The following article was posted on "askcassyfirst.com"
More and more, we are seeing the term ‘whole grain’ on boxes and packages at the local grocer. It’s appearing on everything from muffins to bread, pasta to breakfast bars. But what does the saying ‘whole grain’ really mean, and will eating foods with this label be healthy or harmful?
Whole grain foods provide fiber, and fiber offers numerous health benefits to the body, including support to the digestive and cardiovascular systems, as well as for appetite control. But it’s important that we not substitute the terms one for the other in our mind, because according to current labeling regulations, “whole grain” does not necessarily deem a product as being high in fiber.
Marketers of healthful and not so healthful foods are urged by the Food and Drug Administration to label their products truthfully, but currently there are few legal definitions for ‘whole grain’ statements.
Manufacturers can make statements of fact on their labels, for example, “14 grams of whole grains." But according to a 2006 article published by the Center for Science in the Public Interest, what’s not heavily regulated is what constitutes a ‘whole grain’ product in the first place. And, more importantly, it’s not clear how much whole grain must be present to allow for the ‘whole grain’ label.
With statements such as, ‘made with whole grain,” “whole grain bread” and “multigrain product” being used without specifics which define the quantity of the whole grain ingredients, the market has become increasingly confusing for the consumer.
Just because it says ‘made with whole grain,’ does not mean that it is 100% whole grain, or that it will provide any serious degree of health benefit to the body. Nor does this label tell us that a product contains significant amounts of fiber. In fact, it probably isn’t “100% whole grain,” or the company would have said so in the first place. Indeed, many mainstream products on the market which use this label also contain high quantities of refined flour in their formula. In tests, some products are found to have as little as 10% whole grains, yet still make the claim.
So, if your toasted snack crackers or sandwich cookies say ‘made with whole grains,’ does eating them constitute a health benefit to the body? Guess again. The typical sandwich cookie, even the ‘whole grain variety’ will also pack plenty of sugar as well as low quality fats.
Unfortunately, the label might encourage you to consume more because it infers ‘health’ to some degree. And if you’re like many folks on a diet, you’ll often take any excuse to eat foods which are normally forbidden. In the end, it’s calories that make the true difference, so eating a box of sugar cookies made with whole grains is not only inadvisable, but could certainly be damaging to the waistline.
So while the fact that you’re attempting to consume more whole grains in your diet would be applauded by your nutritionist, you’re less likely to get high marks if those whole grains are coming from products whose ingredients tell a different story, that they are loaded with sugar, sodium or unhealthy fats. Instead, be careful, and make your choices wisely. Look for the fiber content on the label. Investigate the ingredients, check your quantities, and don’t take the marketer’s words at face value.
These days, it is more important than ever to read your labels. Be careful not to confuse the term ‘whole grain,’ with the term ‘fiber,’ which can be found on the Nutrition Facts panel. Dietitians and health care practitioners are regularly promoting the benefits of increased fiber, so we need to be smart and learn how to decipher the packaging, and get what we pay for.
Whole grain foods provide fiber, and fiber offers numerous health benefits to the body, including support to the digestive and cardiovascular systems, as well as for appetite control. But it’s important that we not substitute the terms one for the other in our mind, because according to current labeling regulations, “whole grain” does not necessarily deem a product as being high in fiber.
Marketers of healthful and not so healthful foods are urged by the Food and Drug Administration to label their products truthfully, but currently there are few legal definitions for ‘whole grain’ statements.
Manufacturers can make statements of fact on their labels, for example, “14 grams of whole grains." But according to a 2006 article published by the Center for Science in the Public Interest, what’s not heavily regulated is what constitutes a ‘whole grain’ product in the first place. And, more importantly, it’s not clear how much whole grain must be present to allow for the ‘whole grain’ label.
With statements such as, ‘made with whole grain,” “whole grain bread” and “multigrain product” being used without specifics which define the quantity of the whole grain ingredients, the market has become increasingly confusing for the consumer.
Just because it says ‘made with whole grain,’ does not mean that it is 100% whole grain, or that it will provide any serious degree of health benefit to the body. Nor does this label tell us that a product contains significant amounts of fiber. In fact, it probably isn’t “100% whole grain,” or the company would have said so in the first place. Indeed, many mainstream products on the market which use this label also contain high quantities of refined flour in their formula. In tests, some products are found to have as little as 10% whole grains, yet still make the claim.
So, if your toasted snack crackers or sandwich cookies say ‘made with whole grains,’ does eating them constitute a health benefit to the body? Guess again. The typical sandwich cookie, even the ‘whole grain variety’ will also pack plenty of sugar as well as low quality fats.
Unfortunately, the label might encourage you to consume more because it infers ‘health’ to some degree. And if you’re like many folks on a diet, you’ll often take any excuse to eat foods which are normally forbidden. In the end, it’s calories that make the true difference, so eating a box of sugar cookies made with whole grains is not only inadvisable, but could certainly be damaging to the waistline.
So while the fact that you’re attempting to consume more whole grains in your diet would be applauded by your nutritionist, you’re less likely to get high marks if those whole grains are coming from products whose ingredients tell a different story, that they are loaded with sugar, sodium or unhealthy fats. Instead, be careful, and make your choices wisely. Look for the fiber content on the label. Investigate the ingredients, check your quantities, and don’t take the marketer’s words at face value.
These days, it is more important than ever to read your labels. Be careful not to confuse the term ‘whole grain,’ with the term ‘fiber,’ which can be found on the Nutrition Facts panel. Dietitians and health care practitioners are regularly promoting the benefits of increased fiber, so we need to be smart and learn how to decipher the packaging, and get what we pay for.
