Eat Your 'Whole Grains'!

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2005 recommend that we consume 3 or more 1-ounce servings of whole grains per day to help reduce the risk of several chronic diseases and potentially support healthy weight control.  Interestingly, there was not an official definition of 'whole grains' until one was issued by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration in February 2006.  According to the FDA, whole grains include cereal grains that consist of the intact and unrefined, ground, cracked or flaked fruit of the grains whose principal components, the starchy endosperm, germ and bran, are present in the same relative proportions as they exist in the intact grain. Despite having a better understanding of what constitutes 'whole grains', little information exists on how much whole grain we eat as a population and how it impacts our overall nutrient intake.

A new nutrition research study published in the current issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association used data collected in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) from 1999 - 2004 to determine the link between consumption of whole grains and diet quality, including nutrient intake.  Data was collected from 7,039 survey participants between 19 - 50 years of age and 6,237 participants 51 years of age or older.  The survey participants were divided into four groups based on their whole grain consumption habits: (1) zero to less than 0.6 servings/day, (2) between 0.6 - 1.5 servings/day, and (3) between 1.5 - less than 3 servings/day, and (4) 3 or more servings/day.  Analysis of whole grains consumption, dietary quality, and nutrient intake showed that:

• When looking at the study population overall, individuals between 19 - 50 years of age only consumed 0.63 servings of whole grains per day on average, while adults over 51 years of age ate an average of 0.77 servings of whole grains per day.
• In adults consuming the most servings of whole grains daily, diet quality and intakes of fiber, polyunsaturated fatty acids (healthier fats), and total energy were substantially higher.
• Micronutrient intake, except vitamin B12 and sodium, was higher in adults consuming the most servings of whole grains.
• Adults eating the highest levels of whole grains consumed significantly smaller amounts of total sugar, added sugar, saturated fatty acids, monounsaturated fatty acids, and cholesterol.

The results of this dietary consumption analysis provide us with a couple of important take-home messages.  First, it is clear that eating recommended amounts of whole grains dramatically improves our diet quality.  This was clear by the increase in the consumption of healthier dietary components like fiber, polyunsaturated fats, and higher amounts of most vitamins and minerals.  Additionally diet quality was improved by the reduction in the amounts of less healthy dietary components like saturated fat, added sugar, and cholesterol.  Secondly (and unfortunately), this new study makes it very clear that the vast majority of us eat no where close to the amount of whole grains that we should.  This lack of whole grains in our diets has a serious negative impact on our overall diet quality.  Based on these study results if we wanted to make one quick and easy dietary change to improve the quality of our diet, it would be to start consuming 3 or more servings of whole grains every day.

How much whole grains do you eat each day?

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