General English Questions and Answers

Benefits of Cereals

Source of Vitamins

If you are suffering from a deficiency in the Vitamin B complex, add whole grain cereals to your diet. Most of the vitamins of cereals are present in the outer bran, but the refining process usually reduces the vitamin B content, and thus it is advisable to consume whole grain cereals. Cereals are usually devoid of either vitamin A or vitamin C; only maize has small amounts of carotene. The cereal grains are processed to extract oils that are rich in vitamin E. Rice bran oil has more concentrated amounts of vitamin E than other oils available on the market. Cereal grains are rich in enzymes, particularly protease, amylase, lipases and oxido-reductases. After the seed germinates, amylase actively increases. The germ encloses the protease enzymes. Cereals are undoubtedly full of nutrition, but unfortunately, the refining process degrades their quality. The degree of milling, polishing and refining to some extent decides the nutrient content of cereals. Some nutrients are lost during food preparation, especially vigorous washing, soaking and cooking methods, which result in the depletion of the nutrients on the skin of the grains.