Take the Whole-Grain Test
For: "Wellness Facts,"
December 2002
"Whole grains" play a key role in a heart-healthy, anticancer diet. Whole grains—whether wheat, oats, rice, rye, barley, or some other grain—come with the natural bran and germ. Refined grains have been stripped of their bran and germ, and thus most of their fiber and many of their nutrients. They are usually enriched with a few vitamins and minerals, sometimes even with fiber, but not all of the nutrients are replaced.
One recent study showed that women who ate whole grains, rather than refined ones, reduced their risk of heart attack by 30%. What conferred the benefit? Possibly the fiber, the vitamins (including vitamin E and some B vitamins), or various phytochemicals (substances in plants that may act as anti-oxidants and play other important roles in the body). We recently reported on new evidence that fiber protects against colon cancer, too. Whole grains also help control blood sugar and may help prevent Type 2 diabetes. They are some of the most healthful foods you can eat.
But finding whole grains in the supermarket takes a sharp eye. Some labels and ads try to fool you. See if you can pick the whole-grain products from the six below. (After each, we list the grains it is made from, but only those included in the first four ingredients.)
1. Cream of Rice (hot
cereal). Ingredients:
granulated rice.
2. Multi-grain
Cheerios Plus. Ingredients:
whole-grain corn (includes the corn bran), whole-grain oats (includes
the oat bran), whole-grain barley (includes the barley bran).
3. Quaker Instant
Oatmeal. Ingredients:
whole-grain oats.
4. Wheatsworth
Stone Ground Wheat Crackers. Ingredients: enriched wheat flour.
5. Kellogg's Crispix
(corn on one side, rice on the other). Ingredients:
milled corn, rice.
6. Arnold's Real
Jewish Rye Bread. Ingredients:
enriched wheat flour, malted barley flour.
Answer: Only #2 and #3 (Multi-grain Cheerios Plus and Quaker Instant Oatmeal) are whole-grain products. The rest contain chiefly refined grains.
Here are a few tips for finding whole grains without spending hours inspecting labels:
• Look for the word "whole" before "wheat." It should be listed as the first ingredient.
• Oats are always whole, no matter how they're sliced (fine-cut, coarse-cut, instant, or regular).
•"Oatmeal" bread is the big exception. The first ingredient in oatmeal breads is almost invariably refined wheat flour. Oats are way down the list. That means there won't be enough of them to supply any significant amount of bran and fiber.
• Do not be fooled by the following words: Enriched, unbleached, bromated, stone ground, granulated, 100% wheat, rye, pumpernickel, multi-grain, 7-grain, semolina, or organic. These products may contain little or no whole grains.
• Brown and wild rice are whole grains; white rice is refined.
You can find whole grains in many products—crackers, breads, sandwich buns, pasta, rice and rice mixes, and hot and cold cereals. They usually cost no more, and you get a lot more nutrients for your dollar. There's no harm, of course, in eating some refined grains. For instance, you may prefer white rice for some recipes. Some people find whole-wheat pasta heavy going (the newer whole-wheat semolina pastas, however, are quite good).
Final glance: The only sure way to know if the product you buy is whole-grain is to read the label. If the first ingredient is whole-wheat flour, oats, brown rice, or whole-rye flour, you're getting what you need.
UC Berkeley Wellness Letter, January 1999
