Here’s hoping that you’ve been switching up to 100% whole grains. If you’re one of those who has been reading this website for the many years that I’ve been writing it, you know that I’ve been strongly explaining the benefits of consuming whole grains from the very beginning. A study published on June 13, 2016 in the online version of Circulation is giving more evidence that we should not ignore the benefits of consuming whole grains.

“Whole Grain Intake and Mortality from All Causes, Cardiovascular Disease, and Cancer: A Meta-analysis of Prospective Cohort Studies.” Circulation Published online June 13, 2016, doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1002039

The study was a meta-analysis of 786,000 participants. Qi Sun and the others who worked with him at Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health found that people who ate 70 grams of whole grains per day, compared with those who ate little or no whole grains, had lower risk of premature death. Although it was published in Circulation, they also found lower risk for cancer.

Bran and germ are stripped out of whole grain to create white flour. This is done for several reasons. Early on, the upper class was eating breads and baked delicacies made with white flour so the lower classes wanted them. When they got them and started to get sick, millers rebelled at going back to whole grain flour because it was profitable to sell the bran and germ for animal food. Eventually, several key vitamins were added back in, giving birth to miss-named “enriched” flours. (More appropriate name: impoverished). Also, the resulting processed product can sit on a store shelf for a long time because the parts that spoil have been removed. The last two reasons are still potent economic arguments for the sellers of products made with grains today, and the public’s tastes have become accustomed to white flour products, rather than whole grains. This development has not been without a loss to the consumer. It would be nice if “enriching grains” with some of the nutrients removed from the original grain would make the products made with impoverished (excuse me, “enriched”) grains just as healthy as whole grain products; but it has been shown repeatedly that this is not the case.

As the evidence in favor of whole grains has gained traction with the public, food processors and advertisers have learned to be very clever. They often use the old “made with” trick and make it with a tiny dab of whole grain. Look for “100% whole grain” on labels, as it has been defined and is policed by the FDA.

The really great news is that 100% whole grain pasta is so much better than it used to be. We’ve always enjoyed 100% whole grain bread, but whole grain pasta used to be not very good – but fortunately, that problem is a thing of the past.

Not just when choosing bread, crackers, and cereals, try to remember to think about 100% whole grains when choosing rice and oats too – get brown rice and whole, regular (not instant) oats. I think using 100% whole grains and flours can be a fairly easy habit to create – a habit well worth the effort.