Do We Really Need Grains?

What’s the deal with grains? Do we need them? This is one of the most popular questions I get as a health coach.

Read on to find out what food category you should be including in every meal, and whether grains are a part of it.

What’s the deal with grains?

Do we need them? Are they essential?

These questions came up in some of my recent client conversations.

So here’s the thing:

There’s really no single type of food that we all absolutely need.

There are nutrients that we need in order to survive in order to thrive, to have:

Flexible body parts
Healthy brain development
A well-functioning digestive system
A strong heart

We need carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. We also need a lot of different vitamins and minerals.

How we get those is less critical.

What I’m noticing is that many companies are doing a great job of making us think that we need certain types of foods to meet those needs.

That’s simply not true.

Just like everything else, there’s no “one size fits all” approach with nutrition.

We don’t need grains.

I often hear people say, “A balanced meal has to contain some kind of grain,” because that’s what they’ve been taught.

Even when they’re avoiding gluten, they often think they need rice, or another gluten-free grain, to fill the empty space on their plates. The thing is, that’s just not true.

A brief aside about calcium, to make a comparison:

Do we need calcium? Yes.

Do we need to get calcium from dairy? The dairy industry has done a great job of making people think we do — and we don’t.

There are lots of other ways to get calcium:

Fish
Sesame butter (tahini)
Bok choy (this one has even MORE calcium per serving than cow’s milk!)
Navy beans
Molasses

These are just a few examples. (I have an extensive list with even more examples, which all of my one-on-one coaching clients receive!)

Photo of roasted bok choy by Jennifer Burk on Unsplash

This applies to grains, too.

Do we need sugars? Yes.

Do we need to get sugars from grains? Nope.

We can get those sugars from vegetables, as well as legumes — including beans, peas, and lentils.

The thing about grains is that they taste good — things that contain sugars generally do! And I’m not saying you can’t have them, because you absolutely can.

You CAN have grains, in amounts that won’t hurt you.

And also, you don’t HAVE to have them.

What about fruits? Surely, we need fruits?

Fruits are like grains in that you can have them (especially if you enjoy them!) but you don’t have to.

We’ve been sold this story about how you must have a certain number of servings of fruits and vegetables every day. That isn’t true at all.

Fruits and vegetables are two different categories of foods, and vegetables can provide all the vitamins and minerals you need.

Vegetables? Those, we all need.

The one category of foods that I would say that everyone needs at least some of is vegetables. Different vegetables contain different kinds of vitamins and minerals that it can be difficult to find elsewhere.

Now, some people have asked, “Well, what about a supplement? Can I just take one of those fruit and vegetable supplements and get all the vitamins and minerals that I need?”

Maybe. It’s going to depend on the person, and how well their body metabolizes those synthetic supplements and the vitamins and minerals they contain.

Because everybody’s body responds differently to synthetic supplements and it’s difficult to say whether or not YOUR body absorbs the nutrients in your tablets and capsules, I’m a big advocate for using supplements as an addition to eating the real thing — not as a complete replacement.

Try a bunch of different vegetables and find ones you like. Vegetables can add color, smell, flavor, and texture to your plate.

Play around with them and have some fun.

Swap out some of your grains for vegetables.

I’d encourage you to replace some of your grains with vegetables.

We often overeat grains because they are so tasty. This means we don’t have any room left in our bellies for the stuff we need more of, like veggies or sources of healthy fats.

When we eat a huge bowl of rice, that usually means we aren’t getting vegetables like leafy greens or brightly colored foods like carrots, bell peppers, and beets. That in turn means we miss out on antioxidants that pack a punch and support our immune system to keep us from getting sick.

Also, grains can be pretty inflammatory in large amounts. Inflammation is responsible for a whole lot of pain and discomfort. In addition, if we eat a lot of grains over a long period of time, we can develop sensitivities to them. This can lead to other issues that we often don’t even realize are linked to food, like skin problems and headaches.

Simple tips for replacing your grains with vegetables

If you’re a pasta person, there are lots of great replacements made of things like lentils or cassava or seaweed.

You can also try adding more seeds, like quinoa, amaranth, or teff. They look like grains and they act like grains when cooked, so they can satisfy the part of you that seeks the comfort of grain-y foods, while helping you reduce your grain intake.

Photo of vegan bowl with quinoa by Prudence Earl on Unsplash

The inspiration from this post came from a question I received from someone who ws curious. What questions do you have that you wish you could ask a health coach? Feel free to comment on this post I’ll do my best to answer them in a future article.