Identifying Whole Grain

Can you tell when it's Whole Grain? When you go grocery shopping are you able to distinguish between wheat from chaff ?

Here are a few things to look for when purchasing Whole Grains-

The word "Whole" should be listed in the ingredients. Some products such as breads, crackers, biscuits or cereals may be labeled 100% multigrain or wheat bread but that does not mean the product was made with Whole Grain. Products such as Whole Grain Flour or Whole Wheat Cereal will typical have the whole grain as its ingredient.

Look for the position where the Whole Grain is listed in the ingredients: The first ingredient on a label normally indicates the dominance of that product. Hence, if Whole Grain is listed first and its the only grain, that tells you it has more Whole Grain in the product. On the flip side, if the first ingredient is wheat flour which is really white flour then you know whole grain is not the dominant grain.

Purchase Whole Grain in Bulk or Packaged and prepare your meals yourself. This is one of the easiest way to identify whole grain.

Whole Grains are not identifiable by the amount of dietary fiber . Whole Grains will differ in fiber. For example, a full servings of whole grain (16 grams) will contain only about a half to around three grams of fiber. That's a relatively small amount compared to 16 grams of whole grain.

Visit www.wholegrainscouncil.org for more information.

Special Thanks to Susan Westmoreland - Food Director, Good Housekeeping.

See you next time.