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Health experts advise everyone – men and women, young and old – that grains are a healthy necessity in every diet, and that it's important to eat at least half our grains as "whole grains."
But what’s a whole grain? And why does it matter?
Whole grains include grains like wheat, corn, rice, oats, barley, quinoa, sorghum, spelt, rye – when these foods are eaten in their "whole" form
(more on that later). Whole grains even include popcorn! Eating whole grains has been shown to reduce the risks of heart disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes and obesity. Yet even consumers who are aware of the health benefits of whole grains are often unsure how to find them and prepare them.
This Consumer Guide offers practical suggestions for eating whole grains at every meal, and information on why eating whole grains is recommended by leading health experts.
In their natural state growing in the fields, whole grains are the entire seed of a plant. This seed (which industry calls a "kernel") is made up of three key parts: the bran, the germ, and the endosperm.
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The Whole Grains Council
Oldways Preservation Trust
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Courtney Davis
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2003-2005, Oldways Preservation
Trust/Whole Grains Council, unless otherwise noted.
The bran is the multi-layered outer skin of the kernel, and is tough enough to protect the other two parts of the kernel from assaults by sunlight, pests, water, and disease. It contains important antioxidants, B vitamins and fiber.
The germ is the embryo which, if fertilized by pollen, will sprout into a new plant. It contains many B vitamins, some protein, minerals, and healthy fats.

The endosperm is the germ’s food supply, which provides essential energy to the young plant so it can send roots down for water and nutrients, and send sprouts up for sunlight’s photosynthesizing power. The endosperm is by far the largest portion of the kernel. It contains starchy carbohydrates, proteins and small amounts of vitamins and minerals.
Whole grains contain all three parts of the kernel. Refining normally removes the bran and the germ, leaving only the endosperm. Without the bran and germ, about 25% of a grain’s protein is lost, along with at least seventeen key nutrients. Processors add back some vitamins and minerals to enrich refined grains, so refined products still contribute valuable nutrients. But whole grains are healthier, providing more protein, more fiber and many important vitamins and minerals.
Whole grains may be eaten whole, cracked, split or ground. They can be milled into flour or used to make breads, cereals and other processed foods.
If a food label states that the package contains whole grain, the "whole grain" part of the food inside the package is required to have virtually the same proportions of bran, germ, and endosperm as the harvested kernel does before it is processed.
Whole grains currently make up about 10 percent of grains on supermarket shelves. At a time when health professionals urge consumers to eat at least half of their grains as whole grains, it’s a challenge for consumers to find these healthier whole grains in a sea of refined grain foods.
Consumers are increasingly aware that fruits and vegetables contain diseasefighting phytochemicals and antioxidants, but they do not realize whole grains are often an even better source of these key nutrients. Moreover, whole grains have some valuable antioxidants not found in fruits and vegetables, as well as B vitamins, vitamin E, magnesium, iron and fiber.
The medical evidence is clear that whole grains reduce risks of heart disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes and obesity. Few foods can offer such diverse benefits.
People who eat whole grains regularly have a lower risk of obesity, as measured by their body mass index and waist-to-hip ratios. They also have lower cholesterol levels. Because of the phytochemicals and antioxidants, people who eat three daily servings of whole grains have been shown to reduce their risk of heart disease by 25-36%, stroke by 37%, Type II diabetes by 21-27%, digestive system cancers by 21-43%, and hormonerelated cancers by 10-40%. See the latest research on whole grains and health by clicking here.
The new 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends that all adults eat half their grains as whole grains – that's 3 to 5 servings of whole grains.
The health evidence has also convinced The American Heart Association, the
Department of Health and Human Services, and the Healthy People 2010
Report all to recommend at least three servings of whole grains per day. Yet the average American eats less than one daily serving of whole grains, and over 30% of Americans never eat whole grains at all.
The USDA defines a grain serving as a grain product containing 16 grams of flour. As a result, three servings would be 48 grams of whole grain ingredients.
The USDA recommends meeting the daily requirement by eating three ounces of breads, rolls, cereals or other grain foods made with 100% whole grains. A slice of bread or a serving of breakfast cereal usually weighs about an ounce.

You can also get the whole grains you need from foods made with a mix of whole grains and refined grains. This means you have lots of delicious choices that match your taste preferences.
The Whole Grains Council has created an official packaging symbol called the
Whole Grain Stamp that helps consumers find real whole grain products. The
Stamp will be widespread on your store shelves by mid-2005.
With the Whole Grain Stamp, finding three servings of whole grains is easy:
Pick three foods with the Excellent Source Stamp or six foods labeled Good
Source. The Excellent Source Stamp assures you that a food contains a full serving of whole grain in each labeled serving, while the Good Source Stamp appears on products containing half a serving of whole grain per labeled serving.
But until the Whole Grain Stamp is on all foods, how can consumers know if a product is whole grain?
First, check the package label. Many whole grain products will say so outright. Look for claims like "Good Source of whole grain," Excellent Source of whole grain" or "100% whole wheat" as producers sometimes print "whole grain" on products containing only miniscule amounts of whole grains.
Words you may see on packages
• whole grain [name of grain]
• whole wheat
• whole [other grain]
• stoneground whole [grain]
• brown rice
• unbleached flour
• wheat flour
• semolina
• durum wheat
• organic unbleached flour
• enriched flour
• degerminated (on corn meal)
• bran
• multigrain (may describe several whole grains or several refined grains, or a mix of both)
What they mean
"whole grains."
Contains all parts of the grain, so you're getting all the nutrients of the whole grain.
These words are accurate descriptions of the package contents, but because some parts of the grain may be missing, you are likely missing the benefits of
Second, check the list of ingredients. If the first ingredient listed contains the word "whole" (such as "whole wheat flour" or "whole oats"), it is safe to assume the product is predominately whole grain. If only the second ingredient listed is a whole grain, the product may contain as little as 1% or as much as 49% whole grain (in other words, it could contain a little bit of whole grain, or nearly half).
A word about fiber. Fiber varies from grain to grain , ranging from 3.5% in rice to over 15% in barley and bulgur. What's more, high-fiber products sometimes contain bran or other added fiber without actually having much if any whole grain. Both fiber and whole grains have been shown to have health benefits. But they're not interchangeable. So checking the fiber on a label is not a very reliable way to guess whether a product is truly whole grain.
Turn to the Whole Grain Stamp. As the text above shows, food labels can be unclear. That's why the Whole Grain Stamp, identifying a half-serving or full-serving of whole grain, can be a valuable aid for consumers.

If you'd like to know more about whole grains, here are just a few more websites with good information on whole grains: www.wheatfoods.org
www.oznet.ksu.edu/humannutrition/wholegrains.htm
; www.generalmills.com/nutrition/hn/wg.htm
Consumers can easily add whole grains to their meals, often using favorite recipes they’ve always enjoyed. Try some of the following:

Substitute half the white flour with whole wheat flour in your regular recipes for cookies, muffins, quick breads and pancakes. Or be bold and add up to 20% of another whole grain flour such as sorghum.
 Add half a cup of cooked bulgur, wild rice, or barley to bread stuffing.

Add half a cup of cooked wheat or rye berries, wild rice, brown rice, sorghum or barley to your favorite canned or home-made soup.

Use whole corn meal for corn cakes, corn breads and corn muffins.

Make risottos, pilafs and other rice-like dishes with whole grains such as barley, brown rice, bulgur, millet, quinoa or sorghum.
 Enjoy whole grain salads like tabbouleh.

Try whole grain breads. Kids especially like whole grain pita bread.

Buy whole grain pasta, or one of the blends that’s part whole-grain, part white.
 Look for cereals made with grains like kamut, kasha (buckwheat) or grano.
There are also several excellent cookbooks dedicated to whole-grain cooking, with a great many delicious and simple recipes.
Many in the food industry have provided whole grain products for years without much notice from consumers. When you munch popcorn in the theater, or give Cheerios to your toddler, or enjoy a bowl of hot oatmeal, you're probably focusing more on the delicious taste than on the fact that these foods are whole grains.
Now that you're aware of the health benefits of whole grains, however, we urge you to expand your horizons and try some of the new whole grain products now coming to market. We think you'll discover some great tastes you've been missing out on.
And if you can't find a whole grain version of your favorite foods, do your part to make sure your needs are known. There are several ways consumers can help increase the availability and variety of healthy whole grain foods in food stores and restaurants:

Tell the manager at your local grocery and your favorite restaurants that you would like to see more whole grain choices in the store and on the menu.

Write letters or call the customer service departments at major food companies urging them to use the Whole Grain Stamp so you can clearly identify whole grain foods.

In the meantime, vote with your fork (or spoon!), by shopping at co-ops or larger health-oriented grocers who already stock a delicious selection of whole grains.