The First Few Ingredients

The First Few Ingredients

Do you eat bread? Most of us do. There is no question of whether the American Public knows that whole grains are good for you. Unfortunately, many Americans will buy anything that has whole in the label thinking that the word “whole” constitutes something healthy. However, that is far from the truth. Whole grain bread sales have risen while overall bread sales have gone down. The number of whole grain products introduced on the market has more than doubled within two years. Even Wonder Bread has produced a new bread called Wonder White Bread Fans that is surprisingly made entirely of whole grains.

Do you know what is and what isn’t a whole grain? Whole grains are grains that have not been refined, meaning ground up, and therefore retain their original nutrients. Do you associate darker breads with nutrients? Many Americans do. To add to the confusion, some manufacturers color their bread with molasses to produce that healthy looking whole grain color. If you, the consumer do not know whether you’re truly eating whole grains or not data collected for research experiments related to healthy lifestyles can be worthless. One way you can tell if a product is made from whole grains is by looking at the ingredients list. If it lists any type of whole grain in the first few ingredients it is a pretty safe bet that it is made from whole grains. Something else to remember is that you should not rely on the nutritional label on the back because refined grains usually have vitamins and nutrients added to them after that have been lost in the refining process. Even though these added nutrients, like fiber have their benefits they don’t retain the original nutritional value in whole grains.

When you go to the grocery store do you find yourself being pulled in by the attractive labels or slogans on the front of a product, such as “Now made with whole wheat!” in big letters? Try not to succumb to clever marketing strategies, and if you do make sure that what they claim is true. Marketers tend to stretch the truth to pull you in and make you buy the product. The labels on the back usually provide more information as to how healthy the product truly is. This may seem shocking and may shorten your grocery list, but if the label says cracked wheat, made with whole grain, made with whole wheat, multi-grain, oat bran, oatmeal, pumpernickel, rye (breads), seven-bran, 12-bran, seven-grain, nine-grain, stoned wheat, wheat, wheatberry, or whole bran then it is refined, meaning not whole grain. Proof of the importance of reading the ingredients list is shown in the surprising difference of grams of whole grains in two Wonder Breads. Ironically, Wonder White Bread Fans has 16 grams of whole grains and Wonder Whole Grain White only has 4 grams. The smart consumer should recognize on the Wonder Whole Grain White, which is worst for you, that the first ingredient is enriched wheat flour. This explains its lack of nutrients. The Whole Grains Council has provided two stamps to help consumers identify products with significant amounts of whole grain in them. One is “good source of whole grains” which translates to a product with 8-16 grams of whole grains and the other is “excellent source of whole grains” which means the product contains 16 or more grams of whole grains.

If you take one message from this Podcast, please remember the safest way to ensure you are eating whole grains is by reading the ingredients list on the back of the package. Almost everything else on the packaging is commercial and should be double-checked.