Every week, the Nutrition Center and another expert answer a pressing question about healthy food. In this episode: the benefit of whole grain products. And: how can you eat more whole grains?
Once you know what whole grain is, it is immediately clear why whole grain products are healthier than ‘white’ products. “Wholemeal grain products are made from the whole grain,” says Iris Groenenberg, nutrition and health expert at the Nutrition Center.
The grain of the grain has three parts, she explains. “In the middle is the flour core, at the bottom is the germ and on the outside is the bran. The germ and bran contain most of the good nutrients, such as fiber, iron and B vitamins.”
With the non-population variants, many vitamins and minerals literally remain in the sieve. “You only have the fast sugars left,” says GP Tamara de Weijer. “That doesn’t do your body much good. In fact, you don’t get full as quickly, so you quickly eat more of it, and it leads to a blood sugar peak.”
Make a ‘food switch’, where you replace your white grain products with whole grain products.
Scientific research has shown that eating whole grain products instead of white products is beneficial for your health. Groenenberg: “Eating enough whole-grain products reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and colon cancer.” It is therefore better to replace refined ‘white’ products with whole grain products. For example, by whole-wheat bread, whole-wheat pasta, whole-wheat couscous and brown rice.
Whole wheat bread is bread made from 100 percent whole wheat flour. If it says ‘whole wheat bread’ on the package, then it really is whole wheat. Brown bread is a mix of wholemeal flour and flour. White bread is made from flour. “You can’t always tell by the color whether it’s whole wheat bread,” says Groenenberg. “Sometimes white bread is dark colored with toasted malt flour or caramelized sugar.”
How do you know if a product is whole grain?
To be sure whether a product is whole grain, you can check the ingredients list. The first thing mentioned is the ingredient most of which is present. If ‘wheat flour’ is listed first, then the bread has been browned. If it says anything with “flour,” it’s whole wheat. At some supermarkets, breads have a handy ‘fibre meter’ on the packaging.
Pasta and couscous can also be called ‘whole wheat’ if they consist of 100 percent whole wheat flour. The same goes for crackers, toast and cookies. “A product that is not 100 percent whole wheat flour should not be called ‘whole wheat’,” explains Groenenberg. However, it is allowed to state how much whole wheat flour has been used. For example: crackers with 50 percent whole wheat flour and 50 percent flour.
Give yourself time. Your taste buds need a few tastes to get used to the taste.
But now the key question: how can you eat more whole grains? “Make a ‘food change’, where you replace your white grain products with whole grain products,” Groenenberg tips. “For example, make the step from white bread to whole-wheat bread, from white pasta to whole-wheat pasta or from white couscous to whole-wheat couscous.”
De Weijer advises to read labels and not to be misled. “Also pay attention to the nutritional values. That is the table with calories, fats and proteins. It states how much fiber is in the product.” There is a practical rule with bread: at least 4.5 grams of fiber per 100 grams. With rice and pasta, the amount of fiber differs per brand. But here too the following applies: the more the better.
Whole grain not tasty? Mix brown rice with white rice
Some people don’t like whole wheat pasta and bread. De Weijer: “Give yourself time. Your taste buds need a few tastings to get used to the taste. If you still don’t like it, you could mix it. Half white rice and half brown rice, for example, and slowly build that up to just brown rice.”
And what if you eat low-carbohydrate, and therefore almost no bread, pasta and rice? “For people who want to eat fewer carbohydrates: there are also low-carbohydrate crackers and breads that are high in fiber,” says De Weijer. “It also pays to read the labels carefully.”