o what exactly are whole grains?"

If I had a tomato for every time I got asked that question, I'd have a tomato farm!

Since the 2005 Dietary Guidelines are recommending that we eat at least three servings of whole-grain foods a day, it's more important now than ever that you understand the answer to that common question.

Whole grains are the seeds of plants or cereal grasses, such as wheat, oats, or rice. The seed, also called the kernel, is composed of four parts (see picture). The outer protective layer is called the husk and it must be removed before cooking or eating. Beneath the husk is the bran, considered the protective skin for the rest of the kernel. As you know, the bran contains fiber, as well as important antioxidants and B vitamins. The next part is the germ; it's not an entire layer (more like the yolk of an egg), but the embryo from which a new plant may sprout if fertilized. It is rich in the nutrients niacin, thiamin, riboflavin, magnesium, phosphorus, iron, zinc, vitamin E, protein, and healthy fats. Finally, there is the endosperm, which makes up the bulk of the seed and feeds the germ and the rest of the plant. It is mostly made up of starchy carbohydrates and protein, but also contains small quantities of vitamins and minerals. Whole grains, also called "unrefined" grains, have had their husks removed, but retain their bran, germ, and endosperm.

Refined grains, by contrast, have had their husk, bran, and germ removed and, along with them, their fiber and most vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients. For example, whole wheat bread is made with whole-grain wheat flour that has not been refined. White bread, on the other hand, is made with refined wheat flour that started out as whole grain wheat flour but was then bleached and milled into fine white flour. The government requires that some of the B vitamins be added back to refined grains (a process called enriching), but they still don't have as many nutrients as whole grains, nor do they contain any fiber.

I hope you now comprehend what a whole grain is; I will list more specific examples and products in a bit. However, I first want you to be aware of why whole grains are important to your health. As I reported in last month's Research Update, whole grains are thought to protect against diabetes. The fiber, phytonutrients, and other nutrients in whole grains seem to help improve insulin sensitivity and control insulin (blood sugar) secretion. Weight control is another benefit that whole grains offer. Since insulin promotes fat storage, controlling this hormone could also help prevent fat storage. Furthermore, whole grains are more filling than refined grains, so they fill you up on fewer calories and keep you full for longer. Studies have shown that the more whole grains men and women eat over the years, the less weight they gain compared to non whole-grain eaters. Not surprisingly, whole grain consumption has also been linked to a reduced risk of heart disease. Basically, the more whole grains middle-aged and older people eat, the lower their risk of developing heart disease. The wonderful nutrients from the bran and germ, as well as the fiber from the bran, seem to play important roles in this protection. The soluble fiber that occurs naturally in whole grains, especially oats and barley, helps lower cholesterol and, therefore, the risk of heart disease. The insoluble fiber in whole grains helps prevent constipation and and some bowel diseases. Finally, whole grains are associated with lower risks of colon, stomach and mouth cancers, as well as hormone-related cancers such as breast cancer.

There aren't many other foods, except fruits and vegetables, that can claim health benefits as great as these. Hopefully, now that you know how much whole grains can help your health, you will start to incorporate them into your diet even more than you do already. The following are a few ideas for integrating more whole grains into your healthy diet:

Read ingredient lists to identify whole grains!

Look for the words: Whole grain Whole wheat Whole rye or other grain Stone-ground whole corn or other grain Ingredients that sound whole but are not: Wheat flour Multigrain Organic unbleached flour Semolina or durum wheat Cracked wheat Stone-ground Pumpernickel Stoned wheat

• Start the day with a whole-grain cold or hot cereal (see my recommendations at right)
• Choose whole-grain bread for your sandwiches at lunch
• Substitute whole-wheat pasta or brown rice for your usual starchy side dish at dinner
• Make soups and stews that contain whole grains like barley or brown rice
• When baking, experiment with substituting up to 50% of your white flour with whole-grain flour
• Try a new grain each week (go to www.gelsons.com for some of my whole-grain recipes)
• Add cooked and cooled whole grains, such as quinoa, whole-wheat penne pasta, or wheat berries, to your salads for sustaining energy
• Sprinkle freshly-ground flax seeds on your yogurt or cereal
• Make a Mediterranean meal once a week that includes tabbouleh salad and whole-wheat pitas

It seems that we could all make improvements in our diets. Though three servings a day of whole grains is the minimum recommendation, Americans on average eat less than one serving of whole grains a day and over 30% of us eat no whole grains at all. It's fine if you want to try to make all of your grain servings whole—everyone did before white flour was invented in the 1870s. Whatever you decide to do, keep in mind that a serving of whole grain is only one ounce of cereal, a half cup of cooked pasta, rice, barley, oatmeal or other grain, and one slice of bread.

Whole-Grain Products at Gelson's
Cereal	Kashi Go Lean, Go Lean Crunch, Heart to Heart, Seven in the Morning, Good Friends, Organic Promise Autumn Wheat; Nature's Path Organic Optimum Slim, Heritage Flakes, Heritage Multi-Grain, Optimum Power Breakfast; Barbara's Multigrain Shredded Spoonfuls; Uncle Sam cereal; Familia Muesli; McCann's steel cut Irish oatmeal; Silver Palate thick and rough cut oats
Bread	Milton's healthy whole grain, 100% whole wheat; Food for Life; Vogel mixed whole grain, whole-wheat sesame; Millbrook 100% whole-wheat; Rudi's Organic honey sweet whole-wheat; Roman Meal 100% whole-wheat; Stone-Ground nine-grain; Sahara whole-wheat pitas
Pasta	De Cecco whole-wheat spaghetti, linguine, penne, fusilli
Rice	brown rice; wild rice
Other grains	Springfield pearl barley; Grain Gourmet cracked wheat bulgur; Near East tabbouleh; Melissa's tabbouleh; Melissa's quinoa; Wolf's kasha; Jolly Time yellow popcorn kernels; Health from the Sun flaxseeds; Stone Buhr flaxseeds
Flours	Arrowhead Mills stone-ground organic whole wheat flour; Bob's Red Mill whole ground flaxseed meal; Stone Buhr organic whole-wheat flour; Polenta Valsugana polenta flour
Waffles and Pancakes	Van's gourmet 97% fat free, organic soy flaxseed, 7-grain Belgian waffles; Baker Mills Kodiak Cakes flapjack and waffle mix
Crackers and Snacks	Ak Mak 100% whole-wheat crackers; Kavli hearty thick crispbread; Finn Crisp caraway rye crispbread; Wasa crispbreads; Kashi TLC original 7-grain crackers; Nabisco triscuits; Guiltless Gourmet baked blue corn, yellow corn, much nacho tortilla chips