Wholegrain and immunity

We all know that wholegrains are far preferable to refined grains because the whole grain provides nutrients and fibre that are stripped from the more processed versions. Now a new study reports that wholegrains also contain a nutrient that will boost immunity.

In 2010 researchers discovered that wholegrains contain a group of substances called benzoxazinoids (BX). What was most interesting at the time was that the BX compounds also survived into bread that was baked from wholegrains. So what researchers decided to do in a new study was see whether BX compounds were absorbed into the body and then have beneficial effects.

The study was done by feeding wholegrains to rats, pigs, and humans in what was dubbed “Project Bread and Breakfast”. By comparing the amount of BX that was eaten with the amount then circulating in the bloodstream and in the urine the researchers could establish how much BX stayed in the body.

The analysis showed that BX was being absorbed and retained in the body. Then, when blood cells were exposed to BX in the laboratory the researchers found that immune cells reacted more strongly to some types of bacteria.

This is just another study reinforcing the benefit of consuming foods that are whole. You don’t always know exactly how whole foods are good for you, but you know that they are and studies like this just confirm it.