Whole Grain as Main Energy Sources
In the world’s culinary; one of material food that is popular enough is whole grain, known as cereals or grains. In the food pyramid, a group of cereals is one of the foundations which are very important because it is a source of carbohydrates or starches.
Generally cereal is a member of grains tribe called true cereal. The most famous members include rice, corn, wheat, and sorghum. In addition, there are few outside the family cereal grain that also mien cereals such as buckwheat, amaranth seed, and quinoa. Some cereals are also known as the bird seed, such as millet.
Cereal is cultivated on a large scale throughout the world, exceeding all other types of plants and become the main energy source for humans and livestock. In some developing countries, cereal often is the only source of carbohydrate.
From the many cereal, only a few are known around the world, namely maize, wheat, and rice that reaches 87% of all grain production of the world.
Generally we eat cereal which is not really a whole grain cereal grain, but only a portion of cereal seeds. Flour which we use for baking the raw material is endosperm (institution) of wheat ground and sifted, not whole wheat grains are ground.
Similarly rice, which we consume daily, is only the seed endosperm of rice, while the germ (embryo) and its bran removed. In rice, the embryo accidentally separated as bran, with the aim to extend the power saving rice.
Research showed that the bran and the embryo of cereal are beneficial to health because rich variety of nutrients and phytochemical components. Therefore, it’s unfortunately if the two sections removed as waste processing in the process.
Now have been developed food ingredients which are made from whole cereal seeds known as whole grains. In the whole-grain foods, whole seeds, starting from the outside of the seed (bran), institutions (endosperm), and embryo (germ), are used.
Recently it was rather difficult to find whole-grain sellers who are still in the form of seeds. Processed whole grain products that are actually sold on the market, ranging from flour to processed foods such as wholemeal bread, biscuits, oats, wheat crackers, and cereal oats mixed with milk.
Consumption of whole grains is useful as an antioxidant that can counteract free radicals as a cause of various health problems such as skin wrinkles due to aging, heart disease, stroke, and cancer. Research also showed that whole grain can help control blood pressure for 10 hours after consumption.
