By Tisha Boston
More and more studies are showing that whole grain foods are healthier than foods made from refined or processed grains. A whole grain is the entire grain, which includes the bran, the germ, and the endosperm i.e., the starchy part. Non-whole grain products such as white and enriched wheat flour are missing many of the nutrients found in whole grain foods because the entire grain is not used, only the starchy part. Whole grains are rich in vitamins, minerals, fiber, and phytochemicals. Phytochemicals are chemicals found in plants that have protective or disease preventive properties.
In addition, there are some misconceptions about the healthiest whole grain, but the truth is that there is no healthiest whole grain, just like there is no healthiest fruit or vegetable. Some whole grains are stronger in one nutrient and others in different nutrients. Here are two charts from the Whole Grain Council that list some of the nutrients that whole grains contribute to a healthy diet and the proportion of the Daily Value for each.
The U.S Food and Drug Administration (FDA) considers a food to be a “good source” of a nutrient if a standard-size serving provides 10% of the recommended daily value; an “excellent source” provides 20% or more of the recommended daily value.
When purchasing whole grain items reading labels is essential. One must pay more attention to the ingredient list because some whole grain foods may say whole grains and only include a tiny amount or some may be labeled “made with” or “containing” whole grain, but do not have whole grain as the first ingredient. To rectify this problem, check the ingredient list for sources of whole grains as the first ingredient. Examples of whole grain sources are bulgur (cracked flour), whole wheat flour, whole oats, whole grain corn, popcorn, brown rice, wild rice, etc. more sources of whole grain are also included in the previous charts.
