Ask a Nutritionist: Why Eat Ancient Grains? (2024)

FAQs

What are the benefits of eating ancient grains? ›

Including ancient grains in place of refined grains in your meals may help reduce your risk of heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, and certain types of cancer.

Ancient grains include varieties of wheat: spelt, Khorasan wheat (Kamut), einkorn, and emmer; the grains millet, barley, teff, oats, and sorghum; and the pseudocereals quinoa, amaranth, buckwheat, and chia.

Whole-grain foods are good choices for a nutritious diet. Whole grains provide fiber, vitamins, minerals and other nutrients. Whole-grain foods help control of cholesterol levels, weight and blood pressure. These foods also help lower the risk of diabetes, heart disease and other conditions.

Farro Monococcum, also called Einkorn, Small Farro and Little Spelt is the oldest grain that exists today. Cooked farro looks and tastes like barley, but has a slightly more chewy texture and caramel notes.

You'll see many through lines between the nutrition profiles of these grains, and they all contain many different types of plant compounds, or phytochemicals. These bioactive compounds are antioxidants with potent anti-inflammatory benefits that can help to ward off chronic disease.

The five types of grain

In Rabbinic Judaism, this requirement is restricted to the five species of grain – wheat, barley, spelt, rye and a fifth shibolet shual (which has been identified with oat, a species of barley called segala in Latin, and a kind of millet called sophonion in Greek).

Heirloom varieties of other common grains — such as black barley, red and black rice, blue corn — might also be considered ancient grains. Other grains largely ignored until recently by Western palates (such as sorghum, teff, millet, quinoa, amaranth) would also be widely considered to be ancient grains.

What are ancient grains today? ›

Some popular ancient grains are amaranth, sorghum, farro, barley, quinoa, and millet, and they're often used in salads, soups, and bowls as an alternative to modern wheat and rice.

Grains to avoid are wheat (such as wheat berries, spelt, kamut, farro and bulgur), rye, barley and triticale.

We recommend enjoying 3 serves of whole grain foods daily to help reduce the risk of disease(4). Making the simple swap from refined grain foods to whole grain varieties such as brown rice, wholemeal pasta, oats, wholemeal bread and whole grain breakfast cereals will ensure you hit your daily whole grain target!

From chia to kamut, sorghum to spelt, like many whole grains, they are significant sources of protein, fiber and other important nutrients, such as B vitamins, iron, folate, selenium, potassium and magnesium.

Wheat is an essential part of almost every meal and is known as the king of grains. Wheat is full of many nutrients that are good for your health.

Quinoa is classified as an ancient grain, thanks to its long cultivation history, as well as its culinary uses and nutritional profile. But it's really a tiny seed that comes in a rainbow of colors, notably red, black, and white.

"Black rice has been shown to have the highest level of antioxidants of all rice varieties, due in large part to the anthocyanin content—a powerful anti-inflammatory that gives the grains their dark purplish hue—as well as flavonoids and carotenoids," explains Megan Roosevelt, RDN, LA-based registered dietitian, ...

Grain-free diets may limit nutrient intake, increase your risk of constipation, and be difficult to sustain in the long term. Unnecessarily demonizing grains for purported health reasons may also promote orthorexic eating behaviors.

What grain is healthier than rice? ›

While it assumes a grain-like taste and texture after cooking, quinoa is a seed. This rice substitute is gluten-free, high in fiber, and much higher in protein than rice. Quinoa is a complete protein, meaning it contains all nine essential amino acids that your body needs.

Cooking is the only way to be sure that foods made with flour or grains are safe. This is because raw grains and raw flours are not intended for human consumption as-is, as they have not undergone a “kill step” (such as boiling, baking, roasting, or heat-treating).

Ancient grains are certainly more nutritious than refined grain products (like white flour or refined crackers). But healthy whole grains need not be exotic. Common foods like brown rice, whole grain pasta, oatmeal, popcorn, and whole wheat bread offer the same whole grain goodness, and often at lower price points.

Ancient grains improve fasting blood glucose levels

In the comprehensive analysis, the vast majority of studies (96.5%) suggested a positive effect of ancient grain consumption on various diabetes markers, including insulin levels, hemoglobin A1c, fasting blood glucose, and cholesterol levels.

Each of the five grains is also connected to one of the organs. Wheat is related to the Liver, Millet goes to the Spleen, beans are good for the Kidneys, white rice nourishes Lungs, and brown rice goes to the Heart.