Unless there is a whole grain stamp on the foods you buy, when a package claims it is whole grain, it doesn't necessarily make it really made from whole grain. So what is a health-conscious consumer to do? Well use this handy little chart I've created to make the guessing process a little easier.
| Label Buzz Words: | Whole Grain? |
|---|---|
| whole grain [name of grain], whole wheat, whole [other grain], stoneground whole [grain], brown rice, oats, oatmeal (including old-fashioned oatmeal, instant oatmeal), wheatberries | Yes! Eat up. |
| wheat flour, semolina, durum wheat, organic flour, multigrain (may describe several whole grains or several refined grains, or a mix of both) | Maybe. Because some parts of the grain could be missing, you could be missing the benefits of whole grains. |
| enriched flour, degerminated (on corn meal), bran, wheat germ, flax, sunflower seeds, soy, chickpeas. | No. It's not to say that bran, wheat germ, flax, sunflower seeds, soy, chickpeas and unhealthy, they're just not whole grains. |
Not sure the name of common whole grains? I've already made a list, so check it out.
on Yahoo! |
But bran, wheat germ, flax, sunflower seeds, soy, and chickpeas aren't grains at all, are they? Soy and chickpeas are beans, and sunflower seeds are obviously seeds, for example.