Healing with Food Article

Whole Grain Info

Accompanying recipe: Brown Rice

Whole grains are the buzz. They are more tasty and nutritious than processed grains. Plus, they protect against heart disease, cancer and diabetes.

So what exactly is a whole grain?  Here’s how to cut thru the confusing marketing jargon and misinformation and see the obvious. Then, it’s easy to make healthy and delicious choices.

Imagine planting a row each of wheat, Wheaties and pasta. The whole wheat, with its germ and hull intact, will grow and flourish. Indeed, whole grains are seeds. However, once a grain is flaked, rolled, puffed or milled into flour, it’s no longer a viable seed. It won’t grow.

So even though breakfast cereals, pasta and bread are often marketed as “whole grain” your eye tells you that they’re processed grain products.  Note the discrepancy between what your common sense tells you and the claims on package labels and even the USDA’s Food Pyramid.

Of the various problems associated with using whole grain products (versus the whole seed itself) two are primary--rancidity and digestibility.

To understand rancidity, let’s consider the seed itself. The germ, or its seed-essence, is comparable to the yolk of an egg. Its surrounding starch is similar to an egg white. Lastly, its bran is like the protective egg shell.

When processed, a grain’s bran no longer encircles and protects its fatty acid-rich germ and so the fragile oils oxidize and become rancid. Rancidity is a problem with all whole grain products including rolled and instant oats, brown rice products and whole wheat pasta, crackers and bread. (Rancidity, however, is not a problem with whole, intact grains or refined and de-germed grains.)

A second problem with all processed grains concerns your digestion. Processed grains are more quickly metabolized than when whole.  So grits, flakes, puffs and all flour products are higher on the glycemic index and therefore contribute to blood-sugar irregularities. Thus, to help deter diabetes and overall health favor whole grains and minimize your use of grain products.

Buy whole grain products from a reputable manufacturer and from a retailer who has a fast turn-over. Crackers and pasta made from whole wheat and rolled oats have a limited shelf life. Plan to use whole grain flours within a month or so and store them in the refrigerator or freezer.

See accompanying recipe for Brown Rice.

May you be well nourished,

Rebecca Wood