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Food: Experiment with whole grains

Posted Monday, August 25, 2008

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Whole grains are often overlooked. In fact, surveys indicate most Americans consume less than one whole serving of whole grains per day.

Making whole grains a part of your balanced diet can ad your digestive health, and reduce the risk of some cancers and chronic diseases.

Next time you make a sandwich for lunch or cook pasta for dinner, experiment a little. Use whole grain bread or pasta instead of the white stuff we’ve all grown used to eating.

What foods are
in the grain group?

Any food made from wheat, rice, oats, cornmeal, barley or another cereal grain is a grain product. Bread, pasta, oatmeal, breakfast cereals, tortillas, and grits are examples of grain products.

Grains are divided into 2 subgroups, whole grains and refined grains. Whole grains contain the entire grain kernel -- the bran, germ, and endosperm. Examples include:

* whole-wheat flour
* bulgur (cracked wheat)
* oatmeal
* whole cornmeal
* brown rice

Refined grains have been milled, a process that removes the bran and germ. This is done to give grains a finer texture and improve their shelf life, but it also removes dietary fiber, iron, and many B vitamins. Some examples of refined grain products are:

* white flour
* degermed cornmeal
* white bread
* white rice

Most refined grains are enriched. This means certain B vitamins (thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, folic acid) and iron are added back after processing. Fiber is not added back to enriched grains. Check the ingredient list on refined grain products to make sure that the word “enriched” is included in the grain name. Some food products are made from mixtures of whole grains and refined grains.

Some commonly
eaten grain products

Whole grains:
brown rice
buckwheat
bulgur (cracked wheat)
oatmeal
popcorn

Ready-to-eat breakfast cereals:
whole wheat cereal flakes
muesli
whole grain barley
whole grain cornmeal
whole rye
whole wheat bread
whole wheat crackers
whole wheat pasta
whole wheat sandwich buns and rolls
whole wheat tortillas
wild rice

Less common whole grains:
amaranth
millet
quinoa
sorghum
triticale

Check ingredient lists for the words “whole grain” or “whole wheat” to decide if they are made from a whole grain. Some foods are made from a mixture of whole and refined grains.

Some grain products contain significant amounts of bran. Bran provides fiber, which is important for health. However, products with added bran or bran alone (e.g., oat bran) are not necessarily whole grain products.

For more information on the benefits of whole grains and ways to add them to your diet, visit the USDA website at http://www.mypyramid.gov/pyramid/grains.html.

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