Article Topic: Healthy Eating

For Your Health – Make Health Gains with Whole Grains

Moving toward a diet with more whole foods and fewer processed and fast foods is a great goal for everyone — and can have many health benefits. Adding more whole grains to our weekly menus can help us do just that.

If someone asked us to name five ways to improve our health and lower the risk of illness, “eat a healthy diet” would probably land on most of our lists. And it certainly belongs there. Research has shown that healthy eating could prevent over 80,000 cancer cases each year in the U.S. and help even more people prevent heart disease and diabetes.

While most of us have ways we could make our weekly menus healthier, eating more whole grains is one area where there can be a lot of room for improvement. As many as 90% of us aren’t getting the amounts recommended for our health and wellness.

Wheat, oats, rice, corn and barley are examples of grains. They offer the most benefit when they are whole grains — that is, when they include the three key parts of the natural grain kernel: bran, germ and endosperm. Bran and germ are rich in fiber, vitamins, minerals and other healthy compounds. When the bran and germ are removed during processing, they become refined grains.

The new Dietary Guidelines for Americans — along with those of other organizations —recommend focusing on eating whole grains over less-healthy refined grains. Whole-wheat bread and brown rice are classic whole-grain foods, compared to their refined versions, white bread and white rice.

Most adults should aim for 2-4 servings of whole grains a day, with one serving equaling a half cup of cooked oatmeal, a cup of dry breakfast cereal or a slice of bread.

One simple way to choose more whole grains is to look for foods that are labelled “100% whole grain,” “100% whole wheat,” “100% whole-grain oats” or something very similar. You can also look for “whole grain” listed as a first ingredient, which means whole grains are the primary ingredient in the food.

Try these options for working more whole grains into your day. See which ones might be a good place to start, then build from there — and add your own creativity to fit them into your favorite foods.

Snacks

  • Whole-grain pretzels, whole-grain pita chips and whole-grain crackers
  • Whole-grain granola with Greek yogurt
  • Air- or pan-popped popcorn

Breakfast

  • Oatmeal or whole-grain oat dry cereal
  • 100% whole-wheat toast
  • Whole-wheat or whole-grain buckwheat pancakes

Lunch

  • Whole-wheat spaghetti or whole-wheat pasta salad
  • Sandwich with 100% whole-wheat bread
  • Rice bowl with brown rice

Dinner

  • Soup or stew with added barley or brown rice
  • Burrito with whole-wheat tortilla and brown rice
  • Whole-grain veggie burger with whole-wheat bun

When eating out, ask about whole-grain options — for bread, buns, tortillas, fillings or side dishes. They may not always be listed on menus, or if they are, may not be highlighted. But they’re becoming more common options at many restaurants and can be an easy way to sneak more whole grains into our days.

It’s also good to choose whole-grain foods that are lower in added sugar, sodium and unhealthy fats. Some whole-grain breakfast cereals, for example, can still have a lot of added sugar and sodium. Choosing healthier options overall provides an even bigger nutrition boost.

Moving toward a diet with more whole foods and fewer processed and fast foods is a great goal for everyone — and can have many health benefits.

Adding more whole grains to our weekly menus can help us do just that. It can take a little extra time and effort to make the switch. But it’s 100% worth it.

For Your Health: A fresh look at healthy goals in the New Year

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Heading into a new year, it feels like a great time to mix things up. So, after several years interviewing leaders in health and medicine to get their insight for this column, I thought it seemed only fair to turn the tables and have a colleague interview me.

The result was a great discussion that touched on issues big and small — and that may provide a peek behind the curtain of medical research and how I incorporate health recommendations into my own life.

Much of your work focuses on helping people improve their health and prevent diseases like cancer. What drew you to this?

When I was a medical student and we’d visit cancer patients, it seemed like lung cancer was everywhere, and no one really talked about tackling smoking as a way to prevent it. People were talking about how to prevent heart disease and high blood pressure, but not cancer. It looked like there was real potential to go after cancer prevention in a creative and impactful way.

If someone asked you for the top three behaviors they should follow to lower cancer risk, what would you recommend?

The top one is: Don’t smoke. Or, if you smoke, quit. Next would be to avoid weight gain. That may be surprising to hear, but extra weight increases the risk of many different cancers. Regular physical activity helps with controlling weight, as does my third top behavior: eating a healthy diet. Try to focus on fruits, vegetables and whole grains — and limit fast and processed foods.

What’s something you do that’s pretty simple but can have a large payoff for health?

One easy thing has been building short walks into my daily life. A regular 15- to 20-minute walk to work or school or a nearby store can have amazing health benefits. I’m not perfect with it, but I’ve tried to make it a routine to walk instead of drive when it’s safe and pretty easy to do. I like to get longer walks in when I can, but it’s great to have this basic amount of activity built into my day.

Most of us can improve the way we eat. Do you have something you’ve been trying to work on recently?

One thing I started doing was switching to alcohol-free, or NA, beer. I’m Australian, and we’re known for liking beer. And the NAs are really good now — with a lot of options in stores and at bars and restaurants. So, I was like, “Let’s give it a go and switch.” It also felt important to do because we’ve tried to bring more attention to the message that zero alcohol is the best choice when it comes to cancer risk and overall health.

Health recommendations can change over time, whether it’s what to eat or drink or when we should get screening tests. Why this is?

This can feel frustrating, for sure. But we can also see such changes and say, “It’s really good news. We know a lot more now than we used to.” Looking at breast cancer screening, mammogram technology today is much better than what we used to have. The richness of the image is better. And we have more studies that have gone on for longer periods of time. So, we have more evidence on the positive impact of mammograms on women’s health. With this, we can revisit and refine recommendations for when women should start screening and how often they should have it. This also applies to many other health recommendations. They can be refined over time as we learn more.

Wrapping things up, do you have any specific health goals for the coming year?

I’d like to lose a few more pounds and get back into the normal weight range. As a nation, the weight issue stands out. It’s a driver of so many chronic conditions — not just cancer, diabetes and heart disease, but also mobility and memory problems. And we haven’t done a great job with policies and approaches that make it easier for people to be physically active and choose healthier foods. That’s a bigger goal for policymakers and health professionals like me. But on a more personal level, I’ll try to keep up with the steps that can help me get to a healthier weight in 2026.

That’s great. Thank you.

Thank you — and happy New Year!