You probably know that whole grains are good for you. Refined grains? Not so much. But can you tell the difference in the store?
Some foods are easy. Steel cut oats are whole grain, white bread is clearly not.
But between these two extremes are scores of refined grain products packaged to look healthy. Crackers, muffins, waffles, breads featuring images of fields of wheat and words like “natural,” “organic,” and “multigrain.” You could swear off all of them, but that’s not realistic for most people.
Can you sort the wheat from the chaff, so to speak? (Haha, see what I did there?)
Let’s find out! Take this whole grain pop quiz and see how you do. Then learn a surefire way of knowing which grains are whole grains.
But first, let’s make sure everybody knows exactly what we mean by “whole grain,” and why it matters.
What exactly is a whole grain?
Whole grains are foods that contain the “essential parts and naturally-occurring nutrients of the entire grain seed in their original proportions” (Whole Grains Council). That’s the bran, germ, and endosperm below, whether the grain is eaten intact, as in barley; rolled, as in oats; or even ground, as in flour.
When we eat refined grains, on the other hand, we get only the endosperm, and miss out on all the nutrition in the bran and germ.
(To complicate things, in Canada, but not the US, if you see the ingredient “whole wheat,” you’re getting the endosperm and the bran, but not necessarily the germ. Eye roll. Look for “whole grain whole wheat” instead.)
Health benefits of whole grains
Whole grains are worth hunting down. People who eat mostly whole grain and fewer refined grain foods enjoy a number of health benefits, including a lower risk of heart disease, diabetes, and stroke. For cardiovascular disease, at least 2-3 servings a day of whole grains seem to be what it takes.
Why? Whole grains can be a major source of fibres, some of which help lower blood cholesterol and stabilize blood sugars, in addition to keeping your gut regular and happy. Whole grains have more potassium and magnesium, which are involved in keeping blood pressure in check. Magnesium also helps regulate blood sugars. And then there are the phytochemicals…
Test your whole grain know-how
Some, but not all of the following are whole grain foods. Can you tell which ones?
Could you identify the whole grains? Are you sure?
Now use the ingredient lists
It’s tough to tell when you’re just looking at the front of the package. Try checking the ingredient lists.
(Sorry, that one is tough to read. That’s the best I could do. Try turning your device sideways.)
If the first ingredient is a whole grain, you can consider the product a whole grain. These lists are in descending order by weight, so there’s more of the first ingredient in there than anything else. And it’s even better if there are no refined grains, such as plain old “wheat flour,” at all.
“Enriched” wheat flour is basically white flour. That’s the endosperm part of the grain only, plus a few nutrients that have to be added to prevent widespread deficiencies, like iron, thiamine (vitamin B1), and riboflavin (vitamin B2). It’s still lacking fibre, magnesium, potassium, and many other nutrients found in the bran and germ.
Now do you know which ones are whole grains? (Drum roll please.)
And the whole grains are…
Boom Chicka Pop
All popcorn is whole grain!
Air-popped popcorn would be ideal, but if you think it tastes like cardboard too, just go easy with the toppings or find a product that does. This one strikes the right balance for me.
Magical converted / parboiled rice
You might think 10-minute rice can’t be a whole grain, but you’d be wrong, as the ingredient list clearly shows.
And this is rice with benefits! When rice is cooked and allowed to cool, as in converted / parboiled rice, the structure of the carbohydrate molecules changes, creating resistant starch, which is good for our gut microbiome, which surprisingly, seems to have an important role in conditions like diabetes and heart disease! The rice also becomes slower to digest, lowering its glycemic index (GI).
You can recreate this effect by cooking regular brown rice and refrigerating or freezing it before you eat it. Same with pasta and potatoes. Super handy for quick weeknight meals too!
Triscuit, one of the few whole-grain crackers
The main ingredient isn’t even whole grain flour. It’s less processed than that.
The low-sodium Triscuits taste fine to us, especially dipped in hummus. But if they don’t do it for you, go for the original Triscuits, although they have 7% of your max daily sodium in 6 crackers. Plan accordingly.
(The low-sodium ones have about 2%. The label says 1% because it’s for 4 crackers.)
For more whole-grain crackers, see my Costco Review: Whole-Grain Crackers and Other Crunchy Crispy Snacks.
One Minute Oats
Pretty much all oats are whole grain, so a good source of fibre and other nutrients. If you’re not sure, you know what to do (ingredient list).
But the quicker oats can cook, the faster they’ll make your blood sugar rise. If you have time, go for steel-cut or traditional rolled oats, which have lower GIs (that’s good).
Instant oats are even worse for GI, plus they usually have added sugars and sodium. But they might deserve a place in your life – say for travel or office comfort food. Better than a donut. Nutrition isn’t black and white.
If you want to learn more about all things oats, porridge, and heart health, read my Ode to Oatmeal.
About the impostors
Rye is a low GI whole grain, but…
Unfortunately, rye isn’t always the main ingredient in rye breads! This one is more like white bread with rye meal added. We don’t know how much, but we know there’s more (white) wheat flour and water than rye in the mix. Better than white, but we can do better.
The fibre reinforces what the ingredient list suggests:
One measly gram in two slices? Not impressed.
Look for multigrain breads that are mostly whole grain
As you can see from the ingredient list, this is more enriched wheat flour (so white flour) and water than whole wheat flour, which as I explained above isn’t even a whole grain in Canada!
The rest of the ingredients sound good, but how much flax seed, sesame seed, etc. is there really? An ingredient only has to be 2% of a product to make it on to the ingredient list in Canada.
I’d say to check the fibre content, but this product doesn’t even have a nutrition facts table! (Not required if the bread is baked onsite.)
With a name like “Multigrain Harvest,” I’d expect more. Definitely a whole grain impostor.
A better multigrain
Multigrain is great, especially with seeds, if you like some texture in your bread. And it usually has a lower GI versus 100% whole wheat.
Just look for one that’s also whole grain, like this:
They make it super clear that it’s whole grain whole wheat, by specifying that they’ve included wheat germ. Nice.
Accordingly, the fibre and other nutrients are much higher.
For more bread examples and tips, read my How to Choose the Best Bread for Heart Health.
The lowdown on couscous
Surprise, couscous isn’t necessarily a whole grain! (Don’t confuse it with quinoa.) Couscous is made from wheat flour (just like pasta), but not necessarily whole wheat. Semolina wheat flour may have some health benefits, but it’s not necessarily whole grain.
But couscous is ready in 5 minutes, which makes it a great tool if you like quick meals! Look for something like this instead:
Warning! You’ll have to season this one yourself, as opposed to the flavoured couscous products that are almost never whole grain (and quite high in sodium). If you’re not really good in the kitchen, find a recipe online, or this will be terribly bland.
But look at all of that gorgeous fibre!
Not even raincoast crisps?
No. Sorry friends. I love them too. Not even a little bit whole grain. They do have some seeds and nuts at least. But how much? Hard to say, but the fibre tells a sad tale:
If you enjoy these, have them! Just don’t make them a mainstay of your heart-healthy diet. Mostly whole grains, right? This one is another convincing impostor.
Garden Vegetable Breton – more sugar than vegetables!
The ingredient list says it all. Skip these unless you love the taste. Impostor.
There’s not enough wheat germ and bran to help these cracker with fibre or potassium. The nutrients you do see in decent amounts are added in processing, but we can get those from better foods.
Not so Special K
Original Special K is a pet peeve of mine because the advertising suggests that it’s a healthy food, when it’s anything but. When the ingredient list says “rice,” it’s white rice, not brown. Nothing redeeming here. Shameless impostor. Actually has ZERO grams of fibre.
Refined grains have their place!
Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying to ban refined grains entirely. I often recommend pasta as a satisfying vehicle for vegetables and fish. And I love getting a chocolate croissant on a slow weekend morning.
But no one is getting tricked by croissants. We know we’re eating them for pure pleasure. In fact, if a refined grain doesn’t “spark joy” in you, or have a practical purpose, let it go like those jeans in depths of your closet.
What gets me is products that try to fool people. Those descriptors like “multi-grain,” “gluten-free,” “dark chocolate,” and “organic,” suggest healthfulness where there may be little. Those characteristics might be important to you for other reasons, but for heart health, whole grain is most important.
What’s in your pantry?
Do you have any whole grain impostors in your kitchen? Anything whose first ingredient is “wheat” (without the whole), “enriched wheat,” “rice,” or something similar, that implies on the front of the package that it’s a healthy whole grain.
Something like this, with a wholesome image of a wheat plant, “stoned wheat,” “multiseed,” and organic.
Whether the “Organic Unbleached Enriched Wheat Flour” (not whole) is ground with stones or a more mill, it still only has one gram of fibre per serving. It’s so easy to think that’s a heart-healthy food.
I’d love to see what you find. Snap a picture and share your pics in my free Facebook group, the Sweet Spot Heart Healthy Cooking Club.
