The Whole Story on Whole Grains

Whole-grain foods can help people to achieve the daily fiber consumption necessary to maintain cardiovascular health, yet much confusion exists about how healthy certain whole-grain foods actually are. Rebecca Mozaffarian, from Harvard School of Public Health (Massachusetts, USA), and colleagues reviewed 545 grain products commonly available in grocery stores, categorized each food as to its fiber, sugars, sodium, energy, trans-fats, and price. The team found that products that meet the American Heart Association’s carbohydrate-to-fiber ratio of less than 10-to-1, contain the least sugar, salt, and trans-fats as compared to other products. As well, products that had whole grains listed on the label as a first ingredient with no added sugars were judged almost as healthy as those meeting the 10-to-1 ratio.