If you follow food trends, you know that many diets, like Paleo and South Beach, avoid or restrict foods like bread and cereal. But if you avoid those made with whole grains, you're missing out, a top nutritional expert says.

“Whole grains are vitally important. They are nutritious and may help you to avoid serious health problems like cancer, cardiovascular disease and diabetes,” Vicki Shanta Retelny tells Newsmax Health.

The term "whole grain" refers to the seed part of the plant. "A grain is considered ‘whole’ as long as it contains all three parts of the seed – the bran, the germ, and the endosperm. All these parts contain nutrients,” says Retelny, a registered dietitian and author of “Total Body Diet for Dummies” and “The Essential Guide to Healthy Healing Foods.”

She points a recent Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health study that found that people who consume the most whole grains had a 22 percent lower risk of premature death in general as well as a 23 percent lower risk of cardiovascular disease death and 20 percent lower from cancer, compared to those who ate the least.

“Everyone should push for 48 grams of whole grains which provides 25-to-37 grams of fiber a day. This not only helps prevent cardiovascular disease, cancer, and diabetes, but it’s also good for gut health,” says Retelny.

But sometimes people find the concept of whole grains confusing.  Many people believe that, because they are on a gluten-free diet, they can’t eat them but this is not true, she says.

“As a registered dietitian, I see many people who have to eat gluten-free because they have celiac disease, or they are sensitive to gluten, but a lot of people are doing it because it’s a fad. It’s not the gluten that is causing the problem; it’s only when we overeat on any one food that it becomes problematic,” Retelny says.

“Also, it’s a mistake to assume that all whole grains contain gluten. While some grains contain gluten, there are many that are gluten-free, including amaranth, buckwheat and corn.”
 
In addition, food manufacturers push multigrain products, which some people mistake for whole grains.

“Multigrain may contain only one part of the grain, so it’s not as nutritious. Be sure to read the label and make sure that the product is made with whole grains,” she adds.

Here are examples of popular whole grains:

• Amaranth
• Barley
• Buckwheat
• Corn
• Millet
• Oats
• Quinoa
• Rice (brown and colored)
• Rye
• Wheat (including spelt, emmer, einkorn, bulgar and farro)
• Wild rice

Here are Retelny’s top five tips to add whole grains to your diet:

1. Use zesty toppings on whole grain bread for sandwiches. Examples include using avocado or hummus as a spread, and add turkey, lettuce, and tomato. Or spoon pistachio-basil pesto onto a slice of whole grain bread, top with a slice of tomato and fresh mozzarella, and melt under the broiler until browned.
2. Make oatmeal the night before. Soak rolled or steel cut oats with double the amount of liquid in a slow cooker or crockpot. (She prefers 2 percent milk). Add a bit of honey and you have a bowl of oatmeal ready in the morning. Or bake oatmeal with nuts and honey for homemade granola.
3. Serve chili on a bed of quinoa or brown rice. Quinoa is a complete protein source so it’s a particularly good choice if you’re serving meatless chili.
4. Use wild rice as a bed for salmon, chicken breast, or tofu. Stir up an Asian marinade using soy sauce, sesame oil, lemon juice and rice wine vinegar, then bake it for a flavorful entree.
5. Farro is a great substitute for pasta. Spoon tomato sauce over it and top with grated mozzarella or Parmesan cheese. Or top with basil, mushrooms, chopped pistachio nuts, or mix in pesto.