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The potential of cereal foods in the dietary management of obesity and chronic diseases. A. J.
ALLDRICK. Campden & Chorleywood Food Research Association, Chipping Campden, GL55 6LD, UK.
Advances in the biological sciences, in particular those concerned with
public health, agronomy and food technology, have led to a significant proportion of the world's population
enjoying a better standard of living in terms of public health and food supply than previously.
Paradoxically, this improvement has not been without consequences prejudicial to personal health. These
include an increase in the incidence of obesity and non-infectious, chronic diseases such as cancers and
those connected with the cardiovascular system. Obesity itself, is a condition predisposing sufferers to a
number of chronic diseases, and is just one example of a dietary-based risk factor. Cereals in themselves are
ideal raw materials for foods whose consumption may contribute to the prevention and management of such
conditions. They have a number of characteristics, which help in achieving these ends. These include the
facts that they are relatively low in fats but high in starch and contain components such as soluble and
insoluble dietary fibres, consumption of which can result in lowering of blood cholesterol concentrations
and improved bowel function respectively. Use of informed recipe choices can lead to the production of
cereal based products, which are not only nutritious in the classical sense, but also may have additional
functional properties which can assist in protecting against obesity and chronic diseases.
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