The Great Grain Debate, part 1
The Great Grain Debate, part 1
by Tona Wilson
Isn’t it funny how every “what seemed to be healthy” food in our daily diets has been taken from good to bad and back again? Remember eggs? Don’t eat the yolk! It’s bad for you! Then we realized we need the B-vitamins, good fats, lutein, and even the cholesterol in those yolks. And then butter. We switched to margarine in a panic. That was worse. Now we drink butter in our coffee! Fat free? That backfired badly.
Now, it’s the great grain debate. The keto-dieters ban it, the gluten-free reject it, the DASH, MIND, and Mediterranean dieters rely on it. Gut health, brain health, and mental health depend on it. So why is everyone fighting about grains? From gluten-free, low-carb, and keto to paleo, Mediterranean, DASH, and MIND, the type of grains we consume significantly impact our health. The health benefits of any grain depend on what kind of grain it is and how it has been processed.
Let’s look at the different types of grains and their benefits or shortcomings and how we can make better informed choices with our own health needs in mind.
The Processing Process
Awhile back, I wrote in this magazine about sugar and how processed carbohydrates should be avoided as much as possible because of how nutrient-devoid its processing renders the food. Certain grains go through a similar process, especially wheat, oats, and rice.
Food processing has been around a very long time. In the late 1700’s, European and Asian countries began removing the bran from the rice grain to make a more visually appealing product. At the same time, countries that ate the polished white rice as their staple began to experience an epidemic of Beriberi, believed at the time that it was a contagious disease. In the early 1900’s, European biochemists used the processed rice polishings to treat Beriberi in Carrier Pigeons. As it turned out, the polishings contained high levels of an essential vitamin, Thiamine, which is extremely important in neuromuscular and cardiovascular health. The Thiamine-containing residue cured the Beriberi within weeks. This discovery gave birth to the field of nutritional science, the study of how food affects the body through digestion, absorption, and how it is utilized by the body for energy and growth.
From One Extreme to Another
Nutritional scientists soon discovered that even with the processing of food and its resulting deletion of nutrients, food could be re-fortified and enriched with chemical derivatives of the removed vitamins. Cereal, for example, is a highly processed grain. After it is polished, toasted, flattened, baked, or whatever the process, it is fortified or enriched with high levels of vitamins and minerals, regardless of the original content in the grain. Seems like a great idea, doesn’t it? Unfortunately, enriched and fortified foods cannot offer the same health benefits and nutrient bioavailability as the original ingredient.
Make Half your Grains Whole
Recently, in an effort to educate Americans on healthy eating choices, MyPlate.gov coined the phrase, “Make half your grains whole”. Grains are classified as either “whole” or “refined”. Whole grains still contain the bran, germ, and endosperm of the kernel, all of which contain high levels of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and fiber. Grains contain high levels of B-vitamins, folate, thiamine, niacin, and iron, which are important to those who do not consume animal products. Refined grains, on the other hand, are milled and stripped, removing the bran, germ, and fiber, rendering the grain devoid of those micronutrients. Because of the lack of fiber, refined grains cause rapid spikes in blood sugar. Making (at least) half your grains whole keeps insulin levels steady and blood sugar from spiking. Chronic high blood sugar and blood sugar spikes cause a litany of health issues including large scale inflammation, diabetes, and cognitive decline. Regular consumption of whole grains on the other hand is associated with a lower incidence of heart disease, diabetes, some cancers, and even lowered depression and anxiety, according to a 2023 study in the Journal of Advanced Nutrition.
Refined Grains
Refined grains may have been healthy prior to processing. Wheat, potatoes, and oatmeal, once refined, lose much of the original micronutrients and become calorie-dense and nutrient-devoid. Examples are white rice, white bread, white pasta, crackers, breakfast cereals, pizza dough, instant oatmeal, pastries, and baked goods.
Whole Grains
Whole grains still contain iron, vitamin C, thiamine, folate, niacin, and insoluble fiber. Grains like brown, red, and black rice, whole rolled oats, whole wheat bread, bulgur, quinoa, farro, red wheat berries, ancient grains, and sprouted grains should be the bulk of our daily carbohydrate intake. There are more whole grains than we can even imagine. Ancient grains that are thousands of years old with no genetic modifications or hybridizations and are considered “superfoods” because of the high nutrient bioavailability. Sprouted grains that germinate prior to being milled create a more nutrient bioavailable grain. Some of the complex starches and phytates are broken down in the sprouting process, which helps the absorption of folate, vitamin C, and antioxidants. Sprouted grains also help to lower blood sugar and attenuate insulin insensitivity.
Dietary Considerations
“I looked it up and it says I shouldn’t eat grains or gluten because I have gluten sensitivity”. Your symptoms may sound like everything from leaky gut syndrome to Celiac’s disease, Chron’s or IBS. Dr. Google can’t differentiate your diagnosis without a large-scale series of tests. Symptom scrolling is not the way to find what works. Your dietary sensitivities, allergies, and deficiencies need to be analyzed with a panel of medical tests. Eliminate the questionable foods, re-introduce them, and log your symptoms. Take that information to an allergist or a gastroenterologist. Work in conjunction with a registered dietician to create a sustainable nutrition plan for your specific sensitivities.
Why the Conflict?
Regardless of the diagnosis and nutritional goal, everyone’s optimal nutritional needs are completely unique. No one fits a specific formula. Even in peer-reviewed nutritional scientific research with thousands of subjects, as an individual we would only be one data point somewhere under that curve. Perhaps even outside the curve as an outlier. Worse, if we are lured by the, “this worked for me, so everyone should stop eating (fill in the blank)” media, we put ourselves into someone else’s single data point that has absolutely nothing to do with our unique body chemistry. When someone tries to relate to someone else with similar symptoms and adopts their restrictive or extreme dietary choices based on anecdotal data on social media, the consequences, both short and long-term, can be much worse than the initial issue that person was naively trying to fix.
Registered dieticians and nutritional research scientists all agree that dietary restrictions of any kind can lead to nutritional deficiencies and resulting worse health problems. So, what should we be eating? What shouldn’t we be eating? Next month, let’s look at the whole grains, sprouted grains, and ancient grains, their nutritional superfood benefits, and how we can incorporate them into our meals and recipes.
Meanwhile, take a look at your own grain intake. Are half (or more) of your grains whole?
They should be. You’re worth your effort.