Grains play a crucial role in our diets, providing essential nutrients like dietary fiber, B vitamins, and minerals.
They offer numerous health benefits, such as reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease and aiding in the prevention and management of type 2 diabetes.
What Are Whole Grains?
Whole grains are grains that contain all the essential components of the original grain, including the bran, germ, and endosperm, whether they are processed or not. This definition applies whether whole grains are used as raw materials or as ingredients in food products.
Choosing Whole Grains
Selecting whole grains or whole grain foods on a daily basis is simple. Look for products that contain all the essential parts and natural nutrients of the grain seed.
Daily Whole Grain Consumption for Health Benefits
Whole grains offer greater nutritional value than refined grains, as they retain all the natural components of grains and provide additional nutrients like B vitamins, minerals, dietary fiber, and antioxidants. The health benefits of whole grains are closely tied to their high dietary fiber content.
Recommended Whole Grain Intake
Various organizations recommend different daily whole grain intake levels to reduce the risk of chronic diseases.
The World Cancer Research Fund suggests consuming unprocessed grains (cereals) and/or legumes at every meal. The United States and Canada advise that adults should consume at least half of their daily grains as whole grains.
Scandinavian countries recommend consuming at least 75g of whole grains (dry basis) per day, or an equivalent amount of 250 whole grain products. The United Kingdom encourages choosing whole grains, dark foods, and fiber-rich foods whenever possible.
Labeling of Whole Grain Foods
For consumers, examining the ingredient list and nutrition label on the packaging is the most reliable way to identify whole grains or whole grain foods. The Whole Grains Council in the United States promotes the use of the Whole Grain Stamp.
The Whole Grain Stamp comes in three types:
1. 100% Stamp
Foods labeled as "100%" must meet two conditions: all grains in the food are whole grains, and each serving contains at least 16 grams of whole grain ingredients.
2. 50%+ Stamp
Foods with the "50%+ label" should have at least half of their grains as whole grains, and each serving should contain a minimum of 8g of whole grain ingredients.
3. Basic Stamp
Foods with the "Basic Label" must contain at least 8g of whole grain ingredients per serving.
It's important to note that the "100%" label indicates that all grains in the food are whole grains but doesn't necessarily mean that all ingredients in the food are whole grains.
Additionally, the "per serving" weight is based on U.S. standards for packaged foods, which may vary. For example, French toast and bread may have different serving sizes, so even if you consume equal weights of these items labeled with the "50%+" stamp, the amount of whole grains you consume will differ.
