When it comes to finding whole grain foods, the current labels are failing us.
There are no words, symbols, signs, or labels that can guarantee the food on the shelf is 100 percent whole grain, even if it says it is.
He developed a new biochemical analysis to determine precisely how much whole grain flour is contained in a given food and then applied it to a handful of name-brand products.
The results, published in The Journal of Food Science, showed that national brand “Whole grain” pastas can contain as little as 9 percent whole grain and national brand flours labeled “Whole grain” can contain as little as 60 percent.
Even the Nutrition Facts Panel, the place on the package where most consumers go to ascertain actual ingredients, won’t help you validate whole grain content in wheat products.
The Harvard School of Public Health had used a fiber-to-carbohydrate ratio to approximate whether a product is whole grain, but that actually indicates the content of bran, which can be added separately from the germ.
Unlike stone flour mills, which crushed the wheat but kept all the parts of the grain together, the roller mill removed the germ, bran, and pretty much all of the nutrients.
Scores of studies say true whole grain consumption will help prevent heart disease, cancers, dementia, and diabetes.
Not only do many people seek out whole grains at the advice of doctors and nutritionists, but they often do so at moments when diet is more than a lifestyle choice-it’s an essential part of staying healthy or fighting illness.
As it becomes clear that eating better generally, and eating true whole grains specifically, really matters, I see an opportunity to demand transparency.