Phytochemicals whole grains

Chapter 9 provides some of the background evidence suggesting a role for phytochemicals in health promotion and disease prevraition. In this chapter Hu reviews and summarizes epidemiological research on plant-based foods and dietary patterns and concludes that there is substantial evidence that healthy plant-based diets—those with adequate omega-3 fatty adds, that arc rich in unsaturated fats, whole grains, fraits and vegetables—can, and should play an important part in the prevention of cardiovascular disease and other chronic diseases. ... 

However, the concentrations of minerals, vitamins, and phytochemicals are very high in the bran and their removal lowers the nutritional value. Some data for the concentrations of vitamins and minerals in the starchy endosperm and the aleurone components are shown in Table 14.1. Myriad different chemical compounds can be found in the whole grain of cereals, some of which may not yet have been identified. Therefore, cereal chemists have a great challenge for the future to identify them and to contribute to elucidating their role in improving health. 

Functional foods represent one of the most interesting areas of research and innovation in food industry. Actually, the role of a balanced nutrition is not only to ensure an adequate intake of nutrients to efficiently enable all metabolic processes but also to contribute to sustained human health. Plant-based foods, such as fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, which contain significant amounts of bioactive phytochemicals also known as nutraceuticals, may provide desirable health benefits beyond basic nutrition to significantly reduce the incidence of chronic diseases, such as cancer, cardiovascular diseases, and... 

Phytochemicals are defined as non-nutrient bioactive plant origin compounds naturally present in fruits, vegetables and whole grains (Liu 2004). Dietary intake of phytochemicals has been strongly linked to reduced risk of major chronic diseases such as cancer, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases (Liu 2003). Use of fruit and vegetables as health remedies traditionally is very common in a considerable part of world population (Salama and Marraiki 2010). 

Although cereals are staples, cereal brans and whole grains are viewed in the industrialized world more as health-promoting supplements. They contain some distinctive phytochemicals not encountered in other commodities. 

See also Antioxidants Diet and Antioxidant Defense Obsen/ationai Studies Intervention Studies. Coronary Heart Disease Prevention. Phytochemicals Epidemiological Factors. Whole Grains. 

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