Eating Whole Grains

by Karen Schroeder Kassel, MS, RD, MEd

Here's Why Grains Are Good:

Grain products, such as bread, rice, pasta, oatmeal, cereal, and tortillas, are generally low in fat and provide fiber, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, and some phytochemicals. Most of the foods we eat are refined grains (eg, white bread, white rice, pasta, pretzels). Refined grains do not contain as many nutrients as whole grains.

A whole grain is the entire edible portion of a grain. A whole grain includes three parts, each with a valuable store of nutrients:

  • Bran—contains large amounts of B vitamins, minerals, and fiber
  • Endosperm—houses most of the protein and carbohydrate and small amounts of vitamins and minerals
  • Germ—contains B vitamins, minerals, and some protein

White flour, which is the base of many of our foods, is made by refining whole grains. During the refining process, most or all of the bran and germ are removed. White flour that has been enriched has certain nutrients added to it: iron and some B vitamins (including folate). However, many other nutrients are lost, these include:

Whole grains are a healthier choice because the ingredients they contain may help to lower the risk of many chronic diseases, including heart disease, diabetes, and obesity. Soluble fiber (found in oats and barley) can lower cholesterol levels.

Here's How to Get Your Grains:    TOP

It is easy to get plenty of serving of grains everyday. The amount of servings an adult needs varies depending on age and activity level. The requirements range from about 5-8 servings. One serving is equal to:

  • 1 cup flaked cereal
  • ½ cup of cooked oatmeal, grits, or cream-of-wheat cereal
  • ¼ cup nugget or bud-type cereal
  • 3 tablespoons wheat germ
  • 1 pancake or waffle, 4 inch diameter
  • ½ English muffin, hamburger roll, pita, or bagel (frozen kind; those from bagel shops can be up to 4 servings)
  • 1 slice of bread or dinner roll
  • 1 tortilla, 6 inch diameter
  • ½ cup cooked rice, pasta, or barley
  • ½ cup quinoa, bulgur, millet, or other whole grain
  • ½ cup pretzels
  • 3-4 small crackers

Finding the Whole Grain

At least half of the grains you eat should be whole grains. The trickiest part about eating whole grains is figuring out which grains truly are whole. To do this, check the ingredient label. The product is a whole grain if the first ingredient is whole wheat or oatmeal. Do not be fooled by brown breads, some are dyed to be that color. Also, a food label that reads "wheat bagel," "stoned wheat," or "seven grain" is not necessarily "whole grain."

The following are whole grains:

  • Oatmeal
  • Whole wheat
  • Quinoa
  • Brown rice
  • Popcorn
  • Some cold breakfast cereals (eg, Cheerios, Granola or muesli, Grape-Nuts, Raisin Bran, Shredded Wheat, Total, Wheat germ, Wheaties)
  • Some hot breakfast cereals (eg, Oat Bran, oatmeal, Roman Meal, Wheatena)
  • Some crackers (eg, Triscuits, Ak-Mak)

RESOURCES:

American Dietetic Association
http://www.eatright.org/
US Department of Agriculture
http://www.usda.gov/

CANADIAN RESOURCES:

Canada's Food Guide
http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/food-guide-aliment/index_e.html
Dietitians of Canada
http://www.dietitians.ca/

References:

Dash diet. EBSCO DynaMed website. Available at: http://ebscohost/dynamed. Updated August 26, 2011. Accessed June 2, 2012.
Food groups: How many grain foods are needed daily? USDA's MyPlate.gov website. Available at: http://www.choosem.... Accessed Updated June 4, 2011. June 12, 2012.
Food groups: What counts as an ounce equivalent of grains? USDA's MyPlate.gov website. Available at: http://www.choosem.... Accessed Updated June 4, 2011. June 12, 2012.
Whole grains. United States Department of Agriculture website. Available at: http://healthymeals.nal.usda.gov/resource-library/whole-grains. Accessed June 2, 2012.
Whole grains and fiber. American Heart Association website. Available at: http://www.heart.o.... Updated January 24, 2011. Accessed June 2, 2012.
Last reviewed June 2012 by Brian Randall, MD
Last Updated: 6/12/2012