products scored significantly lower on the after-meal blood glucose tests, while also scoring higher in satiety, than the control group’s white wheat bread.
Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, January 2001; 49(1):490–96. DOI: 10.1021/jf000779w

Wheat Flour Particle Size Doesn’t Affect Glycemic Response

USDA’s Agricultural Research Service, in Beltsville, MD, asked twenty-six healthy adults to consume four different samples: glucose solution, traditional white (refined) bread, conventional whole wheat bread, or bread made with ultra-fine whole wheat. The researchers then determined the subjects’ glycemic response, and determined that both whole wheat flours (conventional and ultra-fine) had similar effects. They concluded that “the particle size of whole grain wheat flour did not substantially affect glycemic responses.
Journal of the American College of Nutrition, December 1999; 18(6):591-7

Barley Pasta Lowers Cholesterol

University of California researchers fed two test meals to 11 healthy men, both containing beta-glucan. One meal was a high-fiber (15.7g) barley pasta and the other was  lower-fiber (5.0g) wheat pasta. The barley pasta blunted insulin response, and four hours after the meal, barley-eaters had significantly lower cholesterol concentration than wheat-eaters.
American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, January 1999; 69(1):55-63

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