Grains other than rice and flour are collectively called whole grains.

In Huangdi Neijing, the five grains are considered as "japonica rice, adzuki bean, wheat, soybean and millet", while in Mencius Teng Wengong, the five grains are called "rice, millet, millet, wheat and glutinous rice" and also called "barley, wheat, rice, adzuki bean and flax" in Buddhist sacrifices.

Then Li Shizhen recorded in Compendium of Materia Medica that there are 33 kinds of cereals and 47 kinds of beans 14. At present, the general "whole grains" refer to rice, wheat, sorghum, soybeans and corn, while grains other than rice and flour are customarily called "whole grains", so whole grains also refer to food crops.

What is the "five grains" of whole grains? Grain: the general term for food crops. "Five Grains" is spoken in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. "The Analects of Confucius": "The four bodies are not diligent, and the grains are not divided."

But there are different explanations. One is millet, millet, wheat and rice. Speaking of millet, millet, wheat, millet, marijuana. The main difference between these two statements is whether there is rice or hemp. The reason for the inconsistency was that there were more than five kinds of crops at that time, as evidenced by the existence of the theory of "100 grains", "6 grains" and "9 grains", and the varieties of crops were different from place to place.

Health significance:

Nutrition believes that the best diet is actually a balanced diet. The first principle of a balanced diet requires that foods be as diverse as possible.

One is variety, that is, try to eat all kinds of food, such as grain, meat, beans, milk, eggs, vegetables, fruits, oil, fat and so on; The other is the diversity of species, that is, we should try to eat all kinds of food, such as pork, beef, mutton, chicken, fish, rabbits, ducks and so on.

Coarse grains are good for diabetes. Replacing some flour and rice with coarse grains is good for diabetic patients to control blood sugar. Studies have shown that the postprandial blood sugar changes after eating coarse grains and miscellaneous beans are generally less than those of wheat and ordinary rice, which is beneficial to control blood sugar in diabetic patients.

Some foreign diabetic dietary guidance organizations suggest that diabetic patients should try to choose coarse grains and miscellaneous beans, which can be eaten as staple food or part of staple food.