You probably know that whole grains are good for you. Sophisticated granules? Not so much. But can you say the difference in the store?
Some foods are easy. The oats of steel is whole grain, white bread is not clearly.
But between these two ends are scores of refined cereal products packaged to look healthy. Crackers, muffins, waffles, breads that feature images of wheat and words such as “natural”, “biological” and “multigrain”. You could swear all this, but this is not realistic to most people.
Can you sort the wheat from the chaff? (Haha, see what I did there?)
Let’s find out! Take this pop -grain quiz and see how you do it. Then learn a sure way to know which grains are whole grains.
But first, let’s make sure everyone knows exactly what we mean by the “whole wheat”, and why it matters.
What exactly is a whole grain?
Whole granules are foods containing “basic parts and naturally-that result in nutrients of the entire granule seed in their initial proportions” (Entire granules). This is the bran; germ; introspemic Below, if the grain is eaten intact, as in barley. Rolling, as in oats. or even ground, as in flour.
When we eat sophisticated grains, on the other hand, we only take the endosperm and lose all the diet on the bran and sprouts.
(To complicate things in Canada, but not in the US, if you see the “whole grain” ingredient, you get the endosperm and the branbut Not necessarily the germ. Eye roll. Look for “wholemeal the whole wheat “instead.)
Benefits for the health of whole grains
Whole granules are worth chasing. People who eat mostly whole grains and fewer sophisticated cereal foods enjoy a series of health benefitsIncluding lower risk of heart disease, diabetes and stroke. For cardiovascular disease, at least 2-3 servings per day of whole grains appear to be what is needed.
Why? Whole granules can be an important source of fiber, some of which help reduce blood cholesterol and stabilize blood sugars in addition to maintaining your intestinal and happy. Whole granules have more potassium and magnesium, which are involved Holding blood pressure under control. Magnesium also helps to regulate blood sugars. And then there are phytochemicals …
Try whole grain know -how
Some, but not all of the following are whole grains. Can you say who?
Could you identify whole grains? Are you sure?
Now use the ingredient lists
It’s hard to say when you just look at the front of the package. Try checking the ingredient lists.
(Sorry, this is hard to read. This is the best I could do. Try to turn your device sideways.)
If the first ingredient is a set of grains, you can consider the product a set of grains. These lists are in decreasing order by weight, so there is more than the first ingredient there than anything else. And it’s even better if there are no sophisticated granules, such as the simple old “wheat flour”, not at all.
“Enriched” wheat flour is basically white flour. This is the section of only the grains, as well as some nutrients that need to be added to avoid extensive deficiencies, such as iron, thiamine (vitamin B1) and riboflavin (vitamin B2). It is still lacking fibers, magnesium, potassium and many other nutrients found on the bran and sprouts.
Now do you know who are whole grains? (Drum Setup please.)
And whole grains are…
Boom Chicka Pop
The whole popcorn is whole!
The popcorn with air would be ideal, but if you think it tastes like cardboard, just go easily with garnish or find a product it makes.
Magic converted / parboiled rice
You may believe that 10 -minute rice cannot be a set of grains, but you will be wrong, as the ingredient list clearly shows.
And this is rice with benefits! When rice is cooked and allowed to cool, as in convertible / parboiled rice, the structure of carbohydrate molecules changes, creating starch starchWhich is good for our gut microbialicide, which surprisingly seems to play an important role in situations such as diabetes and heart disease!
Rice is also slower to digest by reducing its glycemic index (GI).
You can recreate this phenomenon by cooking regular brown rice and refrigerator or freezing before eating it. (Same with pasta and potatoes.) Super Handy for the fast meals of the week!
Triscuit, a rare whole grack cracker
In typical triscuits, the main ingredient is not even a whole wheat flour. Is less processed than that. (Check the list of ingredients because there are newer triscuits that are not 100% whole grain.)
Low landscape triscuits taste well for us, especially immersed in hummus. But if they don’t do it for you, go for the initial triscuits, though they have 7% of your maximum sodium on 6 crackers. Draw accordingly.
(Low disease have about 2%. The label says 1% because they are for 4 crackers.)
For more whole grains, see the revision of the costco: wholemeal craters and other crisp crisp snacks.
A fine oatmeal
Quite all oats are whole grains, so a good source of fibers and other nutrients. If you are not sure, you know what to do (component list).
But the fastest oats can cook, the faster it will make your blood sugar get up. If you have time, go for steel or traditional oatmeal, which have a lower gis (this is good).
Immediate oats is even worse for GI, as they have usually added sugar and sodium. But they could deserve a place in your life – for example for food for travel or office. Better than a donut.
If you want to know more about all the oats, porridge and heart health, read my ODE at Oatmeal. For more whole grain cereal options, see the heart healthy cereal: the sweet spot sixteen.
For the scammers
The rye is a low gi of whole grains, but…
Unfortunately, the rye is not always the main ingredient in rye breads!
This is more like white bread with rye meal. We do not know how much, but there is clearly more (white) wheat flour and water from the rye to the mixture. Better than white, but just just.
Fiber reinforces what the ingredient list proposes:
A medium gram in two slices? Was not impressed.
Multiple migrant breads are often just white bread with privileges
As you can see from the list of ingredients, this is also mostly white flour. The whole flour flour is the third Ingredients after that and water, but as I explained above, it is not even a true total grain in Canada.
The rest of the ingredients sound well, but how many seeds of linen, sesame, etc. Is there really? One ingredient must only be 2% of a product to do so in the list of ingredients in Canada.
I would say to check the content of the fiber, but this product doesn’t even have a diet! (Not required if bread is baked on the spot.)
With a name like “Multigrain Harvest“I would expect more. Certainly a whole -grave fraudster.
A better multigrain
But multigrain is not all the scammers syndrome. Just look for one that has a set of grains as the first ingredient. With many seeds, it will probably have a lower GI than 100% whole wheat.
For example:
That ingredient lists make it extremely clear that they use “wholemeal The whole wheat ”, even until they clarify that they have included the sprouts. Nice.
Consequently, fibers and other nutrients are much higher.
For more examples of bread and tips, read how to choose the best heart health bread. (I guess I’m writing a lot about granules!)
The low couscous
Surprisingly, the couscous is not necessarily a set of grains! (Don’t confuse it with quinoa.)
The couscous is made of wheat flour (such as pasta), but not necessarily wholemeal flour. Semolina can have wheat flour Some health benefitsBut they are not necessarily whole grains.
But the Couscous is ready in 5 minutes, which makes it an excellent tool if you like meals quickly! Look for something like that:
Warning! You should do this the same, as opposed to the flavored couscous products that are almost never wholehene (and high enough in sodium). If you are not really Good in the kitchen, find an online recipe, or this will be terribly mild.
But look at all these gorgeous fibers!
Not any cars?
No. Sorry friends. I also love them. Not even a little whole grain. They have at least seeds and nuts. But how much? It’s hard to say, but fiber tells a sad story:
If you like, have them! Just don’t make them a support of your heart-alert diet. Mainly INTERNATIONS, RIGHT? This is another persuasive fraudster.
Breton vegetables – more sugar than vegetables!
The list of ingredients says everything. Spend these unless you love the taste. Humbug.
There is not enough wheat and bran germ to help these fiber or potassium crackers. The nutrients you see in decent amounts are added to the processing, but we can get them from better foods.
Not so special k
Original Special K is a pet of mine because advertising indicates that it is a healthy food when nothing else is. When the ingredient list says “rice”, it is white rice, not brown.
Nothing redefines here. Watering. In fact it has zero grams of fiber.
The sophisticated grains have their place!
Don’t get me wrong. I am not saying to completely prohibit the sophisticated granules. I often recommend normal pasta as a satisfactory vehicle for vegetables and fish. (Like all wheat? Even better.)
And I love To get a chocolate croissant in a slow in the morning on the weekend. But no one is cheated on the croissants. We know that we eat them for pure pleasure.
What it takes me is products that try to fool people. These descriptors such as “multi-grain”, “gluten-free”, “black chocolate” and “biologically” indicate hygiene where there may be few. These features may be important to you for other reasons, but for heart health, total grain is more important.
What is there in your closet?
Do you have some scammers for the criminals in your kitchen? Anything the first ingredient is “wheat” (without the whole), “enriched wheat”, “rice”, or something similar, which implies the packaging that it is a healthy set of grains?
This, with a picture of a healthy wheat plant and descriptors like “Stoned Wheat”, “Multiseed”, and organic;
Ground with stones or not, “biological countless enriched wheat flour” is still white flour and still has only a gram of fiber per serving. Humbug. Everyone has at least one, he bought knowingly or not.
I would love to see what you find. Take a photo and share your photos on my free facebook team, the Sweet Spot Heart Healthy Cooking Club.
(This post was not funded. Nothing I write is not granted.)
