What is a Wholegrain
Q: Ways to get wholegrain into your diet
A:
It's surprisingly easy to up your wholegrain intake. The biggest hurdle is just getting into the habit of putting a few different things into your shopping basket. Once you've swapped this for that and that for the other, you'll be set.
Replace your white loaf with wholegrain bread. If you find 100% wholegrain isn't to your liking, you can find breads that mix wholegrains with other grains
Try using brown rice and wholewheat pasta instead of white varieties
Choose a breakfast cereal that contains wholegrains - there should be plenty of choice!
Use whole grains in your cooking - such as oats in your fruit crumbles, pot barley for satisfying soups and stews, bulgur wheat in salads and stir-fries or substituting some of the plain flour in baking for wholegrain flour
For a wholegrain treat, choose SunBites. They provide more than 1/3 of the suggested daily amount of wholegrains
If you'd like inspiration on how to cook some tasty wholegrain dishes, please visit our recipe section where Lucy, our food expert, has listed some favourites.
Q: Do we eat enough wholegrain?
A:
Current guidelines from the US recommend three 16g servings of wholegrain foods per day equalling a suggested daily intake of 48g*. Dietary surveys in the UK show that wholegrain consumption averages less than half this amount per day and a third of adults in the UK eat no wholegrain at all**.
*Dietary Guidelines for Americans(2005) US Department of Health & Human Services. US Department of Agriculture
**. Thane CW et al. Comparative whole-grain intake of British Adults in 1986-7 and 2000-1. British Journal of Nutrition (2007) 1-7.
Q: Why eat wholegrains?
A:
Research has shown that wholegrains are an important part of a healthy balanced diet, and in the UK we don't eat enough. Why then, don't we make an effort to include just a few more helpings into our diets? Just three servings a day can make all the difference.
To find out more about wholegrain and why we should eat it, visit the HGCA website (Home-Grown Cereals Authority).
Q: How can I tell if a product is made with wholegrain?
A:
When flour is refined (think of white bread and pasta) most of the grain and nutritional benefits will have been stripped away in the process.
To get the whole package, forget about a product being simply brown (unbleached or coloured) or 'multi-grain' (this only means there's more than one type of grain and they're not necessarily whole). Instead, just read the ingredients list and if wholegrain is the first thing listed, you're getting the real deal.
Q: What makes a wholegrain whole?
A:
A grain is made up of three parts - the husky outer layer called the 'bran', the middle starchy bit called the 'endosperm' (great name) and the nutrient storehouse in the centre which is called the 'germ'. The boffin's definition is "Wholegrain includes cereals that consist of the intact, ground, cracked or flaked components - the endosperm, germ and bran - which are present in the same relative proportions as they exist in the intact grain." This definition is taken from the FDA. For more information, click here.
The goodness of wholegrain comes when we eat all three parts together - we're getting all the natural benefits that the grain has to offer.
A wholegrain:
Bran - provides fibre, protein, minerals and B vitamins as well as phytonutrients (basically, plant components that are good for health)
Endosperm - contains lots of starchy carbohydrates, protein and B vitamins
Germ - the heart of the grain gives us protein, good fat, minerals, E and B vitamins and phytonutrients
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