Food of the Week: Whole Wheat

If you remember anything about wheat, it should be this: Whole Wheat with germ and bran intact = good. Refined wheat = not so good. The refining process extracts the most nutrient rich parts of the wheat, the bran and germ, removing much of the vitamins, minerals and fiber. Many of the products we eat in the U.S. contain refined wheat, things like breads, pastas and baked goods. Diet propaganda like the Atkins Diet played on this truth to get people to lose weight by not eating carbohydrates like wheat. But the largest and scariest hole in no/low carb diet plans is the inclusion of all carbohydrates into the category of unhealthy. Let’s take a deeper look into the nutrition of whole wheat.

Photo courtesy of http://www.cspinet.org/nah/wwheat.html

Benefits:

• Women who eat whole wheat rather than refined tend to weigh less.
• Helps to lower risk for Type II Diabetes and lessens Chronic Inflammation.
• Helps prevent Gallstones, Heart Disease and Childhood Asthma.
• Good for cardiovascular health in postmenopausal women.
• The fiber found in wheat bran can act as a natural laxative. It helps you poo!
• Whole wheat helps to prevent certain types of cancers. It affects estrogen levels in a way that helps protect against some cancers. It also helps to protect against colon cancer.

Drawbacks:

• Allergies to wheat are very common.
• People with Celiac Disease or Gluten Intolerance cannot eat products containing wheat.
• Whole wheat contains substances called oxalates, which in high concentrations can exacerbate kidney and gallbladder problems.

Ways to eat whole wheat:

• To ensure that you get the benefits of whole wheat make sure you purchase foods that are not refined. Whole grains should be listed as the first ingredient and items should have at least 3 grams of fiber.
• Cereals high in fiber, such as raisin bran or shredded wheat.
• Eat whole wheat breads and pastas.
• Instead of using bread crumbs use rolled oats or bran cereal.
  

Little known fact:

A product marked multigrain does not necessarily contain whole grains. Make sure to read the nutrition information to make sure the whole grain is used.