The Staff of Life

“Behold, verily thus saith the Lord unto you,    In consequence of evils and designs which do and will exist in the hearts of conspiring men in the   last days, I have warned you and forewarn you, by giving unto you this word of wisdom by revelation   . . .”  (Doctrine & Covenants 86:1a)

How many times have you thought, “I know I should try harder to keep the Word of Wisdom; I know our family should improve our eating habits . . . but where do I start?”

Here’s my suggestion:  Start with whole grains.

“All grain is ordained for the use of man and of beast, to be the staff of life . . . All grain is good for the food of man . . . nevertheless, wheat for man . . .”  (D&C 86:2c, 3a-b—Emphasis added)

God makes it plain that grain is to be the staff of life, or a main part of our diet, and especially wheat. There is no dispute that this means WHOLE grains. At the time this revelation was given, the general public ate whole grains.  It wasn’t until the 1840’s and later that technology made “white” or refined flour widely available.

Does it really make much difference whether we eat whole grain foods instead of “enriched” white flour products?  Scientific research answers with a resounding, “YES!”  Eating one to three servings of whole grains each day can give you many immediate health benefits, as well as reduce your risk of many major chronic diseases in the future. 

How would you like to reduce your risk for bowel disorders (including constipation, hemorrhoids, diverticulosis), twenty types of cancer, heart disease, high cholesterol, stroke, high blood pressure, obesity and type 2 diabetes?   (If you already have diabetes, whole grains may improve your blood sugar control.)  This is only part of what eating whole grain foods can do for you.  

For example, in the Nurses’ Health study, which monitored the health status of more than 68,000 women for more than a decade, the women who ate two to three servings of whole grains every day were found to reduce their risk of heart disease developing by 30 percent! They also were 30 percent less likely to have developed type 2 diabetes than those who rarely ate whole grains.(1) 

Whole grain foods include all three parts of the grain:   

✓ The bran—full of fiber, B vitamins, 50-80 percent of the grain’s minerals and healthy substances called phyotochemicals.
✓ The endosperm—made of complex carbohydrates and protein, with a smaller amount of B vitamins.
✓ And the germ—a potent source of B vitamins, vitamin E, trace minerals (such as selenium, zinc, copper and magnesium), healthy unsaturated fats, phytochemicals and antioxidants (which protect against cell damage).

Refined grain products contain only the starchy endosperm.  The nutritional value is reduced up to 90 percent.  For example, more than thirty known nutrients are found in whole wheat.  Almost all these are lost when wheat is refined into white flour.  Enriched flour has had one mineral (iron) and three B vitamins added back in artificially.  What a poor trade off!  A recent study showed that only 5 percent of the grain products eaten by Americans are whole grain.  As a nation, our health has suffered greatly as we have trained our taste buds to prefer refined flour products. 

So why are our grocery stores full of white flour and refined grain foods?  The food industries make more profit on refined or white flour products.  The mills can take out the germ and bran, and sell it separately from the flour.  (Three things to market instead of one!)  Refined grain products ship well and stay good on the shelf for a very long time.  (No natural, vitamin-rich oils to go rancid.)  God warned us about the “consequence of evils and designs which do and will exist in the hearts of conspiring men in the last days.”

Are you convinced you need whole grain foods as a mainstay in your family’s diet?  It’s time to change!  Even if you are used to refined grain products, you can learn to love whole grain foods. It’s really just a matter of retraining your taste buds.  Don’t try to do it all at once.  Change your diet in small, steady steps.  Start with educating your family about the benefits of whole grain foods.  This will give them a reason to try to adjust. Then little by little, begin weeding out refined grain products and replacing them with whole grain products.

If you are having a hard time getting used to whole grain foods, here are tips to make the switch easier:   Replace refined crackers and with whole grain crackers.  Start buying whole grain cereals . . . hot and cold.  Start making sandwiches with one slice white bread and one slice whole wheat.  Mix whole grain pasta (available at health food stores) with regular pastas which are refined white flour products.  Start making your own homemade treats such as the following recipes.  At first make them with half whole wheat flour and gradually increase the amount until they are 100 percent whole grain. Try using whole wheat flour from the variety of wheat called white wheat. It has a milder flavor and lighter color than whole wheat flour from traditional red wheat. You can find 100 percent whole grain white wheat flour in most health food stores.

In other posts, I have talked about the optimal benefit of eating whole grains in forms that are not highly processed and that do not have the additives found in most commercial whole grain foods. Yes, it is optimal to have fresh ground flour from organic grains and to make most of your own baked goods, but this is not always possible, especially at first. 

If you set the standard too high, you are more likely to feel like it is useless to even try. Just do the best you can right now!  Even small steps in adding whole grains to your diet can result in improved health for you and your family!

Here are some tasty recipes to get you started.

Raisin Bars

1 cup raisins
1 cup water
2 cups whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 to 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil or melted unrefined coconut oil
1 cup honey
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
Mix raisins and water in blender.  Combine dry ingredients in mixer bowl. Make a well and add egg. Beat egg, then add oil, honey and raisin-water mixture.  Mix with dry ingredients until smooth. Pour into lightly greased 9”x13” pan.
Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes.

Whole Wheat Muffins

These make great snacks for little ones, especially if baked in mini muffin pans!

2 cups whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder (non-aluminum)
1/4 to 1/2 cup honey
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup raisins (optional)
1 egg, beaten
1 cup milk 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil or melted unrefined coconut oil

Mix dry ingredients and raisins in a bowl.  Make a well in the center.  Add eggs, milk, honey and oil. Stir gently until just moistened. Fill greased muffin cups 1/2 to 2/3 full.  Bake at 375 degrees for about 15 minutes.  (16 muffins)

Blueberry Muffins:  Omit raisins and cloves.  Add one cup of frozen blueberries just before baking.

What are your favorite whole grain recipes?  Feel free to share them below in the comments section! 

 

Reference
1. Liu, Stampfer, Hu, Giovannucci, Rim, Manson, Hennekens and Willet. "Whole-grain consumption and risk of coronary heart disease: results from the Nurses' Health Study1,2,3." Am J Clin Nutr September 1999 vol. 70 no. 3 412-419
http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/70/3/412.abstract
http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/what-should-you-eat/health-gains-from-whole-grains/