This should be one of the easiest, no brainer, decisions you can possibly make to keep yourself and your family healthy!  In a nutshell … if you will eat just one ounce of whole grains daily you will drop your risk of death by 5%!  One Ounce!

Whole grains are really good for you in so many ways.  We have talked about whole grains several times here at the Wild Oats Blog  –
●  Elizabeth gives you the basics of why the American Dietetic Association recommends whole grains.
●  Linda  gives you more information about determining how much whole grains you’ll find in different foods.

Plus, we have offered up many different blog posts that look at specific whole grains  …. oats, whole wheat, brown rice, quinoa, buckwheat and barley for sure.  We’ve even given you the list of whole grains that are also gluten free!

The new news?  In this month’s issue of JAMA, the Harvard School of Public Health published a study  looking specifically at mortality (death) in relationship to eating whole grains.  The study included 74,000 women and 44,000 men who were followed for over 20 years.  The study found that even one serving daily of whole grains decreased likelihood of death by 5%.  And, the “serving size” was only 1 ounce!

How easy is it to eat 1 ounce of whole grains daily?  Really easy!  Here are some examples:
●  2 tablespoons of oatmeal
●  2 tablespoons of brown rice
●  2 tablespoons of quinoa
●  2 tablespoons of buckwheat
●  a slice of rye bread
●  a slice of whole grain bread
●  2 tablespoons of Wild Oats Organic Quinoa and Brown Rice Blend which is super delicious!
●  1 individual cookie pack of Wild Oats Organic Oatmeal Cookies!

So, one serving a day for every member of your family (well, toddlers and older) of whole grains should fit easily and economically into your food plan.  Whole grains have extra benefits for heart health as well.  The same study showed a 9% decrease in risk of death from heart disease with the same one serving.

Oh, just to be clear  –  one serving daily is the “no brainer”.  Eating more than one is a perfectly fine, and healthy, idea.  Oatmeal cookies anyone?