Whole Grains or Bust

A list of true *whole* grains, to help you identify them and incorporate them into your everyday.

How to identify what is and is not a whole grain:

#1: A whole grain that has fiber. According to this study, there needs to be at least 1 gram of fiber for every 10 grams of carbohydrates. 

#2: A whole grain will contain all of the essential parts of the grain kernel that it originally came with (such as the starch or carbohydrate, the bran or outer layer, and the germ or nutrient-rich core). 

#3: A whole grain contains energy, vitamins, minerals, and healthy fats along with natural fibers.

These grains can come in forms of:

• Intact: The grain is left whole, such as in whole wheat berries or brown rice.

• Ground: The grain is milled into flour, like whole wheat flour.

• Cracked: The grain is broken into pieces, such as in cracked wheat.

• Flaked: The grain is flattened, like in rolled oats.

To qualify as a whole grain, these components (endosperm, bran, and germ) must be present in the same proportions as they are in the intact grain. This means that even after (hopefully minimal) processing, the relative amounts of the three components should not change.

Recommended Whole Grains: