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Whole grains are cereal grains
Cereal

Cereals, or cereal grains, are mostly Poaceae cultivated for their edible brans or fruit seeds . Cereal grains are grown in greater quantities and provide more energy worldwide than any other type of crop; they are therefore staple foods....
 that contain bran
Bran

Bran is the hard outer layer of grain and consists of combined aleurone and pericarp. Along with cereal germ, it is an integral part of whole grains, and is often produced as a by-product of milling in the production of refined grains....
 and germ
Cereal germ

The germ of a cereal is the reproductive part that germinates to grow into a plant; it is the embryo of the seed....
 as well as the endosperm
Endosperm

Endosperm is the tissue produced in the seeds of most flowering plants around the time of fertilization. It surrounds the embryo and provides nutrition in the form of starch, though it can also contain Vegetable oils and protein....
, in contrast to refined grains
Refined grains

Refined grains, in contrast to whole grains, refers to grain products consisting of grains or grain flours that have been significantly modified from their natural composition....
, which retain only the endosperm. Whole grains can generally be sprouted
Sprouting

Sprouting is the practice of soaking, draining and then rinsing seeds at regular intervals until they germinate, or sprout. This can be a semi-automated or fully automated process when done on a large scale for commercial use....
 while processed grains generally will not sprout. Whole-meal products are made from whole-grain flour
Flour

Flour is a powder made of cereal grains. It is the main ingredient of bread, which is a staple food for many civilizations, making the availability of adequate supplies of flour a major economic and political issue at various times throughout history....
.

Common whole-grain products include rolled oats
Rolled oats

Rolled oats are traditionally oat groats that have been rolled into flat flakes under heavy rollers. The oat, like the other cereals, has a hard, inedible outer husk that must be removed before the grain can be eaten....
 or oat groats
Groats

Groats are the hulled grains of various cereals, such as oats, wheat, barley or buckwheat. Groats from oats are a good source of avenanthramide....
, hulled (not pearled) barley
Barley

Barley is an annual plant cereal grain derived from the grass Hordeum vulgare. It serves as a major animal feed crop, with smaller amounts used for malting and in health food, as well as the making of alcoholic beverages beer and whisky....
, popcorn
Popcorn

Popcorn or popping corn is a type of maize, which explodes from the kernel and puffs up when heated. Corn popping was originally discovered by Native Americans in the United States, but became popular as a snack food during the United States Great Depression....
, brown rice
Brown rice

Brown rice is Huller or partly milled rice, a kind of whole grain, a natural grain that remains unbleached. It has a mild nutty flavor, is chewier than white rice and becomes rancidification more quickly....
, whole-wheat flour, sprouted grains, and whole-wheat bread
Bread

Bread is a staple food prepared by baking a dough of flour and water. It may be leavened or unleavened. Edible salt, fat and a leavening agent such as yeast are common ingredients, though bread may contain a range of other ingredients: milk, Egg , sugar, spice, fruit , vegetables , Nut or seeds ....
.






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Grain
Whole grains are cereal grains
Cereal

Cereals, or cereal grains, are mostly Poaceae cultivated for their edible brans or fruit seeds . Cereal grains are grown in greater quantities and provide more energy worldwide than any other type of crop; they are therefore staple foods....
 that contain bran
Bran

Bran is the hard outer layer of grain and consists of combined aleurone and pericarp. Along with cereal germ, it is an integral part of whole grains, and is often produced as a by-product of milling in the production of refined grains....
 and germ
Cereal germ

The germ of a cereal is the reproductive part that germinates to grow into a plant; it is the embryo of the seed....
 as well as the endosperm
Endosperm

Endosperm is the tissue produced in the seeds of most flowering plants around the time of fertilization. It surrounds the embryo and provides nutrition in the form of starch, though it can also contain Vegetable oils and protein....
, in contrast to refined grains
Refined grains

Refined grains, in contrast to whole grains, refers to grain products consisting of grains or grain flours that have been significantly modified from their natural composition....
, which retain only the endosperm. Whole grains can generally be sprouted
Sprouting

Sprouting is the practice of soaking, draining and then rinsing seeds at regular intervals until they germinate, or sprout. This can be a semi-automated or fully automated process when done on a large scale for commercial use....
 while processed grains generally will not sprout. Whole-meal products are made from whole-grain flour
Flour

Flour is a powder made of cereal grains. It is the main ingredient of bread, which is a staple food for many civilizations, making the availability of adequate supplies of flour a major economic and political issue at various times throughout history....
.

Common whole-grain products include rolled oats
Rolled oats

Rolled oats are traditionally oat groats that have been rolled into flat flakes under heavy rollers. The oat, like the other cereals, has a hard, inedible outer husk that must be removed before the grain can be eaten....
 or oat groats
Groats

Groats are the hulled grains of various cereals, such as oats, wheat, barley or buckwheat. Groats from oats are a good source of avenanthramide....
, hulled (not pearled) barley
Barley

Barley is an annual plant cereal grain derived from the grass Hordeum vulgare. It serves as a major animal feed crop, with smaller amounts used for malting and in health food, as well as the making of alcoholic beverages beer and whisky....
, popcorn
Popcorn

Popcorn or popping corn is a type of maize, which explodes from the kernel and puffs up when heated. Corn popping was originally discovered by Native Americans in the United States, but became popular as a snack food during the United States Great Depression....
, brown rice
Brown rice

Brown rice is Huller or partly milled rice, a kind of whole grain, a natural grain that remains unbleached. It has a mild nutty flavor, is chewier than white rice and becomes rancidification more quickly....
, whole-wheat flour, sprouted grains, and whole-wheat bread
Bread

Bread is a staple food prepared by baking a dough of flour and water. It may be leavened or unleavened. Edible salt, fat and a leavening agent such as yeast are common ingredients, though bread may contain a range of other ingredients: milk, Egg , sugar, spice, fruit , vegetables , Nut or seeds ....
. Common refined-grain products include white rice
White rice

White rice is the name given to milled rice that has had its husk, bran, and cereal germ removed. This is done largely to prevent spoilage and to extend the storage life of the grain....
, white flour, white bread
White bread

White bread is bread made from wheat flour from which the bran and often the cereal germ have been removed, in contrast to whole wheat bread made from whole wheat flour, in which these parts are retained and contribute a brownish color....
, hominy
Hominy

Hominy or nixtamal is dried maize kernels which have been treated with an alkali.The traditional United States version involves soaking dried corn in lye-water , traditionally derived from wood ash, until the hulls are removed....
, and pasta
Pasta

Pasta is a generic term for Italian cuisine variants of noodles, food made from a dough of flour, water and/or Egg , that is Boiling. The word can also denote dishes in which pasta products are the primary ingredient, served with sauce or seasonings....
 (although whole-grain varieties of pasta are available).

Identifying whole-grain products

Whole grain products can be identified by the ingredient list. Typically, if the ingredient lists "whole wheat," "wholemeal," or "whole corn" as the first ingredient, the product is a whole-grain food item. On the other hand, terms such as "enriched" and "bromated," among others, could indicate that the food lacks whole grain.

"Wheat flour" (as opposed to "whole-grain wheat flour" or "whole-wheat flour") as the first ingredient is not a clear indicator of the product's whole grain content. If two ingredients are listed as grain products but only the second is listed as whole grain, the entire product may contain between 1% and 49% whole grain. Many breads are colored brown (often with molasses
Molasses

Molasses is a thick by-product from the processing of the sugar beet or sugar cane into sugar. The word molasses comes from the Portuguese language word mela?o, which comes from "meli", the Greek word for "honey"....
) and made to look like whole grain, but are not. In addition, some food manufacturers make foods with whole-grain ingredients, but, because whole-grain ingredients are not the dominant ingredient, they are not whole-grain products. Contrary to popular belief, fiber is not indicative of whole-grains. The amount of fiber varies from grain to grain, and some products may have things like bran, peas, or other foods added to boost the fiber content.

In Canada, it is legal to advertise any food product as "whole wheat" with up to 70% of the germ removed. While the resulting product will contain the benefit of fiber in the nutritional information, it lacks the more recently-discovered health benefits of antioxidants found in the wheat germ. Canadian consumers can be assured of whole-grain products by a label stating 100% whole grain whole wheat.

Whole grains are often more expensive than refined grains because their higher oil content is susceptible to rancidification
Rancidification

Rancidification is the decomposition of fats, oils and other lipids by hydrolysis or oxidation, or both. Hydrolysis will split fatty acid chains away from the glycerol backbone in glycerides....
, complicating processing, storage, and transport.

Similar to the distinction between whole and refined grains is that between whole pulse
Pulse (legume)

Pulses are annual leguminous crops yielding from one to twelve grains or seeds of variable size, shape and color within a pod, according to the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations ....
s and refined dal
Dal

Dal or Pappu is a preparation of pulse s which have been stripped of their outer hulls and split. It also refers to the thick, spicy stew prepared therefrom, a mainstay of Indian cuisine, Cuisine of Pakistan, and Cuisine of Bangladesh cuisine....
.

From AACC (American Association of Cereal Chemists) definition: "Whole grains shall consist of the intact, ground, cracked or flaked caryopsis, whose principal anatomical components - the starchy endosperm, germ and bran - are present in the same relative proportions as they exist in the intact caryopsis.”

U.S. Standards of Identity
Standard of identity

A standard of identity for a food product is the legal terminology used in the United States for a government regulation which establishes the criteria which must be met before foods can be labeled in a certain way....
 

The following names indicate whole-grain products, in accordance with the federal government:
  • “whole wheat bread”
  • “whole wheat rolls”
  • “whole wheat buns”
  • “whole wheat macaroni
    Macaroni

    Macaroni is a kind of moderately extended, machine-made dry pasta. Much shorter than spaghetti, and hollow, macaroni does not contain eggs. Though home machines exist that can make macaroni noodles, macaroni is usually commercially made....
    ”
  • “whole wheat spaghetti
    Spaghetti

    Spaghetti is a long, thin, cylindrical pasta of Italy origin. A variety of pasta dishes are based on it, from spaghetti with cheese and pepper or garlic and oil to a spaghetti with tomato, meat, and other sauces....
    ”
  • “whole wheat vermicelli
    Vermicelli

    Vermicelli is a type of pasta, round in section and somewhat thinner than spaghetti. Vermicelloni is less common, and about the same size as fedelini ....
    ”
  • “Cracked wheat” (as an ingredient, not part of a name, as in "cracked wheat bread")
  • “Crushed wheat”
  • “Whole wheat flour”
  • “Graham flour” (as an ingredient, not as part of a name as in “graham crackers”)
  • “Entire wheat flour”
  • “Bromated whole wheat flour”
  • “Whole durum
    Durum

    Durum wheat or macaroni wheat is the only tetraploid species of wheat of commercial importance that is widely cultivated today. It was developed by artificial selection of the domesticated emmer wheat strains formerly grown in Central Europe and Near East around 7000 B.C., which developed a naked, Wheat#Hulled_vs._free-threshing_wheat...
     flour”
  • “bulgur
    Bulgur

    Bulgur is a cereal food made from several different wheat species, but most often from durum wheat....
     (cracked wheat)” (note that "bulgur" by itself may or may not indicate whole grain)

Flour, Glycemic Index and Insulin Resistance


When searching for whole-grain foods, it is important to note that any products made with flour
Flour

Flour is a powder made of cereal grains. It is the main ingredient of bread, which is a staple food for many civilizations, making the availability of adequate supplies of flour a major economic and political issue at various times throughout history....
 can have the same effect on blood sugar
Blood sugar

Blood sugar concentration, or glucose level, refers to the amount of glucose present in a mammal's blood. Normally, the blood glucose level is maintained at a Reference_ranges_for_blood_tests#Electrolytes_and_Metabolites between about 4 and 6 mM ....
, whether the flour is produced from whole grains or not. For example, whole-grain wheat bread and white bread can have the same glycemic index
Glycemic index

The Glycemic index or GI is a measure of the effects of carbohydrates on blood glucose levels. Carbohydrates that break down rapidly during digestion releasing glucose rapidly into the bloodstream have a high GI; carbohydrates that break down slowly, releasing glucose gradually into the bloodstream, have a low GI....
. Grinding grains into flour increases the surface area upon which enzymes work to more quickly convert starch
Starch

File:Amylose2.svgFile:Amylopektin Sessel.svgStarch or amylum is a polysaccharide carbohydrate consisting of a large number of glucose units joined together by glycosidic bonds....
 into glucose
Glucose

Glucose , a monosaccharide also known as grape sugar, blood sugar, or corn sugar, is a very important carbohydrate in biology....
. Keeping grains as close to their original form as possible slows or prevents the digestion of starch, and a slower digestion is responsible for preventing spikes in blood sugar (which over time may lead to insulin resistance
Insulin resistance

Insulin resistance is the condition in which normal amounts of insulin are inadequate to produce a normal Insulin#Physiological_effects from fat, muscle and liver cell ....
).

See also

  • Whole grain stamp
    Whole Grain Stamp

    The Whole Grain Stamp was created by the and a panel of scientific and culinary advisors in January 2005 as a visual marker to signal products that contain dietarily-significant amounts of whole grains....
  • Alkylresorcinols
    Alkylresorcinols

    Alkylresorcinols are phenols lipids present in high amounts in the bran layer of wheat and rye . They are not present in the endosperm , which means that alkylresorcinols can be used as 'biomarkers' for people who eat foods containing wholegrain wheat and rye, rather than cereal products based on white flour....
  • Whole foods
    Whole foods

    Whole foods are those that are unprocessed and unrefined, or processed and refined as little as possible before being consumed. They typically do not contain added ingredients, such as sugar, salt, or fat....
  • Wheat germ


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