Against the Grain

“Hypertension, metabolic syndrome, heart disease, inflammatory diseases, overall mortality—you name the problem and those people who consume the most whole grains lower their risk,” says Jones. She adds that whole (and some enriched) grains are also an important source of folic acid, which is recommended for women of child-bearing age to help reduce the risk of neural tube defects. “This is why, over the long term, I really have concerns about people who aren’t eating these products,” she says.

Forgoing good grains may also mean missing out on a potential weapon in weight control. Since whole grains are digested more slowly than refined grains, they may keep blood sugar at steadier levels and thus prevent hunger pangs from derailing a healthy diet. Studies also show that the more extreme the restrictions of a particular weight-loss plan (say no bread for as long as you live), the less likely participants are to stick with it in the long run. “It’s very difficult for most people to stick on a diet that eliminates an entire food group for the rest of their lives,” Jones says.

The healthier approach, says Slavin, is to “make peace with your food. When people look back on their lives, many of the most important and meaningful memories are of the things they ate—the birthday cakes and the wonderful meals they shared with loved ones. Food is a hugely important part of life. Fighting it all the time just isn’t worth it.”

I’m all for making peace with my food. I’m just not sure which bread to bring to the table—and neither, it seems, are most Americans. A Natural Marketing Institute survey found that while 71 percent of consumers say they’re getting all the whole grains they need every day, when asked to recall what they’d eaten the day before, 40 percent hadn’t eaten any whole grains at all. This is why I asked Slavin to come to my neighborhood grocery store and help me sort out the options. She was nice enough to do the same thing for the Canadian government a few years ago, when officials were devising a system for determining which products deserved a whole grain designation and which did not.

“First, look at the label,” she says, grabbing one of at least seventy varieties of golden-brown loaves on the shelves and examining its long list of ingredients. While I often pick the first brown loaf I see, color—which can be created with molasses and other coloring—is no indication of ingredients. Words such as stone-ground, durum, and multigrain would seem to be a good sign, but Slavin says the only way to make sure the product is mostly whole grain is to look for the word whole at the very top of the ingredient list—as in whole wheat flour or whole oats. “If it appears in the first ingredient, then you can be reasonably sure you’re on the right track,” she says.

Because whole grains are whole—the bran, germ, and endosperm all together—one might conclude the lack of processing would result in cost savings for consumers. Not so. “Unfortunately, our system is set up for refining,” says Slavin, who adds that the sticker shock people felt at the first $5 loaf of bread has been leavened by the number of companies now producing whole-grain breads and pastas. We found several good options in the $3 and $4 range.

With consumers concerned about high-fructose corn syrup turning up in so much of our food, some bread companies tout that they’ve taken it out of their recipes. But Slavin advises reading the entire list of ingredients to make sure the recipe hasn’t merely substituted another sugar—say, brown sugar syrup, dextrose, or maltodextrose. “If they have, it’s not really a big improvement,” she says.

Slavin and her U of M colleagues are studying how the fiber found in whole grains might reduce the risk of certain kinds of cancers, which is one reason she favors brands that deliver at least two grams of fiber per slice and rejects weight-conscious brands that she complains “feel like air.” “I’m a big believer in particle size,” she says. “It gives you that nutty and chewy taste that makes you more satisfied.” Though whole-grain white-flour products are a new favorite of parents and school nutritionists trying to give kids a taste of what’s good for them, Slavin says we should also bring home the undisguised variety to help teach them what good food looks like.

Which kinds of whole grains should you buy? Wheat is the highest in fiber. Rye is full of the phytoestrogens believed to reduce the risk of breast cancer and is said to give dieters a satisfying feeling of fullness. Barley and oats taste a little sweeter and are high in soluble fiber, which has been shown to reduce cholesterol. “Mix it up,” is Slavin’s advice, “depending on the taste and texture you’re after.”

As for what to serve with it, “soup is always good,” she says, apparently another fan of M. F. K. Fisher. “Soup and some really good bread. You just can’t go wrong.”

Reach columnist Laura Billings at edit@mspmag.com.