Sensory characteristics of wholegrain and bran-rich cereal foods - A review

Background: Wholegrain foods are known to be health-beneficial but their sensory characteristics may be a limiting factor for consumption. The scientific literature of factors influencing sensory quality of wholegrain foods is rather scarce. Scope and approach: Many cereals like rye, oats, barley and sorghum are actually used mainly as...

The structure of wheat bread influences the postprandial metabolic response in healthy men

Postprandial high glucose and insulin responses after starchy food consumption, associated with an increased risk of developing several metabolic diseases, could possibly be improved by altering food structure. We investigated the influence of a compact food structure; different wheat products with a similar composition were created using...

The HEALTHGRAIN definition of ‘whole grain’

Most cereal products, like white bread, pasta, and biscuits, are based on flour after removal of bran and germ, the two parts of grain kernels containing most of the dietary fibre and other bioactive components. In the past decade, consumers have been rediscovering whole grain-based products and the number of wholegrain products has increased...

Bioprocessing of wheat bran in whole wheat bread increases the bioavailability of phenolic acids in men and exerts antiinflammatory effects ex vivo 1-3

Whole grain consumption has been linked to a lower risk of metabolic syndrome, which is normally associated with a lowgrade chronic inflammation. The benefits of whole grain are in part related to the inclusion of the bran, rich in phenolic acids and fiber. However, the phenols are poorly bioaccessible from the cereal matrix. The aim of the...

More of the grain - progress in the HEALTHGRAIN project for healthy cereal foods

Bioprocessing of wheat bran improves in vitro bioaccessibility and colonic metabolism of phenolic compounds

Ferulic acid (FA) is the most abundant phenolic compound in wheat grain, mainly located in the bran. However, its bioaccessibility from the bran matrix is extremely low. Different bioprocessing techniques involving fermentation or enzymatic and fermentation treatments of wheat bran were developed aiming at improving the bioaccessibility of...

Beyond whole grain: The European HEALTHGRAIN project aims at healthier cereal foods

Cereal foods are an important source of carbohydrates and dietary fiber in our diet. Epidemiological evidence increasingly demonstrates that a diet rich in whole grain is protective against development of diet-related disorders such as cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. The majority of cereal foods today, however, are made from refined...

The case for strategic international alliances to harness nutritional genomics for public and personal health

Nutrigenomics is the study of how constituents of the diet interact with genes, and their products, to alter phenotype and, conversely, how genes and their products metabolise these constituents into nutrients, antinutrients, and bioactive compounds. Results from molecular and genetic epidemiological studies indicate that dietary unbalance can...