benefits of cereals

It is consumed widely in Africa and Asia; it is also considered a good livestock feed.

It is grown widely in Africa and Asia. Millet porridge is extremely popular in China, Germany and Russia. It is also used in alcoholic beverages and sometimes as bird and animal feed.

Oats were initially a staple cereal in Scotland, however now oats are very popular as breakfast cereals in almost all countries. Owing to its fiber-rich property, oats are considered vital for all ages and are used as livestock feed.

It is an important cereal grown in cold climates. It is used for making breads, beer, whiskeys, vodka and also as animal fodder.

These are manually made crops that are crossbreeds of wheat and rye. Initially, it was harvested in Sweden and Scotland only, but FAO recently declared that in 2009, triticale was harvested by almost 29 countries across the world.

It is a popular crop grown in western Africa and some remote areas of India. It grows easily in semi-arid regions with poor soil quality and in a short period of only six to eight weeks. Fonio is used in bread, porridge and beer.

This cereal is popularly used in pancakes, noodles and porridge. It is popularly used like wheat cereal, but its characteristics are not related to wheat. This cereal is high in protein and amino acids.

This cereal is rich in dietary fiber, iron, magnesium and phosphorus. It is mainly grown in Andes; however it is also popular in North America.

Maize, rice and wheat together make up 87% of total grain production all over the world. There are many more cereals that are used in specific regions and are not as popular as the above mentioned ones. Teff is one such cereal, grown widely in Ethiopia but hardly known elsewhere. It is rich in fiber and protein. It is often used as staple food, or sometime used as breakfast cereal. Wild rice is grown moderately in North America; Amaranth was initially a staple crop of the Aztec Empire and now it s widely cultivated in Africa.

The outer layers of the kernel are called bran, which is made of about 5% of the kernel. The kernel is rich in fiber and minerals while the bran contains high amounts of thiamine and riboflavin.