Thursday, May 3, 2007

Whole grain

A whole grain is composed of three parts. The bran, the germ, and the endosperm.

The bran is the fiber-rich outer layer of the grain kernel. It is a rich source of many vitamins and minerals your body needs, as well as the fiber. Which is greatly lacking in today's normal diet. The bran makes up about 14 % of the kernel.

The germ is also another rich source of vitamins and minerals. This part of the grain is where a new plant sprouts. It contains protein and good fat that will help nourish a new plant, as well as you :). The germ makes up about 3% of the grain kernel.

The endosperm is the inside of the grain, and is the majority of the seed. It has only small amounts of vitamins and minerals. This is what is normally used to make white flour, the bran and germ are removed during the milling process for most manufacturers (but more on that later). The endosperm makes up about 83% of the seed.

Now you have a big of an overview of what a grain is made up of. If this information doesn't make sense to you now, don't worry, it'll all make sense when you continue reading this blog. It's important info to know, and now that that's out of the way, we can get more in depth into whole grains!

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