A Guide to Identifying Whole Grain Products
A Guide to Identifying Whole Grain Products
Incorporating nutritious plant foods such as whole grains, vegetables, fruit, beans, lentils, nuts and seeds on our plates is beneficial to health. Overall, people who eat more plant foods have a lower risk of chronic diseases. Some plant foods such as whole fruits and vegetables are easy to identify, but others such as whole grains can be more difficult.
Qualities that do not indicate whole grains:
Color. Some grain products appear darker in color because of ingredients such as molasses.
Fiber content. The amount of fiber in a grain product differs based on the grain. Generally, a whole grain product will have at least a few grams of fiber per serving, but using fiber content alone to identify whole grains is not reliable.
The word “grain.” A “grain” or “multigrain” product is not the same as “whole grain.” A whole grain has an intact bran, germ and endosperm, while a refined grain only has the endosperm.
The words “bran” or “wheat germ.” Although the bran and germ are two parts of a whole grain, they do not indicate a whole grain when they appear in an ingredients list.
Qualities that do indicate whole grains:
The words “whole wheat” or another “whole” grain. Read the ingredients list to determine whether a food product has whole grains. Ingredients are listed in order of predominance, so ingredients that appear first are used in the greatest amount. Many products contain multiple grains so read the label in its entirety.
Whole Grain Stamp. Found on the front of a food package, the yellow Whole Grain Stamp indicates whole grains. There are several versions of the stamp (100%, 50%+, Basic) that can make whole grain products easier to find.
For more tips, check out this information from the Whole Grains Council.
