“Whole Grain” Not the Whole Truth
Who hasn’t seen all the packages in the grocery store, emblazoned with the legend “Made With Whole Grains!” (or words to this effect). While I suppose it’s better than nothing, the fact remains that the words “whole grain” don’t necessarily translate to “healthy.” As Los Angeles Times reporter Jeannine Stein notes, often the addition of whole grains only makes an unhealthy product a little less unhealthy.
Whole grains have been the darlings of the food industry ever since the government’s 2005 food pyramid recommended we eat more of them — at least 3 ounces per day. These days, you’ll find them in a wide array of products, some expected, some not: breakfast cereals, crackers, frozen dinners and snack chips. Odwalla has a new smoothie drink that contains a full serving of whole grains. The source: whole-grain brown rice.
But — let’s get real. Just because toaster pastries, say, have whole grains doesn’t automatically make them a nourishing choice. One whole-grain chocolate fudge Pop-Tarts pastry has 190 calories per serving, 2 grams of saturated fat and 14 grams of sugar.
“Adding whole grains to Pop-Tarts is not going to take the sugar out,” says Bonnie Jortberg, a senior instructor in the department of family medicine at the University of Colorado School of Medicine in Denver. “Even if Pop-Tarts contain whole grains, I would put them on a list of foods to eat less often … the actual real nutrient value is pretty low.”
And the Wholly Grains smoothie from Odwalla has 54 grams of sugar in a 16-ounce bottle, almost 13 teaspoons of sugar.
“Buyer beware,” Jortberg says. “Not everything is as advertised.”
In truth, many “whole grain” products are far from 100% whole grain. As always, to see the whole truth, you need to turn the package/box/container over, and look at the list of ingredients and the nutrition label.
May 31, 2010
“Whole Grain” Not the Whole Truth – http://blog.ultimatefatburner.com/2010/0…
June 1, 2010
I’ve noticed this “whole grain” movment for a while now. It seems like everyone is on the bandwagon, to increase their sales.
A lot of the products are just frauds. The amount of whole grain in the product is minimal. Or worse yet included in a product cited in the article. A “Pop-Tart” is a bad thing, with or without “whole grain”.
As always uninformed people will fall for this and choose these products for “healthier” eating.
Your right, we all need to become better label readers.
June 1, 2010
Oh, dang.
Over the past year, I’ve tried diligently to eliminate sugar, desserts, and refined carbohydrates from my diet.
However, I’ve tended to replace them with things like whole grains. I wonder if I’m JUST fooling myself — and continuing to feed a carbohydrate addiction?
Jim Purdy
June 1, 2010
@Jim:
It depends. Switching from – say – Eggo “Homestyle” waffles to the Nutrigrain version is a marginal improvement – but if they’re still getting slorped with butter and maple syrup, it’s probably a distinction without a difference.
On the other hand, trading in the waffles for – say – old fashioned Quaker Oats – is a more positive step (assuming that brown sugar and raisins aren’t getting dumped all over them).
But the problem comes down to the whole “whole grains are healthy” mantra – as it’s being used in isolation. Sure, whole grains are “healthy” in a sense, as they provide more fiber and other nutrients than their refined counterparts. But when you’re looking to improve your health (a desire that often goes hand-in-hand with wanting to improve your waistline), then it will help to consider the composition of your entire diet vs. looking at individual choices.
Simply put, each of us has a discrete number of calories we can consume each day – and it’s not a massive number, either. So, when filling that quota, it helps to see your food choices on a spectrum. The most nutrient-dense foods that give you the most “bang” for your calorie “buck” are the ones to prioritize; similarly, foods that provide more cals for the nutrients they bring to the table need to be used more sparingly.
From that frame, whole grains rank below most veggies and fruits… as well as starchier items such as legumes or sweet potatoes/yams. Likewise, certain higher fat foods, such as nuts/seeds/avocados also have more to offer. Thus, it’s not a question of healthy vs. unhealthy… it’s really more about how to optimize your diet to achieve particular goals: fat loss, basic health/wellness/weight maintenance, athletic performance, building muscle, etc. (and to do it without making yourself miserable or living like a secular monk 24/7).
In the end, I guess it comes down to this: unless you’re very active and/or have the metabolism of a wolverine, it’s better to de-emphasize grains – period. But when you do eat them, whole grains and genuine whole grain products should be preferred vs. more refined versions.
One last point: when it comes to making lifestyle changes, there are two basic approaches: a) make multiple, radical changes and make them stick through sheer force of will; and b) make gradual, do-able changes over time in a progressive fashion. When it comes to goals like losing fat, unfortunately, most people instinctively choose a) – it appears to be the shortest distance between two points, after all, not to mention it “speaks” to our desire to be in total control. It’s the American Way!
Not surprisingly, most people fail – we’re creatures of habit, after all, and we can’t remake ourselves overnight, particularly in the absence of strong motivation and support (which are missing from most efforts). This is why I often stress b) – it takes longer (obviously), but the changes are more likely to be permanent.
So to return to the point about “wasting [your] time,” I’d say “no” – you haven’t been wasting your time at all. Limiting sweets and refined grain products is a VERY REAL and positive change in the right direction. It’s just that swapping them for whole grains is just one stage of a larger journey. Here’s one description of what that journey looks like: http://blog.ultimatefatburner.com/2008/07/12/positive-change/