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08/04/2006: "The Whole Grain"

In our past discussions on diet, we haven’t spent much time on whole grains and their importance. Up until a year or two ago, the federal government grouped all grains together. So you had refined white bleached flour in the same category with whole grains.

I have known that whole grains were better for me but I wasn’t sure why until I recently read an article explaining it. Whole grains are made of all three parts of a grain kernel: the bran, endosperm and germ. The bran is the coarse, outer layer of the kernel that includes concentrated amounts of several nutrients, including: Fiber, B vitamins (thiamin, riboflavin, niacin and folic acid), Minerals (zinc, copper, iron, manganese, magnesium and selenium), Protein and Phytochemicals (beneficial chemical compounds). The endosperm is the middle layer and is the only part used for refined white flour. It contains: Carbohydrates, Protein, and small amounts of B vitamins. The germ is packed with nutrients though it is the smallest part of the grain. The germ sprouts into a new plant, so it holds rich supplies of the following nutrients: Minerals, B vitamins, Vitamin E, and Phytochemicals (beneficial chemical compounds).

The health benefits of whole grains come from the whole package, not just the individual parts. The fiber, vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals found in whole grains work together to provide energy and good nutrition linked to a collection of disease-fighting benefits.

Two separate studies of women in the ongoing Nurses Health Study at Harvard Medical School found some dramatic benefits. "We find a 30% to 40% lower risk of coronary heart disease associated with at least two or three servings of whole grain each day," says Simin Liu, M.D., A 10-year study of 40,000 women, ages 55 to 69, by the University of Minnesota School of Public Health found a death rate 15% to 20% lower among those who consumed at least one serving of whole grains each day.

How do you know if a bread or cereal is really whole grain? Check the label: ingredients are listed by order of volume, so the first one should be whole wheat (or another whole grain). Words like bromated, bleached, unbleached, multigrain, and wheat are misleading. Only "whole wheat" or "100% whole wheat" as the first ingredient is meaningful. Barley and oats are usually whole because they're very hard to separate in the refining process.