Your heart loves whole grains. Your digestive system too. And eating them may even lower your risk of developing diabetes or gaining weight.
But with all the studies proving their health benefits, why do we eat so few slices of whole wheat bread, bowls of oatmeal and side dishes of brown rice?
Research lags behind sales figures, but Americans are consuming only about one serving of whole grains per day, well below the recommended three whole-grains servings per day (out of six total grains servings), says Cynthia Harriman, spokeswoman for the Whole Grains Council.
Suspicion that whole-grain foods won’t satisfy taste buds accustomed to the smooth, soft feel of white flour products might be keeping some consumers away. Education is a factor too, and that’s where the whole-grain advocates like Harriman, Marcia Scheideman of the Wheat Foods Council, and the Center for Science in the Public Interest come in.
Supermarket shelves are loaded with products made with healthy whole grains, which means they contain the entire grain kernel – the bran, germ and endosperm. But it takes careful shopping and label reading to sort out which are posers and which pack a nutritious punch.
On a trip through a local King Soopers recently, Scheideman, a dietitian, helped decipher labels on bread, cereal, snacks, pasta and frozen foods.
Food producers jumped on the bandwagon to offer more whole grains after the federal government released its new dietary guidelines and My Pyramid program in 2005, but product labeling can be confusing.
Read beyond the hype
Packaging on bread that says 100 percent whole wheat means the bread is whole grain, and manufacturers will normally put that on there, Scheideman says.
But they don’t have to – so you may be missing out. On the other hand, you might think some products are better than they really are. Labels often feature such terms as “seven grain” or “multigrain,” which makes them appear healthy.
The proof is in the ingredient list. It’s not enough that “wheat flour” be listed, or “enriched wheat flour,” because that flour has been milled to remove the bran and germ of the wheat grain, elements that contribute significant fiber, vitamins and minerals in each slice.
So what do you look for? The first ingredient listed should be whole wheat flour or a whole grain.
But read closely. Breads made with other whole grains, such as rye or oats, may not be 100 percent whole grain because the first ingredient typically listed is enriched wheat flour and the other grains fall farther down on the list.
Children and others who like the taste and feel of soft white bread don’t have to give up the texture they desire to get the nutrients they need, now that manufacturers like Wonder are selling White Bread Fans, a loaf made with 100 percent whole wheat flour that has been fortified with additional vitamins and minerals. “It’s a way to get kids to eat whole grains,” Scheideman says.
Other nutritious choices are tortillas, English muffins and bagels made with whole wheat.
In the pasta aisle, wheat is being added to spaghetti and other products. Scheideman recommends mixing regular semolina pastas with whole wheat pastas as a transition step to higher grain content. She says manufacturers are doing this with a variety of wheat foods, to gradually introduce consumers to the taste of whole grains. “We didn’t go from whole milk to fat-free all at once,” Scheideman says.
Other whole grain choices that can accompany dinner are barley, brown rice, wild rice and whole-grain cornmeal. And in the frozen-food case, whole- wheat crusts are offered on pizzas and whole-wheat pastas are part of Lean Cuisine’s Spa Cuisine meals.
Next on the tour was the cereal aisle, with box after box touting health claims that often turned out to be more advertising than truth in packaging. Boxes labeled “made with whole grain,” can include a little or a lot of the healthiest ingredients. If you need to eat several bowls of one type of cereal to get the amount of whole grains found in another, you’re not doing yourself a favor.
Cereals that are puffed or in flake form have less fiber than denser cereals such as bran, according to the Center for Science in the Public Interest, which has done a lot of research on cereal. It recommends eating cereals that are whole grain, high in fiber and not overly sweetened.
“Sugar doesn’t just threaten your teeth, it also replaces some of the whole grain you could be eating,” Bonnie Liebman wrote in a CSPI newsletter.
Stamp of approval
One helpful visual aid to look for when shopping is the “Whole Grain” stamp issued by the Whole Grains Council. Participating companies have to pay a fee and be certified to get the stamp on their product.
The stamps feature a sheaf of grain on a golden background and list whether the product is whole grain or 100 percent whole grain and how many grams of whole grain are in a serving of the food.
The program, which began in 2005, was recently modified to provide more specifics on food content.
“One of the cool things happening is the huge variety of products on the market,” says council spokeswoman Harriman. “If you don’t like the taste of one, you can find another. You can get 90-second brown rice, whole-grain bagels, muffins, pasta.”
Americans get more whole grains from snacks (36 percent), than from breakfast (33 percent), Harriman says. Crackers, cereal bars, popcorn and other treats can be better sources of whole grains than potato chips, but that shouldn’t be an excuse to eat a boxful of wheat-enriched cookies.
“We have to really look at lunch and dinner and improve the whole grains there,” she says. A sandwich is an easy option for lunch, and pasta or brown rice are good items for dinner.
Harriman says consumers are getting on the whole-grains bandwagon because they don’t have to spend a lifetime eating them to reap the benefits. In one study children who spent two weeks on a diet of whole grains, fruits, vegetables and lean protein, with two and a half hours of exercise per day, lowered their cholesterol, insulin levels and leptin, a hormone thought to help with weight regulation.
“The fact that you can get immediate, measurable changes sends a strong message,” Harriman says.
Contact staff writer Suzanne S. Brown at 303-820-1697 or sbrown@denverpost.com.
More information at wheatfoodsorg; wheatcouncil.org and cspinet.org.
Grain elevated
Your breakfast cereal may promise more on the box than it delivers in the bowl. Just because a product boasts that it is a good source of whole grain doesn’t mean it delivers the benefits of bran or such whole grains as oats or whole wheat. If you’re going to eat the amount of fiber recommended by the National Academy of Science’s Institute of Medicine, each meal needs to pack a punch. The Nutrition Action Healthletter from the Center for Science in the Public Interest found some super cereals, with these 10 delivering at least 8 grams of fiber, and no more than 9 grams of sugar per serving:
1 General Mills Fiber One, Honey Clusters
1 1/4 cup: 170 calories, 14 g. fiber, 5 g. sugar
2 Kellogg’s All-Bran, Bran Buds
1/3 cup: 70 cal., 13 g. fiber, 8 g. sugar
3 Kashi Good Friends
1 cup: 170 cal., 12 g. fiber; 9 g. sugar
4 Kellogg’s All-Bran, Original
1/2 cup: 80 cal, 10 g. fiber, 6 g. sugar
5 Kashi GoLean
1 cup: 140 cal, 10 g. fiber, 6 g. sugar
6 Kellogg’s All-Bran, Yogurt Bites
1 1/4 cup: 190 cal., 10 g. fiber, 7 g. sugar
7 Weight Watchers Flakes ‘n Fiber With Oats
1/2 cup: 90 cal., 9 g. fiber, 1 g. sugar
8 Post 100% Bran
1/2 cup: 80 cal., 9 g. fiber, 7 g. sugar
9 Post Spoon Size Shredded Wheat ‘n Bran
1 1/4 cup: 200 cal, 8 g. fiber, 1 g. sugar
10 South Beach Diet Toasted Wheats
1 1/4 cup: 210 cal., 8 g. fiber, 3 g. sugar
