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May 16, 2007
Whole Grain Rehash

Yesterday, my colleague Matt Goulding sent me this story from the New York Times. It's an article that reports on a meta-analysis of whole grain studies. From the writeup:

Writing in the online edition of the journal Nutrition, Metabolism and Cardiovascular Diseases, researchers say they have confirmed a clear connection between whole-grain intake and the risk of cardiovascular disease.

Blah, blah, blah. Yes, we've heard this before: The people who eat the most whole grains have lower risk of heart disease than those who eat the least. Keep in mind that the people who eat the least whole grains aren't likely eating a lower carb diet, they're eating lots of refined grains. So again, saying those who eat the most whole grains have the lowest risk of heart disease isn't necessarily true. It could be, of course, but I'd also bet that people eating the least amount of grains overall have a lower risk of heart disease compared to those eating the most refined grains. And the type of risk factor measurements you use to determine cardiovascular risk also matters. If you've read this blog much, you know I'm quite skeptical of the classic lipid hypothesis (i.e. LDL cholesterol is the best marker of heart disease risk.)

But I digress. The article says:

The new study found that on average, people who ate two and a half servings of whole grains a day had a 21 percent lower risk of developing cardiovascular disease than those who ate a fifth of a serving.

It's relevant to emphasize that we're only talking 2.5 servings a day. That's not a lot. Yet the message from the paper is to eat lots and lots of whole grains.

In summary, dietary whole grains have been inversely associated with cardiovascular risk factors, atherosclerosis, and incident cardiovascular disease. In light of this consistent evidence, policy-makers, scientists, and clinicians should redouble efforts to incorporate clear messages on the beneficial effects of whole grains into public health and clinical practice endeavors.

Personally, I can't figure out why they'd bother to do such a meta-analysis, unless they have too much time on their hands. Did they learn anything new? No. Did they expect to? No.

A few months ago, I ranted a little bit on this whole grain topic HERE. Granted, I probably shouldn't post this link because it may open a whole new can of worms in the comments section, but what the hell. An excerpt:

Now I'm not suggesting that you need to give up whole grains completely. As I said, they're better than refined grains and even appear to have some health benefits. However, the amount needed to reap those benefits is pretty small--for instance, three servings a day reduces heart disease risk by up to 28 percent. And as little as one serving a day cuts your risk by almost 20 percent. Of course, nutritionists might argue that if a little is good, a lot must be great. But there's no evidence that this is true, and plenty of research that shows most people benefit from eating fewer of these high-carbohydrate foods than they already do.

And while I'm on the topic: Ever wonder how exactly 100 percent whole wheat bread is different from white bread? We did, so we had our new editor Heather Loeb (pictured) call Kendall McFall, a flour-milling instructor at Kansas State University. Here's how the a grain goes from field to flour:

Step 1. A combine harvests the wheat and removes the whole-grain kernels from the stalks. The kernels are then transported to the mill.

Step 2. At the mill, corrugated rollers break open the kernel and scrape the carb-loaded endosperm away from the bran--the high-fiber outer husk--and the vitamin-rich germ.

Step 3. After the rollers pulverize all parts of the grain kernel, they're fed through sifters, which separate the larger bran and germ particles from the endosperm.

Step 4. The bran and germ are routed into different machines for further processing while rollers smooth the remaining endosperm fragments into a fine powder, or flour.

For Refined Flour

Step 5A. The endosperm flour is enriched--as mandated by federal law--with thiamine, niacin, riboflavin, folic acid, and iron. The flour may also be bleached at this point.

For Whole-Wheat Flour

Step 5B. The powdered endosperm, bran, and germ particles are combined in the same proportion as was present in the whole kernel to create whole-wheat flour. It is not enriched.

Step 6. The flour is packaged and ready to be made into bread.

Now ask yourself this: Is there really such a thing as a "whole" grain--at least when it comes to commercial bread?

P.S. For those of you who regularly eat whole grains, check out this article by Matt Goulding on the virtues of quinoa. I imagine it's a superior choice to most commercial whole grain products (though it's actually considered a wheat berry, I think).

A "wheat berry"? Sheesh. Quinoa's not even a true cereal -- it's not a grass like wheat.

Isn't quinoa a seed?

I always wonder, when a study says x servings of y had z result, what the x servings of y replaced in that person's diet. Are these servings of whole grains replacing the same number of servings of, say, pop tarts? Is the removal of something from a person's diet causing the result?

And how about people who eat NO grains at all? What's our risk? My disease risk is much higher if I eat grains (wheat, spelt, barley, oats, rye), whole or otherwise. And since there's literally nothing in grains that can't be obtained elsewhere (and usually much easier), who cares????

Well, wheat is a seed too, but importantly wheat comes from a Grass plant (like corn does and rice) but quinoa isn't a grass plant.

The two constant bores in life.

One - Articles espousing the efficacy of eating whole grains.

And, two, my constantly complaining about the irrationality of the claim. Whole grains are so nutrient deficient that it has to fortified.

Both are broken records, but I can't help resist complaining.

I recently looked at a box of cereal claiming to made from whole grain....I believe it was Cheerios, but don't quote me on that. Anyway, the only nutrients that it contained in any significant amount were the ones that it had been fortified with. You'd be just as well off eating the box and taking a multivitamin.

This is true of most prepared cereals & breads; the wording on the labels is typically crafted very carefully.

Step 0. Thru twice-annual tilling, liming, pesticide application, and baling, create vast tracts of lifeless land. Remove all (but one) types of plants, bugs, worms, root systems, organic matter, birds, rabbits from the soil.

Earth turned to dust, topsoil all gone? Repeat elsewhere. Great for ethanol production, too!

(plant grass and meat will grow)