Whole Grains Are Healthy, Right?

In the International Food Information Council’s (IFIC) 2017 Food and Health Survey (Download the full report here), whole grains top the list of components considered to be healthful by consumers (84%), topped only by vitamin D (88%) and fiber (87%). Additionally, more than 65% of consumers report that they are eating more foods with whole grains compared to years past.

As delightful as fresh baked bread or homemade pasta can be, we’ll cut right to the chase:

We believe that grains, whole or refined, are not nutritious (but certainly delicious), especially in the proportions that are promoted by the Dietary Guidelines for Americans and/or if you have a damaged metabolism, gut, or immune system. 

We agree with studies like this one that eating whole grains is certainly better than eating refined grains. But does that mean that eating whole grains is superior to eating no grains at all?  What this study and others fail to compare is a diet rich in whole grains vs a grain free diet.

Plants Don’t Want Their Babies to Be Eaten!

Unlike animals, who can fight or flee in the face of danger, plants are rooted in one place and have evolved to step up to the challenge. They are experts at chemical warfare. With the exception of fruit, which is designed to be beaten to ensure seed dispersal far and wide💩, plants don’t want any part of their body - roots, stem, leaves - to be eaten & they especially don’t want their babies to be eaten - seeds, grains, legumes, & nuts.

We often think of seeds, grains, legumes, & nuts as being unrelated to each other, but if you dissect any of them you’ll find the same thing inside: An embryo, endosperm (starchy food for the embryo), & a protective coating of some kind. Though we don’t think of them this way, these foods  are all seeds by definition: “A flowering plant’s unit of reproduction, capable of developing into another such plant.”

Seeds are the most nutrient dense part of a plant because they must contain everything a plant embryo needs to sprout & thrive independently. However, the potential gains from eating seeds (which includes grains) must be weighed against the fact that seeds are the most heavily armed of all plant foods. Not only do they wear tough exterior shells and hulls, but concealed within these rugged structures are invisible stockpiles of chemical weapons - Toxins & Antinutrients that pose a risk to human health - Especially if the health of the consumer is compromised.

“One of the best kept secrets in nutrition science is that just because a food is whole doesn’t necessarily make it healthy.” - Dr. Georgia Ede, Change Your Diet, Change Your Mind

Further, unlike eating eggs or milk, which are both intended to nourish young life in the animal kingdom (to which we belong), the nutrients locked inside seeds are meant to nourish the young of a completely different kingdom - the plant kingdom. 

Though seeds (grains) do contain protein, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins, & minerals, that does not mean that these nutrients are 1) available to humans, or “bioavailable” and 2) are present in the right ratios to support optimal human health & development. For this reason, careful attention must be paid to proper food pairings and preparation methods when consuming plant foods - Especially seeds, grains, nuts, and legumes. (see “If You Choose to Consume Grains” section at the bottom of this article for more info on how to consume grains safely)

Whole Grains Are Usually Not ‘Whole’

If you’ve ever been confused about what a whole grain actually is, you’re not alone. A whole grain should be defined as an intact kernel complete with its natural outer coating - bran/hull. It should look like a seed (because they are seeds) that you could plant and grow, not a powder, dough, or crispy extruded cereal.

But the FDA’s definition of 'whole grain' is something entirely different:

“Whole grains shall consist of the intact, ground, cracked, flaked or otherwise processed kernel after the removal of inedible parts such as the hull, husk, & pericarp. All anatomical components, including the endosperm, germ, and bran must be present in the same relative proportions as the intact kernel.” 

This absurd definition allows grains to be pulverized to smithereens, sifted, sorted, put back together again, and sometimes high-pressure extruded (puffed into special shapes like O’s) and still be called ‘whole’. I’d be very surprised if this is what health conscious consumers have in mind when they’re purchasing whole grain bread, crackers, or cereal.

The Harvesting & Milling of Grains

First, the grains are harvested from the fields using gigantic combine machines. Many industrially farmed grains (oats being the worst offender) use an abundance of herbicides & desiccates to make harvesting more efficient. This practice ensures that each plant is ready to release its bounty at the same time.

Glyphosate is the primary desiccant/herbicide used here in the US (the active ingredient in Roundup).

However, this modern convenience comes at a price. These harsh chemicals make their way into our food and water. Glyphosate & other herbicides have been shown to have a slew of nasty effects inside our bodies & the environment. Unless you’re buying organic grains, you’re most assuredly getting a dose of herbicides with your grains.

Learn more about the negative effects of Glyphosate in this 35 min podcast.

Once the grains have been collected by the combine, they are then put through a sieve with magnets to separate them from small rocks or pieces of metal that accidentally made their way into the hopper during harvest in the fields. After the grains have been separated from the field junk, they're sent to the flour mill where inedible parts of the grain are removed (hull, husk, pericarp) and they're ground up using several sets of large rolling grinding machines. 

After grinding, the mix is put through various types of sieves that separate the grain into its parts - bran (edible fibrous outer shell), germ (seed embryo), & endosperm (starchy food for the seed embryo, refined white flour).

'Whole grain’ flour is then made by recombining the white flour back in with the germ & bran, & adding various synthetic vitamins & minerals. 

What's the Difference Between Whole Grain & Whole Wheat?

All ‘whole wheat’ is considered a ‘whole grain’, but not all ‘whole grains’ (oat, corn, rice, etc) are ‘whole wheat’.  Though the FDA doesn’t see it this way, we consider all whole grain flours to be highly processed. If you truly want to consume whole grains, we suggest buying the whole kernels, not milled flour or “quick cook” grains.

Why is the Milling of Grains problematic? 

In its natural whole state, a seed contains almost no oxygen. During germination, the seed employs a host of antioxidants stockpiled in the embryo (germ) to naturally block oxidation as it starts sprouting. During milling however, the seed’s natural armor & defense systems are broken apart. This exposes the fragile polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) housed inside the seed embryo to oxygen in unnatural ways. 

Even though the germ is added back into the ‘whole grain’ flour blend, any antioxidants that were present in the germ at the beginning of the milling process are oxidized & have already gone rancid. Fortification with vitamins & minerals may sound good on a label, but they do nothing to combat the oxidation reactions that have already taken place during milling. Further exposure to oxygen happens while sitting in the bag at the store and on your pantry shelves, which then oxidizes the added vitamins & minerals. 

All of these oxidation reactions create dangerous free radicals (highly unstable molecules) inside our cells that are detrimental to our health & longevity.

Antioxidants are the most powerful weapons our bodies have to protect us from oxidation reactions. These reactions are an unavoidable part of life for all aerobic species on Earth, but they're also slowly killing us. This is called the Oxidative Stress Theory of Aging, and is a primary reason that we are not immortal. Antioxidants help us to age gracefully by slowing down the rate of oxidative stress.

How Does the Body Process Grains?

In the eyes of your cells, whole grains are ultimately viewed as sugar. Grains are rich in starch - A plant’s storage form of sugar. Starch is designed to be a quick food source for a growing seedling (or it is stored in the roots of an adult plant for when the going gets rough).

During digestion, starch (a complex form of sugar) is broken apart into simple sugar molecules which we can then use as an energy source. Fiber, on the other hand, does not get broken down into sugar and can not be used as an energy source. Instead, we consume fiber to  feed our gut bacteria - who can use fiber for energy.

Aside from flavor, a key difference between carb sources is how rapidly they are processed and broken down into simple sugars. The more fiber and starch that a carbohydrate source contains, the longer it will take your body to convert it into sugar and absorb that sugar. For example, butternut squash, a complex starchy carb with ~7g of fiber/serving, will take longer to be absorbed into the bloodstream than honey, a simple sugar carb with only ~0.04g of fiber/serving. Due to its longer digestion time, squash will cause a more gradual rise in blood sugar than honey and, in most cases, we  want to avoid large sudden spikes in blood sugar. 

As we’ve discussed, the FDA definition of whole gains allows for  quite a lot of processing. How does the milling of grains affect how your body processes them?

1. The inedible hull/husk (~80% of a grain kernel’s fiber content) is discarded before milling, leaving behind only the bran (~15% of a grain kernel’s fiber content). Yes, whole grain flours have more fiber than their refined counterparts, but they’ve still lost most of their natural fiber content.

2. The starchy part of the grain - the endosperm -  has been ground up (pre chewed).  This makes the conversion from starch into sugar during digestion much more rapid.

3. Pre chewed starch combined with less fiber makes digestion easier, creating a more immediate blood sugar response.

In most cases, we  want to avoid large sudden spikes in blood sugar. The graph below displays blood sugar responses to rice as they become more and more processed - Porridge being the most processed and brown rice being least processed. Even less processed rice options than brown rice would be black rice and 100% wild rice respectively.

The less processed the rice the better, but are there foods that produce even less of a blood sugar and insulin response than whole kernel rice/grains? Yes! Protein produces a small response and fat almost no response at all. If you’re struggling with diabetes or would just like to improve your overall metabolic health (which we’d all be wise to do), grains are not going to be helpful in reaching those goals. 

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If you Choose to Consume Grains

1. Choose whole kernel grains.  The words “enriched”, “fortified”, “polished”, “quick cook”, "rolled", "steel cut" and “instant” all indicate a moderate to high level of processing.

2. Sprout, boil, or ferment whole kernel grains to reduce their antinutrient content. This is why we like Ezekiel and traditional sourdough bread.

3. Avoid grains first thing in the morning. This will reduce their impact on blood sugar.

4. Within a single meal, eat fiber, fat, & protein first, saving the grains for last. This will reduce their impact on blood sugar.

5. Keep portion sizes small. Grains are very easy to overeat, especially the more refined that the grains are - We’re looking at you instant oats, bread, pasta, pastries, granola, & cereal!