By Jenny Hope
It is medicine’s holy grail, eluding doctors and scientists for centuries.
But remarkably, the cure for the common cold could be no more complicated than a mineral supplement.
Taking high doses of zinc can cut the length of colds by almost half, according to research. The evidence emerged from the combined results of 13 trials which tested the ability of zinc lozenges, which dissolve in the mouth and are widely available, to fight off colds.
But zinc supplements could help shorten the symptoms of the common cold
Three of the studies showed taking daily doses of zinc acetate higher than 75 milligrams – seven times more than is generally recommended – as soon as symptoms began, shortened colds by an average of 42 per cent.
Five others, using other types of zinc salt at doses greater than 75mg, resulted in a 20 per cent reduction. But five studies of doses lower than 75mg showed no benefit at all.
Zinc supplements can cause side effects such as a bad taste in the mouth, stomach upsets and nausea in some people. But the researchers found no evidence that the lozenges caused any long-term harm. In the EU, the recommended daily dose of zinc is 10mg for adults.
Zinc supplements: The mineral's health benefits have long been known, but its effects on the common cold have not been clear until now.
Zinc is important for the immune system and eating too little in the diet is known to increase the risk of infection. The latest findings confirm research at Cardiff University’s Common Cold Centre into whether non-medical remedies are effective.
These studies also showed zinc may shorten the duration of symptoms. More than 200 viruses are capable of causing the common cold, which is why it is almost impossible to gain complete immunity.
Colds strike an average of 930,000 Britons on any day in winter. People typically suffer at least 200 colds over their a lifetime – amounting to around two to three years of coughing and sneezing.
The idea that zinc lozenges might be effective against colds stems from an accidental observation in the early 1980s. Doctors saw that the cold of a three-year-old girl with leukaemia vanished when she dissolved a zinc tablet in her mouth.
Since then a number of studies have looked at zinc’s effects on colds, with inconclusive results.
Pugh
The latest findings, reported in the Open Respiratory Medicine Journal, point to mixed results caused by hugely different doses in the previous studies. The researchers, led by Dr Harri Hemila, of the University of Helsinki in Finland, wrote: ‘Many trials with daily zinc doses of over 75mg have found significant reduction in the duration of colds.
‘Since a large proportion of participants remained without adverse effects, zinc lozenges might be useful as a treatment option for the common cold. More research is needed to find optimal compositions and treatment strategies.’
Zinc deficiency is very common, with less than half of Britain’s population eating even half the recommended daily allowance.
It is not stored in the body, although can be found in tissue and bones. It aids the immune system, helps wounds heal, is important for proper taste and smell, and vital for male fertility. It may slow sight loss caused by age-related macular degeneration.
Rich sources include shellfish, lamb, liver, steak, pumpkin seeds and whole grains.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2018987/Common-cold-cure-Zinc-supplements-shorten-illness-length-40.html#ixzz1TL3eBsDv
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Walnuts Are Drugs, Says FDA
Written by Michael Tennant
Thursday, 21 July 2011 10:10
Seen any walnuts in your medicine cabinet lately? According to the Food and Drug Administration, that is precisely where you should find them. Because Diamond Foods made truthful claims about the health benefits of consuming walnuts that the FDA didn’t approve, it sent the company a letter declaring, “Your walnut products are drugs” — and “new drugs” at that — and, therefore, “they may not legally be marketed … in the United States without an approved new drug application.” The agency even threatened Diamond with “seizure” if it failed to comply.
Diamond’s transgression was to make “financial investments to educate the public and supply them with walnuts,” as William Faloon of Life Extension magazine put it. On its website and packaging, the company stated that the omega-3 fatty acids found in walnuts have been shown to have certain health benefits, including reduced risk of heart disease and some types of cancer. These claims, Faloon notes, are well supported by scientific research: “Life Extension has published 57 articles that describe the health benefits of walnuts”; and “The US National Library of Medicine database contains no fewer than 35 peer-reviewed published papers supporting a claim that ingesting walnuts improves vascular health and may reduce heart attack risk.”
This evidence was apparently not good enough for the FDA, which told Diamond that its walnuts were “misbranded” because the “product bears health claims that are not authorized by the FDA.”
The FDA’s letter continues: “We have determined that your walnut products are promoted for conditions that cause them to be drugs because these products are intended for use in the prevention, mitigation, and treatment of disease.” Furthermore, the products are also “misbranded” because they “are offered for conditions that are not amenable to self-diagnosis and treatment by individuals who are not medical practitioners; therefore, adequate directions for use cannot be written so that a layperson can use these drugs safely for their intended purposes.” Who knew you had to have directions to eat walnuts?
“The FDA’s language,” Faloon writes, “resembles that of an out-of-control police state where tyranny [reigns] over rationality.” He adds:
This kind of bureaucratic tyranny sends a strong signal to the food industry not to innovate in a way that informs the public about foods that protect against disease. While consumers increasingly reach for healthier dietary choices, the federal government wants to deny food companies the ability to convey findings from scientific studies about their products.
Walnuts aren’t the only food whose health benefits the FDA has tried to suppress. Producers of pomegranate juice and green tea, among others, have felt the bureaucrats’ wrath whenever they have suggested that their products are good for people.
Meanwhile, Faloon points out, foods that have little to no redeeming value are advertised endlessly, often with dubious health claims attached. For example, Frito-Lay is permitted to make all kinds of claims about its fat-laden, fried products, including that Lay’s potato chips are “heart healthy.” Faloon concludes that “the FDA obviously does not want the public to discover that they can reduce their risk of age-related disease by consuming healthy foods. They prefer consumers only learn about mass-marketed garbage foods that shorten life span by increasing degenerative disease risk.”
Faloon thinks he knows why this is the case. First, by stifling competition from makers of more healthful alternatives, junk food manufacturers, who he says “heavily lobb[y]” the federal government for favorable treatment, will rake in ever greater profits. Second, by making it less likely that Americans will consume healthful foods, big pharmaceutical companies and medical device manufacturers stand to gain by selling more “expensive cardiac drugs, stents, and coronary bypass procedures” to those made ill by their diets.
But people are starting to fight back against the FDA’s tactics. “The makers of pomegranate juice, for example, have sued the FTC for censoring their First Amendment right to communicate scientific information to the public,” Faloon reports. Congress is also getting into the act with a bill, the Free Speech About Science Act (H.R. 1364), that, Faloon writes, “protects basic free speech rights, ends censorship of science, and enables the natural health products community to share peer-reviewed scientific findings with the public.”
Of course, if the Constitution were being followed as intended, none of this would be necessary. The FDA would not exist; but if it did, as a creation of Congress it would have no power to censor any speech whatsoever. If companies are making false claims about their products, the market will quickly punish them for it, and genuine fraud can be handled through the courts. In the absence of a government agency supposedly guaranteeing the safety of their food and drugs and the truthfulness of producers’ claims, consumers would become more discerning, as indeed they already are becoming despite the FDA’s attempts to prevent the dissemination of scientific research. Besides, as Faloon observed, “If anyone still thinks that federal agencies like the FDA protect the public, this proclamation that healthy foods are illegal drugs exposes the government’s sordid charade.”
Thursday, 21 July 2011 10:10
Seen any walnuts in your medicine cabinet lately? According to the Food and Drug Administration, that is precisely where you should find them. Because Diamond Foods made truthful claims about the health benefits of consuming walnuts that the FDA didn’t approve, it sent the company a letter declaring, “Your walnut products are drugs” — and “new drugs” at that — and, therefore, “they may not legally be marketed … in the United States without an approved new drug application.” The agency even threatened Diamond with “seizure” if it failed to comply.
Diamond’s transgression was to make “financial investments to educate the public and supply them with walnuts,” as William Faloon of Life Extension magazine put it. On its website and packaging, the company stated that the omega-3 fatty acids found in walnuts have been shown to have certain health benefits, including reduced risk of heart disease and some types of cancer. These claims, Faloon notes, are well supported by scientific research: “Life Extension has published 57 articles that describe the health benefits of walnuts”; and “The US National Library of Medicine database contains no fewer than 35 peer-reviewed published papers supporting a claim that ingesting walnuts improves vascular health and may reduce heart attack risk.”
This evidence was apparently not good enough for the FDA, which told Diamond that its walnuts were “misbranded” because the “product bears health claims that are not authorized by the FDA.”
The FDA’s letter continues: “We have determined that your walnut products are promoted for conditions that cause them to be drugs because these products are intended for use in the prevention, mitigation, and treatment of disease.” Furthermore, the products are also “misbranded” because they “are offered for conditions that are not amenable to self-diagnosis and treatment by individuals who are not medical practitioners; therefore, adequate directions for use cannot be written so that a layperson can use these drugs safely for their intended purposes.” Who knew you had to have directions to eat walnuts?
“The FDA’s language,” Faloon writes, “resembles that of an out-of-control police state where tyranny [reigns] over rationality.” He adds:
This kind of bureaucratic tyranny sends a strong signal to the food industry not to innovate in a way that informs the public about foods that protect against disease. While consumers increasingly reach for healthier dietary choices, the federal government wants to deny food companies the ability to convey findings from scientific studies about their products.
Walnuts aren’t the only food whose health benefits the FDA has tried to suppress. Producers of pomegranate juice and green tea, among others, have felt the bureaucrats’ wrath whenever they have suggested that their products are good for people.
Meanwhile, Faloon points out, foods that have little to no redeeming value are advertised endlessly, often with dubious health claims attached. For example, Frito-Lay is permitted to make all kinds of claims about its fat-laden, fried products, including that Lay’s potato chips are “heart healthy.” Faloon concludes that “the FDA obviously does not want the public to discover that they can reduce their risk of age-related disease by consuming healthy foods. They prefer consumers only learn about mass-marketed garbage foods that shorten life span by increasing degenerative disease risk.”
Faloon thinks he knows why this is the case. First, by stifling competition from makers of more healthful alternatives, junk food manufacturers, who he says “heavily lobb[y]” the federal government for favorable treatment, will rake in ever greater profits. Second, by making it less likely that Americans will consume healthful foods, big pharmaceutical companies and medical device manufacturers stand to gain by selling more “expensive cardiac drugs, stents, and coronary bypass procedures” to those made ill by their diets.
But people are starting to fight back against the FDA’s tactics. “The makers of pomegranate juice, for example, have sued the FTC for censoring their First Amendment right to communicate scientific information to the public,” Faloon reports. Congress is also getting into the act with a bill, the Free Speech About Science Act (H.R. 1364), that, Faloon writes, “protects basic free speech rights, ends censorship of science, and enables the natural health products community to share peer-reviewed scientific findings with the public.”
Of course, if the Constitution were being followed as intended, none of this would be necessary. The FDA would not exist; but if it did, as a creation of Congress it would have no power to censor any speech whatsoever. If companies are making false claims about their products, the market will quickly punish them for it, and genuine fraud can be handled through the courts. In the absence of a government agency supposedly guaranteeing the safety of their food and drugs and the truthfulness of producers’ claims, consumers would become more discerning, as indeed they already are becoming despite the FDA’s attempts to prevent the dissemination of scientific research. Besides, as Faloon observed, “If anyone still thinks that federal agencies like the FDA protect the public, this proclamation that healthy foods are illegal drugs exposes the government’s sordid charade.”
Today is My Birthday
Today is my birthday. I was born under the sign of Leo. Today I am sixty years of age. My seventh decade of life. Some days I feel like I'm in my thirties some days I feel like I'm in my seventies.
But I'm thankful to be alive at sixty.
I've learned much in my sixty years and want to give back as much as I can to others.
This past year has been especially tough for me. My father passed away at age 84, last July 1st. I was hospitalized for my blood sugar being out of control in January, for Pulmonary embolisms, last July, and diverticulitis in December/ January of this year. Each of which took something out of me.
My father lived a full life and taught me much, both good and not so good. But each with it's own lesson to be learned.
My illnesses made me wiser, and to appreciate how fragile our health really is.
I am re-dedicating myself to try and teach what I have learned and to listen to learn from others. To learn to appreciate what life offers us in all of its glory.
To see the beauty in the world and the people around us and to listen in the quietness of life to God as he whispers his words to live by.
Yes today is my birthday. I will use this day as a new beginning to love life, to appreciate more, to complain less, too see more, to feel more and to live more.
But I'm thankful to be alive at sixty.
I've learned much in my sixty years and want to give back as much as I can to others.
This past year has been especially tough for me. My father passed away at age 84, last July 1st. I was hospitalized for my blood sugar being out of control in January, for Pulmonary embolisms, last July, and diverticulitis in December/ January of this year. Each of which took something out of me.
My father lived a full life and taught me much, both good and not so good. But each with it's own lesson to be learned.
My illnesses made me wiser, and to appreciate how fragile our health really is.
I am re-dedicating myself to try and teach what I have learned and to listen to learn from others. To learn to appreciate what life offers us in all of its glory.
To see the beauty in the world and the people around us and to listen in the quietness of life to God as he whispers his words to live by.
Yes today is my birthday. I will use this day as a new beginning to love life, to appreciate more, to complain less, too see more, to feel more and to live more.
Monday, July 25, 2011
The Whole Wheat Hoax
By Jim Healthy on 07/22/2011
Is whole wheat bread more healthful than white bread?
The vast majority of shoppers — including those with a high "health IQ" — think so. And that’s just what food marketers want you to believe. But the truth may knock you for a loop.
You see, many “whole wheat” products are just as bad as white bread — and some are even worse.
Keep reading and I’ll blow away the smoke that may be clouding your eyes so you can “hokum-proof” your whole grain purchases and bring home the real McCoy.
Why whole grains are better for you
True whole grain foods and products are bursting with nutty, chewy flavor and loaded with health-protective fiber. They’re so much better for you than the familiar white bread and white flour baked goods most of us grew up with.
Did you realize that munching white bread and foods baked from it have the same effect on your blood sugar as eating table sugar straight from the sugar bowl? Both break down into glucose as soon as they are digested, which requires extra insulin to get them out of your bloodstream.
Whole-grain bread, on the other hand, digests far more slowly because its natural fiber slows the conversion of carbohydrates into glucose, so your blood sugar remains stable and receives a steady energy release instead of a sudden spike-and-drop.
In a study published in Diabetes Care, Italian researchers noted that diets high in refined carbs throw blood sugar and metabolism into chaos. But the problem is resolved when refined carb foods are swapped out for whole grain.
Improve your blood sugar by 600%
Researchers at the Creighton Diabetes Center in Nebraska found that when people ate a breakfast cereal made from fiber-rich barley, their blood sugar remained 600% lower than when they ate oatmeal — which is thought to be one of the best "slow carbs" you can eat. Reason? Barley is high in a particular type of fiber called beta-glucan that’s super-effective at slowing the conversion of carbs to glucose.
Consuming too many refined carbohydrates is the number one cause of weight gain and Type 2 diabetes. And with a whopping 30% of the US population predicted to develop diabetes very soon, everyone should take steps to protect themselves.
Choosing whole grain foods and products can really help. In fact, you can reduce your diabetes risk by 40% just by replacing some of the fast carbs in your diet with whole grains, a recent Harvard study showed. And if you’re already experiencing blood sugar problems, whole grain foods are some of the best medicine in Nature’s pantry.
But how can you make sure the “whole grain” products you’re buying are the genuine article? It isn’t always easy. Let me illustrate…
Can you ace this quiz?
Three shoppers walk into a grocery store looking for the most healthful bread.
One sees a loaf labeled “Whole Wheat Bread” and drops it in her cart.
The second shopper spots a loaf of “Multigrain Bread” and heads to the checkout register.
The third shopper picks a loaf of bread that’s “Made with whole grains” and decides she’s made a smart choice.
So which shopper left the store with the truly healthy loaf?
The answer: None of the above.
This isn’t a trick question. Rather, it illustrates the trickiness of food marketers who intentionally create confusion about what’s healthful in your supermarket.
Take it with “a grain of truth”
You see, food manufacturers are well aware you want to make healthier choices when shopping. They also know that white bread is falling out of favor with consumers.
But the economics of the supermarket haven’t changed. It’s still very expensive to put a true whole-grain loaf of bread on the shelf. Why? It spoils much faster than baked goods made with white flour. Here’s why…
Whole-grain products use the whole grain, including the germ, bran, and the oil. These elements are where the vitamins, minerals, and life-sustaining nutrition reside — and also what attract insects during transport and storage. By spoiling so quickly on the shelf, whole-grain baked goods require frequent replacement.
This was a big problem for millers and bakers in the old days until they came up a solution: Refine away these “problem” aspects and: “Voila!” The flour and bread resisted spoiling. Insects and weevils didn’t bother with them. Even mice weren’t interested because they couldn’t live on them.
This bizarre effect was demonstrated by Dr. Roger J. Williams, the noted biochemist who discovered pantothenic acid (vitamin B5). In late 1960s, Dr. Williams fed white flour to one group of rats and whole-grain flour to another. The white flour rats became malnourished, sickly, and two-thirds of them died, while the whole-grain rats flourished.
Good for profits; bad for health
Refining whole grains into white flour removes 80% of their 20 known nutrients. And while baked goods made from white flour won’t sustain health or life, they do stick around on grocery shelves longer. This makes them great for profits, but a poor source of nutrition.
After Dr. Williams’ rat experiment made headlines, consumers began to shun white bread in favor of loaves made from whole grains. Food manufacturers sniffed the trend and responded by adding brown coloring and a little bran to white flour and labeling the resulting bread “whole wheat.”
To this day, many consumers remain confused. But commercial bakers couldn’t fool Dr. Williams’ rats. In a follow-up experiment, he fed 33 different brands of refined-flour bread — including rye, pumpernickel, and ersatz “whole wheat” — to another group of rats. They didn’t fare any better than the white bread group.
Don’t fall for the “health food hype”
Some food marketers seek to profit from health trends by making a quick buck from confused consumers. So here’s how to crack the “code words” they use on the labels of bread and baked goods. When they say their bread is…
“Whole wheat bread.” Translation: This bread’s flour may or may not be made from whole grain wheat. Don’t rely on the product name. Look at the ingredients list. If the first ingredient is whole wheat flour, that means the flour is legally required to be ground from whole grains of wheat. It’s not refined or enriched. It’s the good stuff.
If the ingredient is listed simply as wheat flour or flour, then it’s refined flour, according to the standard of identity for flour — and refined flour has been denuded of its nutritional benefits. Refined white flour may have brown food coloring and a bit of bran added to make it appear healthful.
If the ingredient is listed as enriched flour, the bran and germ have been removed and other nutrients have been added, but it’s not anywhere near as healthful as true whole wheat flour.
“Multigrain.” Translation: This means there’s more than one type of grain in the product, but this is no guarantee that any of those grains are in fact “whole.”
“Made with whole grain.” Translation: There’s an insignificant amount of whole grains in the product, but they want you to believe it’s enough to be an actual health benefit. It usually isn’t.
Whole-grain shopping savvy
Here are some helpful tips when shopping for whole grain products…
Choose bread and other products labeled “whole grain.” Even better: Look for products labeled “100% whole grain.” We love Ezekiel bread products made by Food for Life. You’ll often find them in the freezer section because they are indeed a “whole” food.
Search the packaging for the “100% Whole Grain” stamp from the Whole Grains Council.
But be careful: Products emblazoned with the Whole Grain Council’s “basic” stamp only provide half a serving of whole grains, so pass them by.
Why not go “whole” hog?
While you’re tracking down the superior health benefits of whole grains in the bread aisle, why not go “whole grain” throughout the entire store?
You can easily incorporate whole grains at any (or every) meal to improve your blood sugar … control your weight … and improve your cardiovascular health.
Enjoy old favorites such as oats, barley, and brown rice often — and don’t hesitate to experiment with adventurous “new” whole-grain foods. For starters:
Quinoa is a complete protein.
Teff is gluten-free, and high in fiber.
Amaranth is high in iron.
Farro has twice the fiber and protein of whole wheat.
Millet is high in manganese, magnesium and phosphorus.
They all cook up in water just like oatmeal, and each one offers unique nutritional benefits. The variety of whole grains is so great that you may need a lifetime to get to know them all. But my guess is that you’ll love them at first bite.
For convenience, cook up a large batch of whole grains and freeze portions individually for later use.
The “whole” truth — and nothing but
One thing you can count on: As soon as American consumers change their illin’ ways and decide to eat more healthfully, some huckster will always figure out a way to make a buck off shoppers’ best intentions.
By remembering the key concepts explained above, you can outsmart these marketeers and bring home whole grain goodness time and again.
Happy shopping — and eating!
Is whole wheat bread more healthful than white bread?
The vast majority of shoppers — including those with a high "health IQ" — think so. And that’s just what food marketers want you to believe. But the truth may knock you for a loop.
You see, many “whole wheat” products are just as bad as white bread — and some are even worse.
Keep reading and I’ll blow away the smoke that may be clouding your eyes so you can “hokum-proof” your whole grain purchases and bring home the real McCoy.
Why whole grains are better for you
True whole grain foods and products are bursting with nutty, chewy flavor and loaded with health-protective fiber. They’re so much better for you than the familiar white bread and white flour baked goods most of us grew up with.
Did you realize that munching white bread and foods baked from it have the same effect on your blood sugar as eating table sugar straight from the sugar bowl? Both break down into glucose as soon as they are digested, which requires extra insulin to get them out of your bloodstream.
Whole-grain bread, on the other hand, digests far more slowly because its natural fiber slows the conversion of carbohydrates into glucose, so your blood sugar remains stable and receives a steady energy release instead of a sudden spike-and-drop.
In a study published in Diabetes Care, Italian researchers noted that diets high in refined carbs throw blood sugar and metabolism into chaos. But the problem is resolved when refined carb foods are swapped out for whole grain.
Improve your blood sugar by 600%
Researchers at the Creighton Diabetes Center in Nebraska found that when people ate a breakfast cereal made from fiber-rich barley, their blood sugar remained 600% lower than when they ate oatmeal — which is thought to be one of the best "slow carbs" you can eat. Reason? Barley is high in a particular type of fiber called beta-glucan that’s super-effective at slowing the conversion of carbs to glucose.
Consuming too many refined carbohydrates is the number one cause of weight gain and Type 2 diabetes. And with a whopping 30% of the US population predicted to develop diabetes very soon, everyone should take steps to protect themselves.
Choosing whole grain foods and products can really help. In fact, you can reduce your diabetes risk by 40% just by replacing some of the fast carbs in your diet with whole grains, a recent Harvard study showed. And if you’re already experiencing blood sugar problems, whole grain foods are some of the best medicine in Nature’s pantry.
But how can you make sure the “whole grain” products you’re buying are the genuine article? It isn’t always easy. Let me illustrate…
Can you ace this quiz?
Three shoppers walk into a grocery store looking for the most healthful bread.
One sees a loaf labeled “Whole Wheat Bread” and drops it in her cart.
The second shopper spots a loaf of “Multigrain Bread” and heads to the checkout register.
The third shopper picks a loaf of bread that’s “Made with whole grains” and decides she’s made a smart choice.
So which shopper left the store with the truly healthy loaf?
The answer: None of the above.
This isn’t a trick question. Rather, it illustrates the trickiness of food marketers who intentionally create confusion about what’s healthful in your supermarket.
Take it with “a grain of truth”
You see, food manufacturers are well aware you want to make healthier choices when shopping. They also know that white bread is falling out of favor with consumers.
But the economics of the supermarket haven’t changed. It’s still very expensive to put a true whole-grain loaf of bread on the shelf. Why? It spoils much faster than baked goods made with white flour. Here’s why…
Whole-grain products use the whole grain, including the germ, bran, and the oil. These elements are where the vitamins, minerals, and life-sustaining nutrition reside — and also what attract insects during transport and storage. By spoiling so quickly on the shelf, whole-grain baked goods require frequent replacement.
This was a big problem for millers and bakers in the old days until they came up a solution: Refine away these “problem” aspects and: “Voila!” The flour and bread resisted spoiling. Insects and weevils didn’t bother with them. Even mice weren’t interested because they couldn’t live on them.
This bizarre effect was demonstrated by Dr. Roger J. Williams, the noted biochemist who discovered pantothenic acid (vitamin B5). In late 1960s, Dr. Williams fed white flour to one group of rats and whole-grain flour to another. The white flour rats became malnourished, sickly, and two-thirds of them died, while the whole-grain rats flourished.
Good for profits; bad for health
Refining whole grains into white flour removes 80% of their 20 known nutrients. And while baked goods made from white flour won’t sustain health or life, they do stick around on grocery shelves longer. This makes them great for profits, but a poor source of nutrition.
After Dr. Williams’ rat experiment made headlines, consumers began to shun white bread in favor of loaves made from whole grains. Food manufacturers sniffed the trend and responded by adding brown coloring and a little bran to white flour and labeling the resulting bread “whole wheat.”
To this day, many consumers remain confused. But commercial bakers couldn’t fool Dr. Williams’ rats. In a follow-up experiment, he fed 33 different brands of refined-flour bread — including rye, pumpernickel, and ersatz “whole wheat” — to another group of rats. They didn’t fare any better than the white bread group.
Don’t fall for the “health food hype”
Some food marketers seek to profit from health trends by making a quick buck from confused consumers. So here’s how to crack the “code words” they use on the labels of bread and baked goods. When they say their bread is…
“Whole wheat bread.” Translation: This bread’s flour may or may not be made from whole grain wheat. Don’t rely on the product name. Look at the ingredients list. If the first ingredient is whole wheat flour, that means the flour is legally required to be ground from whole grains of wheat. It’s not refined or enriched. It’s the good stuff.
If the ingredient is listed simply as wheat flour or flour, then it’s refined flour, according to the standard of identity for flour — and refined flour has been denuded of its nutritional benefits. Refined white flour may have brown food coloring and a bit of bran added to make it appear healthful.
If the ingredient is listed as enriched flour, the bran and germ have been removed and other nutrients have been added, but it’s not anywhere near as healthful as true whole wheat flour.
“Multigrain.” Translation: This means there’s more than one type of grain in the product, but this is no guarantee that any of those grains are in fact “whole.”
“Made with whole grain.” Translation: There’s an insignificant amount of whole grains in the product, but they want you to believe it’s enough to be an actual health benefit. It usually isn’t.
Whole-grain shopping savvy
Here are some helpful tips when shopping for whole grain products…
Choose bread and other products labeled “whole grain.” Even better: Look for products labeled “100% whole grain.” We love Ezekiel bread products made by Food for Life. You’ll often find them in the freezer section because they are indeed a “whole” food.
Search the packaging for the “100% Whole Grain” stamp from the Whole Grains Council.
But be careful: Products emblazoned with the Whole Grain Council’s “basic” stamp only provide half a serving of whole grains, so pass them by.
Why not go “whole” hog?
While you’re tracking down the superior health benefits of whole grains in the bread aisle, why not go “whole grain” throughout the entire store?
You can easily incorporate whole grains at any (or every) meal to improve your blood sugar … control your weight … and improve your cardiovascular health.
Enjoy old favorites such as oats, barley, and brown rice often — and don’t hesitate to experiment with adventurous “new” whole-grain foods. For starters:
Quinoa is a complete protein.
Teff is gluten-free, and high in fiber.
Amaranth is high in iron.
Farro has twice the fiber and protein of whole wheat.
Millet is high in manganese, magnesium and phosphorus.
They all cook up in water just like oatmeal, and each one offers unique nutritional benefits. The variety of whole grains is so great that you may need a lifetime to get to know them all. But my guess is that you’ll love them at first bite.
For convenience, cook up a large batch of whole grains and freeze portions individually for later use.
The “whole” truth — and nothing but
One thing you can count on: As soon as American consumers change their illin’ ways and decide to eat more healthfully, some huckster will always figure out a way to make a buck off shoppers’ best intentions.
By remembering the key concepts explained above, you can outsmart these marketeers and bring home whole grain goodness time and again.
Happy shopping — and eating!
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