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Nutritional Information
You can find everything here that you need to know about cereals and wholegrains including detailed nutrition information on all the nutrients you can find in them, and the nutritional information on wholegrains, oats, wheat and barley.
Nutritional benefits of cereals
Cereals such as wheat, rice and oats are not only a tasty and versatile part of our diet they also provide important nutrients such as carbohydrate and protein along with a range of vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals.
Along with fruit and vegetables, beans and pulses, cereals are a major source of dietary fibre, supplying both soluble (the type that helps to reduce blood cholesterol levels) and insoluble fibre (the type that helps to keep the digestive system healthy).
Several studies have shown that a diet rich in cereal foods, particularly wholegrain varieties, offers a number of health benefits including a reduced risk of heart disease and certain types of cancer. All cereals share a similar nutritional profile - although the vitamin and mineral content will vary depending on the degree of processing.
Macronutrient content of cereal grains (per 100g raw grains)
| Cereal |
Protein (g) |
Fat (g) |
Carbohydrate (g) |
| Wheat |
12.6 |
2.7 |
72.4 |
| Rice (brown) |
7.5 |
1.9 |
77.4 |
| Maize |
9.0 |
3.9 |
72.2 |
| Millet |
10.0 |
2.9 |
72.9 |
| Oats |
15.0 |
7.0 |
69.0 |
Lorenz & Kulp (1991) (awaiting copyright permission)
Vitamin content of selected cereals (mg/per 100g, unless specified)
|
Vitamin |
Vitamin E |
Thiamin |
Riboflavin |
Niacin |
Vitamin B6 |
Folate (µg) |
| Wheat flour, white, plain |
0.30 |
0.312 |
0.03 |
3.62 |
0.15 |
22 |
| Wheat flour, Wholemeal |
1.40 |
0.47 |
0.09 |
8.2 |
0.50 |
57 |
| Rice, easy cook white, raw |
(0.10) |
0.41 |
0.02 |
5.8 |
0.31 |
20 |
| Rice, brown, raw |
0.80 |
0.59 |
0.07 |
6.8 |
N |
49 |
| Popcorn, plain |
11.03 |
0.18 |
0.11 |
1.7 |
0.20 |
3 |
| Oatmeal, quick cook raw |
1.50 |
0.90 |
0.09 |
3.4 |
0.33 |
60 |
| Barley, pearl raw1 |
0.40 |
0.12 |
0.05 |
4.8 |
0.22 |
20 |
| Rye flour, whole |
1.60 |
0.40 |
0.22 |
2.6 |
0.35 |
78 |
| Millet flour1 |
Trace |
0.68 |
0.19 |
2.8 |
N |
N |
Mineral content of selected cereals (mg/per 100g, unless specified)
| Mineral |
Na (mg) |
K (mg) |
Ca (mg) |
Mg (mg) |
Fe (mg) |
Zn (Mg) |
Se (µg) |
|
Wheat flour, |
3 |
150 |
1402 |
20 |
2.02 |
0.6 |
2 |
|
Wheat flour, |
3 |
340 |
38 |
120 |
3.9 |
2.9 |
6 |
|
Rice, easy cook |
4 |
150 |
51 |
32 |
0.5 |
1.8 |
13 |
|
Rice, brown, |
3 |
250 |
10 |
110 |
1.4 |
1.8 |
10 |
|
Popcorn, plain |
4 |
220 |
10 |
81 |
1.1 |
1.7 |
N |
|
Oatmeal, quick cook, raw |
9 |
350 |
52 |
110 |
3.8 |
3.3 |
3 |
|
Barley, pearl raw1 |
3 |
270 |
20 |
65 |
3.0 |
2.1 |
(1) |
|
Rye flour, whole |
(1) |
410 |
32 |
92 |
2.7 |
3.0 |
N |
|
Millet flour 1 |
21 |
370 |
40 |
N |
N |
N |
N |
(awaiting copyright permission)
You can find more information about the nutrients mentioned on the nutrients page. There is also a glossary explaining some of the terms used on this and related pages.
These tables are taken from a report on the 'Nutritional Benefits of Cereals' from the British Nutrition Foundation.
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