Earlier this year,Maclean’smagazine ran a cover story making the case that wheat is a threat to human health.
In the piece, William Davis, the American author of a popular book,Wheat Belly,said wheat products are making consumers fat and compared grain producers to tobacco farmers, because they are growing a commodity that makes people sick.
This article and other media coverage, portraying wheat as a toxic substance, prompted Nancy Ames, Agriculture Canada research scientist in Winnipeg, to seek out the health benefits of wheat.
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At a presentation at the Canadian Wheat Symposium in Winnipeg in November, Ames presented her findings and defended whole grain wheat as an essential component of a healthy diet.
Scientific research on wheat, unlike the anecdotal evidence in books such as Wheat Belly,has shown it offers a multitude of health benefits, Ames told a group of wheat researchers gathered inside a Winnipeg hotel for the symposium.
It is a valid argument to say refined grains aren’t good for us, she said. When the bran and germ in wheat are subtracted, a substantial portion of the nutrients and beneficial compounds are removed.
But the high glycemic index of white bread and other refined cereals doesn’t lead to a dietary conclusion that consumers should stop eating wheat. It’s well documented that people don’t eat a sufficient amount of whole grains, Ames said.
For instance, the Iowa Women’s Health Study, which has monitored 40,000 women since 1986, concluded that consuming whole grains is associated with good health, said Gary Fulcher, head of the University of Manitoba Food Science department.
“Iowa was pretty damn clear. The all cause mortality rate in the population that represented the top 20 percent in whole grain consumption…. The mortality rate was approximately half of what it was for the bottom end (women who ate the fewest whole grains).”
In her presentation, Ames listed a number of beneficial qualities of wheat and challenged the notion that wheat makes us fat.
Study shows benefits
A study, published in theAmerican Journal of Clinical Nutrition,demonstrated that people who eat more than three servings of wheat per day have 10 percent less abdominal fat than subjects who ate no whole wheat, she said.
Regarding the specific health benefits of wheat, Ames said it contains nine to 17 grams of total fibre per 100 g portion, which represents more fibre than most vegetables.
One of the major components in wheat bran fibre is a compound called arabinoxylan. It contains phenolic acids, antioxidants that protect humans against heart disease, strokes and cancers. Another benefit of arabinoxylan is that it breaks down slowly in the gut.
“The European Food Safety authority just recently has been looking at a health claim for arabinoxylan specifically (for) wheat… that it delays glucose absorption in the small intestine,” Ames said.
Phytosterols, plant derived compounds that inhibit intestinal absorption of cholesterol, are also found in wheat. Clinical trials have shown that consumption of foods rich in plant sterols lowers LDL cholesterol, which is why food manufacturers have been adding sterols to yogurt.
“(There are) phytosterols in wheat and they are mainly in the germ… and they are as effective as supplements,” said Ames, who studies oats, the functional properties of cereals and a number of other subjects at the Cereal Research Centre in Winnipeg.
Yet another beneficial compound in wheat is ferulic acid, an antioxidant in the bran that has been shown to lower cholesterol levels in rats.
After describing the various health benefits of wheat, Ames said most food scientists and cereal experts already know about the goodness of whole grains. But those scientists tend to write academic papers and books explaining why whole wheat is good for us. Unfortunately, books detailing the processes and methods of scientific studies don’t lead to the author appearing onGood Morning America.
Fulcher said it’s much easier to sell a story about how something is terrible and toxic, rather that a story extolling the virtues of wheat.
WHOLE GRAINS 101:
Adults should eat three servings of whole grains per day. Examples of a whole grains serving:
½ cup of cooked oatmeal
½ cup cooked brown rice
1 slice of 100% whole grain bread
½ cup of cooked, whole grain pasta
1 cup of whole grain dried cereal
•Read labels: Whole grain breads and cereals will st ingredients such as 100% whole wheat. However, labels with 100% wheat or multi-grain mean they likely do not contain actual whole grains, which are nutritionally superior.
Sources: Grains for Health Foundation and Harvard School of Public Health
Nonetheless, partly to counter all the negative pr
ess on wheat, a few years ago scientists, nutritionists and business leaders in North American started the Grains for Health Foundation.
The organization’s mandate is to encourage the manufacture and consumption of whole grain foods to promote a healthy body weight and
•Whole grains and weight: A study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that weight gain is closely associated with eating refined grains. The study, which collected data on more than 74,000 female nurses over 12 years, determined that women who consumed more whole grains wer 49% less likely to gain weight, compared to women eating foods made from refined grains.
reduce the development of chronic disease.
Fulcher, a Grains for Health director, said the group isn’t about collecting money to fund research.
“What we’re trying to do… is address this education piece and get people back into the business of thinking about whole grains, instead of refined stuff.”
