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Boost
whole grains in your diet
February 10, 05
Suzanne Havala Hobbs
The new set of dietary guidelines issued by the federal government
urge Americans to eat at least three servings – about
3 ounces – of whole grains each day. A simpler way to
look at it: At least half of the breads and cereals you eat
every day should be made from whole grains.
Now, there’s a recommendation that sounds doable. Still,
most of us fall short.
On average, we eat about a half serving of whole grains each
day, and only 13 percent of us get at least one full serving.
Before we get into how to work more whole grains into your
diet, let me explain what whole grains are and why they are
best.
Whole grains retain their outer bran layer and inside germ,
so they’re a rich source of health-supporting vitamins,
minerals, and phytochemicals such as phytoestrogens, antioxidants,
lignans, and phenolic compounds. Refining removes many of
these substances. Enrichment adds some – but not all
– of the good stuff back.
Plus, you need the fiber whole grains contain. That’s
especially true if you are cutting calories to lose weight.
The lower your calorie intake, the more important it becomes
to make sure the calories you do take in have value. In addition,
dietary fiber also helps prevent constipation and other gastrointestinal
woes.
How do you know a whole grain when you see one?
The easiest way is to read the food label and look for one
word: whole. Whole wheat, whole rye, whole oats, and so on.
Ingredients are listed in order of their predominance in the
product. If whole wheat is the first ingredient listed, it
probably makes up at least half of that product.
Don’t be tricked by imposters. “Wheat flour”
is refined white flour. If it were whole, it would say so.
And just because the bread is brown doesn’t mean it’s
made from whole wheat. It could be the caramel coloring. Check
the label.
Where’s the best place to find whole-grain products?
We’ve discussed this before, but it bears repeating:
Your local grocery store has many good choices, but natural
foods stores have even more. Shop in both places and look
for:
* Whole-grain breads. Buy good, heavy, coarse-grained breads
such as those made by Arnold, Brownberry and Ninth Street
Bakery, among others. If you buy from in-store bakeries, ask
store personnel if ingredient information is available if
it isn’t included on the bread bag.
* Whole-grain cold and hot cereals. Good choices: raisin bran,
Cheerios, Wheaties, Wheat Chex, Weetabix, oatmeal –
regular and instant, Shredded Wheat, seven-grain hot cereal,
Barbara’s Brown Rice Crisps, Kashi and many others.
* Pasta. Many supermarkets carry Hodgson Mills whole-wheat
pasta, and other brands are available in natural foods stores.
As with other whole-grain products, whole-wheat pasta has
more flavor and texture than white pasta. But take note: Whole-wheat
pasta has a texture that is heavier and becomes gummy more
easily than refined white pasta. It grows on you, though,
as people who have switched from white to whole-wheat bread
already know.
* Brown rice. When it comes down to eating brown rice, you
may think your diet is getting a bit bohemian. Try it more
often, though, and you’ll begin to appreciate the difference.
Move on from short- and long-grain brown rice to brown basmati
and jasmine rice, too.
Hodgson Mills makes a wonderful whole-wheat gingerbread mix,
and natural foods stores carry a wide range of whole-grain
mixes of all kinds. When you’re baking quick breads
and cookies at home, you can usually replace half of the white
flour with whole-wheat flour with good results.
And that’s how easy it is to eat – and enjoy –
more whole grains.
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