Created 3/1/2011
White Flour and Whole Grains – What Are They?Ever wonder how white bread looks so white, when the flour taken from the wheat is brown? The answer - chemical bleaching, just like the bleach you put in your clothes. Chemical bleaching is done with benzoyl peroxide mixed with various chemical salts. The resulting white bread is called “dead” bread because it has lost the majority of its nutrients – 50% of the calcium, 80% of iron, 98% of magnesium, 80% of thiamin and 60% of riboflavin. Loss of these vitamins gives white bread its paler color, finer texture, and increased shelf life.
Highly processed white flour (a.k.a. “enriched wheat flour”) is missing the two most nutritious and fiber rich parts of the seed – bran and the germ. When the bran and the germ are removed to make white flour, the body absorbs the wheat differently. The body breaks down enriched flour too quickly, flooding the blood stream with too much sugar at once. Subsequently, the body has to work extra hard to absorb the excess sugar and does this by storing it as fat.
Whole grains, by contrast, are absorbed by the body more slowly and more fully. They are richer in dietary fiber, antioxidants, protein, minerals and vitamins. The health benefits of whole grains are many: reduced risk of some forms of cancer and decreased incidences of heart disease, diabetes and obesity.
The USDA recommends kids 2-3 years old consume 3 oz. of grains per day. That’s not a lot considering the typical bagel weighs in at 4 oz. Yet only 10% of Americans consume the recommended three servings of whole grains a day.. How do we ensure the grains our kids eat are whole grains?
Identifying Whole Grains in the SupermarketIt’s not as easy as it seems to tell which foods contain whole grains. As always, it's important to check the ingredient list for the word "whole" preceding the grain (such as "whole” wheat flour). You are looking for the whole grain as the first ingredient in the list, indicating that the product contains more whole grain than any other ingredient.
A quick scan of the bread, snack or cereal aisle and you will find just about every package touting its whole grains. However, not all of them are actually whole grain. Things like “100% wheat”, “multigrain” or “stone ground” may confuse you as none of these labels actually indicate the product is whole grain. Did you know some manufacturers strip the outer layer of bran off the whole kernel of wheat, use the refined wheat flour, add in molasses to color it brown, and call it "100% wheat" bread? It may be 100% wheat, but it is NOT a whole grain.
For a cheat sheet, refer to this list of some popular whole grains:
• Whole-grain corn
• Brown rice
• Oats
• Popcorn (really!)
• Quinoa
• Whole-grain rye
• Bulgur
• Wild rice
• Buckwheat
• Whole-grain barley
• 100% whole wheat flour
The Whole Grain Council has also made it easier than ever to find whole-grain products - look for the Whole Grain Council's whole-grain stamp, which shows how many grams of whole grains are in each serving. If all of the grain is whole grain, the stamp also displays a "100%" banner.
Getting your Kids to Eat Whole Grains Here are some easy ways to work more whole grains into your kids’ diets:
• Eat popcorn. What could be easier than eating air-popped popcorn as a snack? A study in the 2008 May issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association found that people who regularly ate popcorn averaged 2.5 servings of whole grains per day, while non-popcorn eaters got less than one serving.
• Make your snacks whole grain. Snacks account for one-third of whole grain consumption – but be sure to pick the right ones, whole grain snacks can sometimes be high in fat, calories and sugar.
• Incorporate whole grains into breakfast. Look for cereals with the whole grain symbol and get those grains in early in the day! Keep in mind that even when a product is made from whole grain, it's not necessarily healthy. Read the label and select cereals based on the whole-grain content and amount of sugar it contains. The less sugar, the better. Many popular, well-known and kid-favorite brands aim to confuse consumers by drawing attention to their whole grains so you are less likely to notice the high sugar content, artificial colors lurking inside.
• Add whole grains to your baked goods. Try blending half whole-wheat flour with all-purpose flour to boost the whole-grain content of your homemade baked goods.
• Choose brown rice and whole-wheat pasta. Wholesome Tummies uses ONLY whole-grain and hi-fiber pastas in our recipes and our customers love the taste. The key is choosing the right ones that still taste similar to the white pastas your kids like (at least until your kids are used to the heartier taste). There are some great options available – some that even look “white” - in the supermarket.
Start Them Off Right
Start off young kids with a diet of all whole grains. It’s much easier to start your preschooler off right when they are young, then to try to adjust his diet later on. For older kids, try the white whole-wheat flour first and slowly increase the amounts of whole grains in the recipes you make at home.
By slowly swapping out white-wheat breads in small increments, you can gradually transition your family’s diet to include whole grain items.
-SG