by Marge Dwyer
January 10, 2013
from
ScienceDaily Website
'Whole
Grain' Are Not Always Healthy
Current standards for classifying foods as "whole grain" are
inconsistent and, in some cases, misleading, according to
a new study by Harvard School of
Public Health (HSPH) researchers.
One of the most widely used industry
standards, the
Whole Grain Stamp, actually
identified grain products that were higher in both sugars and
calories than products without the Stamp. The researchers urge
adoption of a consistent, evidence-based standard for labeling whole
grain foods to help consumers and organizations make healthy
choices.
This is the first study to empirically
evaluate the healthfulness of whole grain foods based on five
commonly used industry and government definitions.
"Given the significant prevalence of
refined grains, starches, and sugars in modern diets,
identifying a unified criterion to identify higher quality
carbohydrates is a key priority in public health," said first
author Rebecca Mozaffarian, project manager in the Department of
Social and Behavioral Sciences at HSPH.
The study
appears in the January 4, 2013 advanced online edition of
Public Health Nutrition.
The health benefits of switching from refined to whole grain foods
are well established, including lower risk of cardiovascular
disease, weight gain, and type 2 diabetes.
Based on this evidence, the U.S.
Department of Agriculture's (USDA)
2010 Dietary Guidelines (MyPyramid)
recommend that Americans consume at least three servings of whole
grain products daily, and the new U.S. national school lunch
standards require that at least half of all grains be whole
grain-rich.
However, no single standard exists for
defining any product as a "whole grain."
Mozaffarian and her colleagues assessed five different
industry and government guidelines for whole grain products:
-
The Whole Grain Stamp, a
packaging symbol for products containing at least 8 grams of
whole grains per serving (created by the Whole Grain
Council, a non-governmental organization supported by
industry dues)
-
Any whole grain as the first
listed ingredient (recommended by the USDA's MyPlate and the
Food and Drug Administration's Consumer Health Information
guide)
-
Any whole grain as the first
ingredient without added sugars in the first three
ingredients (also recommended by USDA's MyPlate)
-
The word "whole" before any
grain anywhere in the ingredient list (recommended by USDA's
Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2010)
-
The "10:1 ratio," a ratio of
total carbohydrate to fiber of less than 10 to 1, which is
approximately the ratio of carbohydrate to fiber in whole
wheat flour (recommended by the American Heart Association's
2020 Goals)
From two major U.S. grocers, the
researchers identified a total of 545 grain products in eight
categories:
-
breads
-
bagels
-
English muffins
-
cereals
-
crackers
-
cereal bars
-
granola bars
-
chips
They collected nutrition content,
ingredient lists, and the presence or absence of the Whole Grain
Stamp on product packages from all of these products.
They found that grain products with the Whole Grain Stamp, one of
the most widely-used front-of-package symbols, were higher in fiber
and lower in trans fats, but also contained significantly more sugar
and calories compared to products without the Stamp.
The three USDA recommended criteria also
had mixed performance for identifying healthier grain products.
Overall, the American Heart Association's standard (a ratio of total
carbohydrate to fiber of ≤10:1) proved to be the best indicator of
overall healthfulness.
Products meeting this ratio were higher
in fiber and lower in trans fats, sugar, and sodium, without higher
calories than products that did not meet the ratio.
"Our results will help inform
national discussions about product labeling, school lunch
programs, and guidance for consumers and organizations in their
attempts to select whole grain products," said senior author
Steven Gortmaker, professor of the practice of health sociology.
Journal Reference
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