edition. We also provide comprehensive material on the whole grain morphology constituents, fractions and technology as well as products for readers coming from the medical or public‐health sectors. The book comprises 5 sections and concluding remarks and future perspectives. In total, 23 chapters are included (Table 1).
Table 1 Brief description of the content of the sections.
| Section | Content |
|---|---|
| Whole grain basics | Chemical composition and morphological structure of cereal grains and cereal fractions, such as bran, aleurone, germ and the endosperm, are described in detail as this is crucial for the understanding of physiological effects related to health. Differences and similarities among cereals are emphasized here. Important whole grain products are described with emphasis on traits and features that may be of importance for human health. This section also contains a chapter on the different definitions of whole grain and whole grain products. A chapter on consumption and description of lifestyle factors associated with whole grain intake as well as on tools for objective whole grain intake estimation through dietary biomarkers bridge this section to section two. |
| Evidences for disease prevention | The current literature on evidence for disease prevention derived from epidemiological – as well as intervention studies in humans and model – and animal studies have been reviewed and the evidence are evaluated in a systematic way focusing on the outcome of largest importance. Hard endpoints such as type 2 diabetes, CVD, cancer and mortality are at main focus in this section. |
| Whole grains mechanisms and effects on risk factors for chronic disease | This section bridges the section on whole grain basics and the section on chronic disease by discussing mechanisms and risk factors. This section contains chapters on whole grains and appetite, glycaemia, gut function as well as a chapter on bioactive compounds and effects that may be of relevance to human health. We have also included a chapter on potential negative aspects of whole grain consumption in which risk related to heavy metals, mycotoxins, acrylamide, gluten intolerance and wheat sensitivity are described and discussed. |
| Searching for new molecular mechanisms underlying health benefits of whole grains | In this section, the possibilities to use – OMICs to generate new hypotheses and to get better insights into new molecular mechanisms of the health effects of whole grains is presented. Metabolomics for discovery of new compounds and to monitor process changes in food products has been covered as well as its implementation in human studies to gain insights into molecular mechanisms and dissect biochemical pathways involved in processes with implication for health. Studies where changes in gene expression in response to interventions with whole grains in humans are also reviewed in a chapter. |
| Whole grains and the consumer | Barriers for whole grain consumption are at focus here. The industry’s commitment to whole grains has also been discussed by representatives from major enterprises in Europe and the United States. The current regulation and labeling have been covered as well as a chapter describing the current situation on health claims in Europe and the United States, and strategies for consumer communication. |
We hope that the current edition of Whole Grains and Health will be of use and great pleasure for researchers, research students, industry personnel, governmental authorities (nutritionists, technologists, product developers, epidemiologists, health professionals) and others with wider interest in foods and health!
Rikard Landberg and Nathalie Scheers
Gothenburg, Sweden, March 2020.
Editors’ Biographies
Editors’ Biographies
Nathalie Scheers Associate Professor Food and Nutrition Science Department of Biology and Biological Engineering Chalmers University of Technology Gothenburg, Sweden
Associate Professor Nathalie Scheers and her research team conduct studies in the area of molecular nutrition with particular focus on metals, specific proteins, bioactive molecules and their physiological effects, on cellular or systemic level.
A core competence of Dr. Scheers includes human cell models. She investigates regulation of intestinal transport proteins, stress response and apoptosis, expression of cancer and inflammation markers, and bioavailability of nutrients. One of her main research topics is within iron nutrition, with a special focus on dietary iron supplements and fortificants. Together with collaborators, she is currently working on the mechanisms of cancer‐promoting and pro‐inflammatory effects of certain types of compounds used to fortify foods with iron. In addition, she is working on detoxification of gluten to celiacs. A few years back, she and her collaborators identified a food additive that can interfere with intestinal transglutaminase processing of gluten in vitro, which has the potential to render gluten non‐immunogenic to celiacs. At present, Dr. Scheers is leading a human intervention trial in healthy volunteers to verify the previous findings in vivo, with the ultimate goal to provide celiac safe gluten products. Dr. Scheers is also active in research about the fish‐protein parvalbumin beta and its association with physiological effects important for neurological diseases, toxicity of insects as human foods, and anti/pro‐inflammatory effects of marine collagen and shellfish processing waste.
Associate Professor Scheers has authored 39 scientific publications including original research, book chapters, proceedings etc. Her main publication area is within molecular iron nutrition and she has an H‐index of 10 according to Google Scholar.
Rikard Landberg Professor Head of Division Food and Nutrition Science Department of Biology and Biological Engineering Chalmers University of Technology Gothenburg, Sweden Member of the Young Academy of Sweden
Affiliated Researcher
Department of Public Health and Clinical Medicine, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
Guest Researcher
Diet, Genes and Environment Group at Danish Cancer Society Research Center, Copenhagen, Denmark
Professor Rikard Landberg is the head of Division of Food and Nutrition Science at Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden. His group studies the preventive role of plant‐based foods using observational and intervention studies as well as various model systems. Professor Landberg is the PI of several RCTs and molecular epidemiological studies on the role of whole grains and dietary fibre in appetite, body weight management, glycaemia, prostate cancer and on cardiometabolic risk. He is particularly interested in the health effects of rye and established the Nordic Rye Forum together with colleagues (https://www.nordicryeforum.info). Professor Landberg also leads studies to test novel OMICs‐based personalized concepts for improved CVD prevention. Metabolomics is a key technique in Professor Landberg’s research program, and it is developed and applied for discovery and validation of exposure and prediction biomarkers, and for molecular phenotyping as the basis for tailored dietary strategies for personalized nutrition. Novel biomarkers, from his lab, such as alkylresorcinolas, are extensively used by researchers all over the world. Professor Landberg has authored more than140 papers and over10 book chapters, and delivered more than 25 invited/keynote lectures. He has an H‐index of 32 according to ISI web of science. Professor Landberg is an elected member of the Young Academy of Sweden and of the National Committee for Nutrition and Food Science at the Swedish Royal Academy of Sciences.