Wholesome Whole Grains

As we learned last week, the notion that eating wheat contributes to weight gain is certainly a myth. While wheat itself won’t contribute to weight gain, that’s not to say it’s wise to consume the majority of our grain intake as whole wheat. Why? Because in Canada, there is a difference between whole grain wheat and whole wheat.

Grains are simply the products, or fruits, of a grass that produce an edible seed called a kernel, grain or berry. They composed of three parts: a bran, germ and endosperm. Whole grains are essentially what their name suggests. The whole thing. I.e. they include the bran, germ and endosperm. Whole grains contain a wide range of nutrients. Protein and carbohydrates, B vitamins and vitamin E, minerals including selenium, magnesium, iron and zinc, antioxidants, and fiber. And that’s just to name a few.

So there is a difference between whole grain and whole wheat. That’s a little confusing, I know. When wheat is milled to make flour, the parts of the grain are often separated and then recombined to make flour. Some refined grains that have lost some of their minerals and vitamins have them added back. The result is flours that are enriched and containing a significant source of several vitamins and iron, but they still lacks some of the nutrients and the fibre found in whole grain flour. To be brutally honest, whole wheat is not much better than regular white flour. This is where going for a whole grain choice becomes rather important. For whole wheat, about 70 per cent of the germ, the nutrient powerhouse, can be removed. In addition to that, sometimes whole wheat breads are darker than white, because of added molasses, and not its extra nutrient goodness as we suspect.

Commonly consumed grains here in Canada include, wheat, barley, oats, rice, corn, millet, rye and sorghum. These grains can be consumed as whole grains, but some can also be found in an enriched form too. Many foods containing whole grains will have the words "whole grain" followed by the grain as one of the first ingredients on an ingredient list. Keep your eyes peeled for the words “whole grain whole wheat flour,” “whole grain,” “whole rye,” “whole oats,” “whole barley,” or “oatmeal” to ensure that the item mainly consists of whole grains. Other whole grains include popcorn, quinoa, barley, oats, buckwheat and brown rice. Homemade white bread might be oldie but goodie, however, whole grains can be easy additions to any diet. Try brown rice in a stir-fry, oatmeal as a thickener to meatloaf, and quinoa in stuffed peppers, and soups.

So refer to the ingredient list, and not just the front of a package. Products labelled with the words "multigrain," and "organic" will not necessarily be whole grain. Read ingredient lists locate a whole grain in the first few ingredients. Also, check the nutrition facts to make sure your food has at least a few grams of fibre per serving. Remember if a food is high in fat, salt, or even sugar, then there is a good chance there might be a healthier option nearby. An easy way to combat this it to choose unprocessed foods.

You want to include whole grains in your diet because they can potentially help to reduce the risk of developing diseases like diabetes, cancer and heart disease, and reduce risk for obesity. To get more whole grains, try and have at least half of your daily intake each day as whole grain. Unfortunately only 15% of Canadians are currently doing this. For more information on whole grains, visit www.healthygrains.ca

As seen in The Telegram January 21, 2013