Lettuce is not a meal: Achieving 50%, Part II

Last week, I wrote about MyPlate’s recommendation that we “make at least half of [our] grains whole grains,”[1] wondering whether those of us who are gluten free were failing to get even a failing grade on our whole grain consumption. After all, according to the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, fewer than 5% of Americans actually meet this goal.[2] That post discussed various gluten-free whole grains that can be eaten in their natural form. This week, we’ll pick up where we left off, and consider how to use whole grains from packaged gluten free products towards our 50%.

The number, availability, and palatability of gluten free packaged foods has substantially improved in the past few years. There aren’t many of us who don’t eat them from time to time, even if we try not to make it a habit. It’s relatively well known that these products often aren’t exactly paragons of health, and that they often contain more fat, more sugar, and less fiber than comparable non-gluten-free products.[3],[4]

Evaluating these products for their contribution towards our 50% goal is a three step process, and involves (1) determining whether a product contains whole grains at all, then (2) evaluating how many whole grains it contains, and finally, (3) considering how that product fits into your daily grain intake.

Step 1: Does a Packaged Product Contain Whole Grains?

Determining whether the product contains whole grains is often relatively simple. Some products containing whole grains are easily identifiable because they carry the Whole Grain Stamp, as explained and pictured here.

Courtesy of Oldways Preservation Trust and the Whole Grains Council, www.wholegrainscouncil.org

If you don’t see the stamp, however, don’t despair – not all products containing whole grains carry it. You can also look for statements on the packaging like “made with whole grains,” “good source of whole grains,” and “excellent source of whole grains.”[2] Additionally, whole grain health claims on packaging (tying whole grains and other consumption patterns to reduced risks of type II diabetes, heart disease, or certain cancers), can only be used if the product contains certain amounts of whole grains.[5]

In the absence of the Whole Grain Stamp or other statements, you can identify whole grain ingredients in the ingredients list. The following ingredients are not whole grains: white rice, white rice flour, any kind of bran, any kind of germ, degerminated corn meal, corn or rice starch, and enriched flours.[6],[7] If you recall from last week, bran and germ are parts of the grain kernel that are removed during the refining process; separately, however, they still are only part of the grain. Corn starch is made from the endosperm of the corn.[7]

Courtesy of Oldways Preservation Trust and the Whole Grains Council, www.wholegrainscouncil.org

It’s also worth mentioning that tapioca, potato, soy, flax, chickpeas, coconut, and almond and other nuts are not grains at all, so the flours derived from them cannot be whole grain.[8]

The following key terms identify whole grain ingredients:

Whole Grain [Grain or Grain Flour]

Whole [Grain or Grain Flour]

Brown Rice

Oats, Oatmeal, Rolled Oats, or Oat Flour

Millet

Quinoa

Wild Rice

Teff Flour

[2], [6], [9]

Recall that rice, corn, quinoa, oats, buckwheat, amaranth, millet, and sorghum are all possible gluten free grains. Not on last week’s list is teff, the tiny seed of an African grass.[10] For example, Tinkyada Pasta obviously contains whole grains because “brown rice” is an ingredient.[11]

But it isn’t always that easy. Manufacturers sometimes list a gluten free flour without indicating it is “whole grain,”“whole,” or “refined.” For example, Udi’s Whole Grain Bread contains “teff flour,” but doesn’t specify if it is whole grain teff flour or refined teff flour.[12] According to the Whole Grains Council, teff is so small that it cannot be processed, and therefore is always in whole grain form (even in flour).[7] Likewise, the Whole Grains Council indicates that oats are rarely refined.[8] Unfortunately, I was unable to find information that quinoa, buckwheat, amaranth, millet, and sorghum flours are always whole grain. There are therefore some ingredients which indicate that a product might contain whole grains – just like is the case with “wheat” and “wheat flour.”[6]

Step 2: How Much Whole Grain Does the Product Contain?

But it’s also important to understand how much whole grain a particular product contains. Whole grain content, after all is a spectrum, not a zero-sum game. For traditional wheat-containing products, I was taught to identify whole grain products as those with “whole wheat” as the first (or sometimes second) ingredient, because ingredient lists are ordered by descending ingredient weight. As the Whole Grains Council points out, however, “[i]f there are several grain ingredients, the situation gets more complex.”[6] What do you make of a product that contains “rice flour (white, brown, and sweet rice)” (Gluten Free Super Seeded Multi-Grain Sliced Bread by Essential Baking) as its third ingredient?[9] Or a Whole Grain Bread with “Udi’s Best Blend,” containing tapioca starch, modified tapioca starch, potato starch, brown rice flour, and teff flour, as the first ingredient?[12]

I was also taught to look at the amount of fiber in a particular product to evaluate whole grain content. Unfortunately, this ignores that manufacturers can add fiber…and the fact that different whole grains contain differing amounts of fiber.[6] (See here for a handy table of the varying amounts of fiber for each grain) For example, Essential Baking’s Gluten Free Super Seeded Multi-Grain Sliced Bread contains 4 grams of fiber, but its only whole grain is included in a flour mix (with two refined flours) that is listed third in the ingredient list.[13] The bread also contains “sugar cane fiber,” prunes, and “orange citrus fiber” that would contribute to the total fiber content.[13]

So how do you evaluate the whole grain content of gluten free packaged products? One way is to quantify the grams of whole grains they contain. Under the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, a serving of whole grains (referred to as an “ounce” or “ounce-equivalent” by MyPlate) in a packaged product that contains other grains should contain 16 grams of whole grains.[2],[14],[15] Basically, this derives from the amount of whole wheat in a single slice of 100% whole wheat bread, which is a single serving of whole grain according to MyPlate.[2],[14],[16] Manufacturers are not required to include the grams of whole grain on packaging. As mentioned above, some products containing whole grains bear the Whole Grain Stamp on their packaging, which will specify the amount of whole grain contained in a single serving of the product. Additionally, the Whole Grains Council provides a handy search function so that you can identify stamped products and their whole grain content from the comfort of your computer. Check it out here; there's even a way to refine your searches to return only gluten free products. I used this to determine that Udi’s Whole Grain Bread contains 8 grams of whole grains per serving (2 slices).

You can also contact manufacturers directly if the product does not carry a Whole Grain Stamp. I emailed Bob’s Red Mill about their Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Whole Grain Bread Mix, and received a response the next day indicating that a serving of the mix contains 7.21 grams of whole grains (just shy of a half serving). Of course, manufacturers may not respond. I emailed Essential Baking about the Gluten Free Super Seeded Multi-Grain Sliced Bread on March 6^th, and have not received a response as of March 9^th.

Step 3: Putting it All Together

Once you know the grams of whole grain in a serving of a particular product, you can evaluate how that product helps you reach your personal 50% goal. After all, the 50% goal can be reached in an infinite number of ways – not just by alternating a wholly refined grain item with a 100% whole grain item.[2] A product that contains less than 16 grams of whole grains (and is therefore only part of a whole grain ounce equivalent) can still be part of a grain consumption pattern that meets the 50% goal, especially when 100% whole grain foods are also consumed.

First, determine how many servings of whole grains represents your 50% goal, based on sex and age here. Then consider how you might reach your 50% goal. For example, MyPlate recommends that I (as a woman over 30) eat three ounce equivalents of whole grains, so one way I could satisfy that goal is:

Food	Serving Size	Whole Grain Ounce Equivalent
Gluten Free Oatmeal	1/2 Cup	1
Udi’s Whole Grain Bread	2 Slices	½ (8 grams)
Crunchmasters Rosemary and Olive Oil Multiseed Crackers	14 Crackers	¾ (12 grams)[17]
Millet	1/2 Cup	1
Corn Tortillas (made with refined cornmeal)	3 6” Tortillas	0
	Total	3 ¼