The Latest on the Greatest Whole Grains You Haven't Tried Yet

Don't miss any of HealthyWoman from Bottom Line. Add our address, HealthyWomanfromBottomLine@news.bottomlinepublishing.com, to your Address Book or Safe List. Learn how here. April 28, 2011  The Latest on the Greatest Whole Grains You Haven’t Tried Yet New Treatment Reverses 82% of Deadly Cancers... Without Chemotherapy, Radiation or Surgery Don’t Like that Doughy Lump? The Drugs No Senior Should Ever Take Fascinating Facts   The Latest on the Greatest Whole Grains You Haven’t Tried Yet Sitting in an Italian restaurant, my coworker picked at her whole-wheat spaghetti and said, "I know that I’m supposed to eat whole grains, but I just don’t like whole-wheat pasta, whole-wheat bread or whole-wheat anything." I suggested that she could increase her appetite for whole grains by offering her taste buds more variety—and told her that there were newly discovered reasons to do so. In recent studies: People who ate three or more daily servings of whole grains and less than one daily serving of refined grains (white bread, cookies, etc.) had, on average, about 10% less belly fat—a type of fat linked to cardiovascular disease and diabetes—than people who ate the fewest whole grains and the most refined grains. Also, people who consumed the most fiber, primarily from whole grains, were 22% less likely to die during a nine-year study than those who ate the least fiber. Good news for us girls: Fiber’s protective effect was particularly pronounced in women. Problem is, fewer than 5% of Americans consume the USDA-recommended minimum of about three ounces of whole grains per day. What’s the big deal? Whole grain contains the entire edible part of a grain (a.k.a. "seed")—including the germ (technically the sprout of a new plant)... endosperm (the seed’s energy storehouse)... and nutrient-rich bran (the seed’s outer layer). Refined grains, on the other hand, are stripped of their bran and germ layers during milling. When I called Julie Miller Jones, PhD, CNS, LN, professor emeritus of nutrition at St. Catherine University in St. Paul, she said the greater the variety of whole grains, the better. "Each whole grain brings different nutrients, fibers and phytonutrients to the table, so it is worth exploring and enjoying various types," she explained. Lesser known but delicious whole grains can be found in supermarkets, health-food stores and online. Check out these... Amaranth provides protein, calcium, iron, phosphorus, potassium and many other nutrients. It’s also free of gluten, a protein in wheat, rye and barley that can cause digestive upset in some people. When cooked, amaranth is pleasantly sticky and mild tasting. To cook: Boil one cup of amaranth grains in two-and-a-half cups of water or broth for 20 minutes or until tender. If desired, season with herbs, pepper and a bit of olive oil. Or use milk as part of the cooking liquid and add sweet spices, such as cinnamon and cardamom, Dr. Jones suggested. Also try amaranth flakes as a breakfast cereal... amaranth crackers... and amaranth flour, swapping it for one-third of a recipe’s white flour. Buckwheat, a gluten-free grain, offers plenty of protein... the heart-healthy flavonoid rutin... plus bone-building magnesium and other minerals. It is strongly flavored, so Dr. Jones suggested serving it as a side dish paired with robust entrées, such as those made with red wine or balsamic vinegar. Cook the hulled, crushed kernels by simmering one cup of buckwheat in two cups of water for about 10 to 15 minutes (avoid overcooking so it doesn’t become mushy)... then flavor with onions, mushrooms and whatever else you like. Kamut, the brand name for an ancient relative of wheat, provides protein, fiber, vitamin A, iron and zinc (it does contain gluten). With their nutty, buttery taste, kamut kernels make a great substitute for rice in recipes. Note that the cooking time is around 90 minutes... or you can soak the kernels overnight to reduce cooking time to about 30 minutes. Kamut flour can be used to bake bread, tortillas, cookies and more. Recipes: www.Kamut.com. Quinoa is a tiny gluten-free grain rich in essential amino acids (protein building blocks that our bodies must get from dietary sources) as well as iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium and protein. To cook: Simmer one cup of quinoa and two cups of water or broth for 15 minutes or until water is absorbed. Add cooked quinoa to omelets or soups... or combine with vegetables, nuts and spices for a tasty side dish. White whole wheat is an unrefined variety of wheat with a light-colored kernel. It has a lower gluten content than the red wheat used to make regular whole-wheat flour, so it produces foods with a softer texture and sweeter flavor, Dr. Jones explained. It provides nutrient and fiber content similar to that of regular whole wheat, though it is lower in some antioxidants (which accounts for its lighter color). In recipes: Substitute white whole-wheat flour for half of the refined flour or for all of the regular whole-wheat flour. Source: Julie Miller Jones, PhD, CNS, LN, a certified nutrition specialist and licensed nutritionist, is a distinguished scholar and professor emeritus of food and nutrition at St. Catherine University in St. Paul. She regularly writes and lectures about whole grains and dietary fiber. New Treatment Reverses 82% of Deadly Cancers... Without Chemotherapy, Radiation or Surgery Lung cancer? Everybody knows that’s usually a death sentence. TV’s Peter Jennings died just a few months after announcing he had it. But you won’t hear that gloomy outlook from some very fortunate cancer patients. They were treated with a startling new medical cure that harnessed the cancer-killing power of their body’s T-cells. These warriors of your immune system usually ignore cancer. But researchers recently found a way to trick T-cells into destroying deadly cancers. How? With a dose of the patient’s own tumor cells! Read on... Don’t Like that Doughy Lump? Q: I have a big, doughy lump on my arm. My doctor diagnosed it as a lipoma and said I could ignore it, but I’d rather get rid of it. What can I do? A: A lipoma—a benign lesion composed of fat and scar tissue that typically forms just below the skin—generally is safe to ignore. But sometimes a patient opts to have it removed because she doesn’t like the way it looks or feels. Though the growth itself usually is painless, it may cause discomfort if it forms in a spot where there is friction, such as the inner thigh... becomes bruised (for instance, from being leaned on)... or presses on a nerve. Lipomas, which form for unknown reasons, usually appear on the torso, neck, thighs or arms but can occur almost anywhere. They start small but can reach anywhere from about one inch across to the size of a grapefruit. Another common type of lipoma is the angiolipoma, which contains blood vessels as well as fat. Angiolipomas tend to be small (one-half inch to one inch across)... occur in multiples... and run in families. A regular dermatologist can excise small lipomas of either type with a simple in-office procedure. A dermatologic surgeon can remove even a very large lipoma through a tiny incision by using liposuction and excision. Patients need only local anesthesia and most resume their usual activities with no downtime. As with any minor surgery, there is a slight risk for infection. The recurrence rate for either type of lipoma is less than 5%—but if your lipoma does recur, the procedure can be repeated. Source: Rhoda S. Narins, MD, is a clinical professor of dermatology at New York University Medical Center in New York City. She is director of the Dermatology Surgery and Laser Center in New York City and White Plains, New York, and past president of the American Society for Dermatologic Surgery. www.Narins.com The Drugs No Senior Should Ever Take In 1991, a team from Harvard Medical School identified 20 drugs too dangerous for use by elderly patients. Then they found out that 23% of seniors are receiving these very drugs. And the Journal of the American Medical Association said this study was "merely the tip of the iceberg." They were right. Now the list has grown to several dozen drugs. Congress was so disturbed it asked its watchdog agency, the General Accounting Office, to look into it. Using Medicare data, the GAO found over 17% of the elderly receive unsafe drugs. Learn more... Fascinating Facts 1 in 3... adults in the US have high blood pressure—and half of those affected do not have their condition under control. Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2 in 5... American adults admit that they are not physically active at all... only three in 10 are active enough to stay healthy and fit. Source: Harvard Health Publications. 3 in 181... countries studied do not require paid maternity leave for workers. They are: Papua New Guinea, Swaziland and the US. Source: National Partnership for Women & Families. Tamara Eberlein, the editor of HealthyWoman from Bottom Line, has been a health journalist for nearly three decades. An award-winning author or coauthor of four books, she is committed to helping other women in midlife and beyond live healthy, fulfilling lives. Her latest book is the updated, third edition of When You’re Expecting Twins, Triplets, or Quads (HarperCollins). She is also the "chief health adviser" to her husband of 25 years, college-age twins and teenaged son. 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