About Cereals

In the last decade Americans have become more and more health-conscious, and fiber is the latest cure-all. Cereals, rice, beans, and pasta: there are whole-some foods that fill the stomach and warm the heart, that provide energy for a snowy
morning and restore courage at the end of a long day. Basic foods for the world's poorer nations, they often replace meat on the American table as well, for, in the right combinations, they provide a valuable source of low-fat protein.

Grains are the dried seeds of grass plants; those that are used for food are called cereals. About one-quarter of our diet is made up of grains such as wheat, rice, corn, oats, barley, and rye.

All cereals contain a high percentage of carbohydrate, with varying amounts of protein, minerals, and vitamins. Although they don't provide complete protein by themselves, they become highly valuable foods when they are mixed with milk products, eggs, dried beans, or animal proteins. In many parts of the world where meat is scarce, people live largely on grains.