Anna Delany

 

Get healthier with whole grains

If you haven’t felt the “grain wave” yet, you will soon. Whole grains are being touted as the new super food, the new carb, the better way to better health, the latest dish de jour – and for once, the hype is deserved.

Whole grains are a little piece of nutritional heaven. They’re packed with far more fiber, protein, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants than their fairer, refined-grain counterparts - making them a much smarter carb choice for healthy eaters. Plus, they taste good, are easy to cook with, and can help you slim down!

Sound like a good thing? Want to know more? Read here.

 

Whole and refined grains – what’s the difference?

Despite their “new” presence on supermarket shelves and restaurant menus, whole grains, such as brown rice and quinoa, predate refined grains, such as white rice and refined white flour, by thousands of years. The process of refining grain on a grand scale is a relatively recent one made possible only by technological advancements.

You can think of a whole grain as a three-part package:

Bran (outer layer) - This outer layer is packed with fiber, trace minerals, phytochemicals, and B vitamins. 50-80 percent of the grain’s minerals and other health-promoting plant substances called phytochemicals are contained in the bran.

Germ (inner layer) - This inner layer is rich in antioxidants, phytochemicals, B vitamins, vitamin E, and trace minerals, as well as containing healthy unsaturated fats.

Endosperm (middle layer) - This middle layer contains complex carbohydrates and protein. It also contains small amounts of B vitamins.

When a whole grain is processed in order to make a refined grain, two parts of the package - the bran and germ – are removed, leaving only the endosperm. In this process, 25 percent of the protein is removed along with at least 17 key nutrients. The refined grain also has five to seven times less fiber than the whole grain.

Why are whole grains so good?

Put it this way - if grains were cars, whole grains would be a deluxe model Mercedes with all the bells and whistles while refined grains would be a basic model car. Both get you from A to B, but the Mercedes is just that cut above.

The “bells and whistles” in whole grains are the many nutrients, including phytochemicals and antioxidants, that are missing from refined grains. These nutrients help to fight a number of diseases including:

·         Heart disease

·         Stroke

·         Type 2 diabetes

·         Cancer

·         High cholesterol

·         Obesity

·         Bowel disorders

Studies show that people who regularly eat whole grains reduce their risk for all of these diseases. Research also suggests that whole grains may be even better than fruits and vegetables as a source of key nutrients for fighting disease.

So next time you’re choosing between white rice and brown rice, remember – go for the Mercedes!

Whole grains for weight control

Though at first they may seem too “heavy” to be a diet food, whole grains have been proven to help with weight control. A study conducted by the Harvard School of Public Health showed that eating 40 grams (equivalent to about 1 cup of oatmeal or 3/4 cup of brown rice) of whole grains a day could significantly reduce middle-age weight gain. It’s thought that the fiber and protein in whole grains helps to regulate blood sugar, increase satiety and delay the return of hunger. The body also uses more calories to break down high-fiber foods.

How to go whole grain

Look for the Whole Grains Council stamp on packaging

Just because a food sounds or looks "grainy" doesn’t mean it’s made from whole grain. For example, “brown” bread can actually get its color from molasses or food dye. Words like “multigrain” and “stone ground” can also be misleading. “Multigrain” simply means that the food has more than one grain – refined or otherwise, while “stone ground” only refers to the technique used to prepare the food – not the ingredients.

The Whole Grains Council offers the following tips when trying to choose whole grain products:

Read the ingredient list – If the first ingredient listed contains the word “whole” (such as “whole wheat flour” then the product is predominantly whole grain.

Look for the Whole Grain stamp – As of March 2005, food companies have the option to add this stamp to their whole grain products.

Look for an FDA health claim – Foods that contain 51 percent or more of whole grain ingredients by weight may make the following claim: “Diets rich in whole grain foods and other plant foods, and low in total fat, saturated fat and cholesterol, may reduce the risk of heart disease and certain cancers.”

Check the fiber content – You can find this on the Nutrition Facts panel on the packaging. A true 100 percent whole grain product will have at least two grams of fiber per serving, and often five grams or more.  

Easy ways to eat more whole grains

Use whole wheat flour in baking, and add oatmeal or buckwheat to pancakes

·         Substitute half the white flour in your recipes with whole wheat flour. This works for bread, cookies, muffins, pancakes, etc.

·         Add oats to cookies, pancakes, and desserts such as apple crisp.

·         Pop popcorn! Popcorn is an often neglected whole grain. If you pop it yourself at home you can control how much extra butter and salt gets added.

·         Add half a cup of a whole grain such as cooked bulgur, wild rice, barley, or rye berries to soups and stuffing.

·         Use whole corn meal in place of regular corn meal.

·         Make all your favorite grain dishes such as risottos and pilafs with brown rice, bulgur, or quinoa.

·         Cook whole wheat pasta for all your favorite pasta dishes.

·         Look for breakfast cereals made from whole grain ingredients like kamut, buckwheat, or grano (wheat berries).

Try these whole grains:

Grain	Description	Uses and Cooking Methods
Amaranth	Very small seeds with slightly peppery flavor.	Boil in 2-1/2 cups liquid such as water or half water and half stock or apple juice until seeds are tender, about 18 to 20 minutes. Add some fresh herbs or ginger-root to the cooking liquid for more interesting flavor.
Barley	Hulled barley and pearled barley are the most common types of barley. Hulled is more nutritious, but also chewier.	Add to soups or stews, or use as basis for salad or side dish.
Brown and wild rice	Brown rice has a tasty, nutty flavor. As well as regular brown rice, you can try several other varieties including brown basmati rice.	Brown rice takes longer to cook, but can be precooked, frozen and reheated. Some stores carry ready-cooked brown rice in frozen form. Try as a substitute for any white rice dish. Especially good as a side-dish. Wild rice is actually a grass, but can be served in place of rice and is even more flavorful than brown rice.
Buckwheat (Kasha, Soba noodles)	Full of good nutrients and high in protein with a rich, nutty flavor.	Use in place of rice as side dish. Buckwheat flour is good for pancakes. Also try Japanese Soba noodles which are made from ground buckwheat.
Bulgur wheat (cracked wheat)	Made from whole wheat that's been soaked and baked to speed up cooking time. Cracked wheat takes longer to cook.	Use in Middle Eastern dishes like Tabouli and pilafs.
Corn	Corn is the only grain eaten as a vegetable.	Popped corn makes a good high-fiber snack. Corn grits (popular in the South) are not whole grain but are made from hominy, which is refined corn stripped of the bran and germ.
Couscous (whole wheat)	Couscous is a form of wheat pasta. Only whole wheat couscous is wholegrain	Couscous is easy to cook. Bring 1 cup of water to the boil, remove from the heat, and add 1 cup of couscous with some dry stock for extra flavor.
Quinoa	Has a mild flavor and pleasant, slightly crunchy texture. There are several different colored varieties.	Rinse before using to remove the bitter coating. Boiling in water, stock or fruit juice for 12-15 minutes or until the rings around the center of the grain detach themselves. Use quinoa in place of rice as a side dish, in pilafs, stuffing, or salads.
Wheat Berries	These are wheat kernels that have been stripped only of their inedible outer hulls.	They can be cooked for use in casseroles and soups or as a nutritious nutty-tasting side dish. They can also be sprouted for use in salads and breads.
Whole wheat	Most common form is whole wheat flour	Use instead of white flour in baking. Try substituting 25-50% of white flour for whole wheat.
Whole oats and oatmeal	Several varieties of oats including steel cut oats (Irish oats, pinhead oats), oat groats, and rolled oats.	Usually used for breakfast cereal and cookies.