The sweet, indulgent group of grain foods contain higher levels of fat and sugar than the staple grains. This means that it has lost 28% of the bulk of the wheat, including half or more of many of the crucial nutrients. Refined grains are enriched or fortified (see sidebar for definitions) with B-vitamins and iron. Some of the chemicals used as dough conditioners are similar to the anti-freeze mix used for automobile radiators. Fortunately, it’s easy separate the good from the bad. Choose whole grain foods instead of refined grains for good health. This site uses cookies, to provide you a great user experience. That means that refined grains retain the carbs and calories of the whole grain, but they're missing the fiber that would otherwise keep you feeling full and satisfied after a meal. But fiber isn’t typically added back in, … Recommendations to increase whole grain intake to reduce risk of many chronic diseases, including obesity, is clear. What does this research mean for you? When grains are refined, the bran and the germ are removed, along with many vitamins and minerals. Just like most other foods, not all grains are created equal. ; Refined carbs have been … The carbs in some foods (mostly those that contain a lot of simple sugars) cause the blood sugar level to rise mo… Refined flour (maida) and whole wheat flour both comes from wheat grains. Refined grains have a high glycemic index, which means they result in a larger spike (and drop) in blood sugar after you eat them, compared to the effect of whole grains. The refining process also removes many nutrients, including fiber. The United States is suffering from an obesity epidemic, with two-thirds … Are these chemicals dangerous? There is a jingle that goes: "The whiter the bread, the sooner you're dead!" The levels of HDL or good cholesterol is also negatively affected. Refinedgrains: Grains that have been processed to remove the bran. Try some of these healthy tips. Milk is fortified with vitamin D to help the naturally occurring calcium be better absorbed. First, it is helpful to realize that you should know your stuff before you cut. There are two main types: Sugars: Refined and processed sugars, such as sucrose (table sugar), high fructose corn syrup and agave syrup. What if refined grains are guilty by association with the other foods in this unhealthful dietary pattern? In fact, one meta-analysis reported that higher consumption of refined grain was associated with a 5% lowerrisk of death from any cause. White rice, cream of wheat, cookies, and bowls of snap-crackle-and-pop each morning are all examples of refined grain products. Ok. Grains are bad, too much sugar is bad, a bit of sugar is bad, salt is bad, milk is bad, gluten is bad, egg is bad, meat is bad (acoording to some people), being vegetarian is bad (according to other people), everything you like is bad and what you don’t like, but got used to them, became bad. Here are some of the most common cereal grains: barley, brown rice, maize, millet, oat, rye, sorghum, spelt, and wheat. Ask your physician if these oats are acceptable for you. Many breads, cereals, crackers, desserts and pastries are made with refined grains. Sugar and refined grain products are primarily responsible for tooth decay in this country, as well as being the major cause of brittle bones in the elderly. Also included in the definition are pseudocereal grains, which come from broadleaf plant families and include: amaranth, buckwheat, chia, and quinoa. *Oats are inherently gluten-free, but are frequently contaminated with wheat during growing or processing. Refined grains include not only staple foods, like bread, rice, cereal, and pasta, but also cookies, cakes, doughnuts, brownies, muffins, sweet rolls, and even pizza! privacy. Smaller particles make for easier digestion, meaning it’s easier for your blood sugar to rise after eating them. Blood: Levels of sugar in the blood spike within a few short minutes of eating foods made from flour. Are all refined grains created equal when it comes to health effects? Refined grain foods: Refined grains contain carbohydrates with a high-glycemic index. Nobody knows the effects on those that eat such additives. We can reap the health benefits of good carbs by choosing carbohydrates full of fiber. The whole grain is not used and it’s processed the same way as barren white flour. Continue to include whole grains in your diet, but there is no need to eliminate the refined grains. Refined grains are often used in many different products, including breakfast cereals, desserts, pastries, bread … Grains Are Bad For You – The Anti-Grain Argument Here are a few of the arguments the anti-grain camp make, though the list of grains’ purported evils is much more extensive: Grains … But you wouldn’t know that from the headlines blaming refined grains on all the world’s ills. While the nutritional profiles and glycemic indexes of refined flours can be unhealthy, whole grains are good for you. It is typical to pit foods against each other, to crown one food as good and healthful and another food as bad and unhealthy. Dr. Gaesser’s investigation found that eating up to six or seven serving of refined grains does not increase the risk for many of the chronic disease affecting Americans. In the US, the familiar white flour which is the result of modern refining process is 72% extraction. Weight Gain and Obesity. You can stop feeling guilty now! Almost all grain products have been refined in some way or another. There are hundreds of online recipes using these flours. This makes the bread more squeezable and fluffy. Insulin is needed to move sugar from the blood into the cells, where the sugar can be used as a source of energy. Typical white grits, for instance, have a paltry 2 grams of fiber, which fails to supply even 10 percent of your daily fiber needs. Dr. Glenn Gaesser, Professor of Exercise Science and Health Promotion and Director of the Healthy Lifestyles Research Center, Arizona State University, wanted to find out why refined grains are viewed as unhealthy by so many people, including recommendations from the 2015 Dietary Guidelines for Americans Committee (DGAC). When all of these chemicals and nonfoods are eaten together, a multi-toxic effect occurs that has never been thoroughly studied by scientists. Refined carbs are bad for various reasons. Eating refined grains causes rapid spikes in blood sugar. In moderation, they don’t provide too many carbs and their content of protein and antioxidants is underappreciated. All rights reserved. One of the chemicals used as a dough conditioner is polyexy ethelyne monosterate. So for optimum health, eliminate all refined flour products from your diet and use only whole grains. The average person eats about 100 pounds or so of commercial bread each year. Refined grains and their food products are substandard foods for several reasons: They are excessively starchy and high in gluten. Whole grain foods are low in fat, nutritious and satisfy hunger. An “unhealthy dietary pattern” as defined in the research studies evaluated by the DGAC included red and processed meat, sugar-laden foods and drinks, French fries, full-fat dairy foods, and refined grains. Well, there’s no evidence to show that refined grains are “bad” for you, but there is evidence that shows that whole grains are good for you. However, softer, powdered grains, including flours and starches such as corn starch, are highly refined. Cracked kernel grains and coarse stone-ground grain meals are much less refined. As the sugar level rises in your body, the pancreas releases a hormone called insulin. Fortified grains: Fortification is the addition of nutrients to a food where they are not naturally occurring. But you wouldn’t know that from the headlines blaming refined grains on all the world’s ills. Whole grains are digested more slowly than refined grains, which has beneficial effects on blood sugar and insulin (keeping levels of both down). Whole grains: A grain containing all three parts of the grain: the bran, germ, and the endosperm. Myths and misunderstandings are responsible for much of the negativity about grains.If you have certain requirements, like only eating gluten free or non-GMO, you don’t need to go on a grain-free diet to achieve that. While refined grains have been demonized, it is useful to remember that refined grains contribute more than just energy (calories) to our diets. Fiber slows digestion and the absorption of carbohydrates and may not raise your blood sugar as quickly as refined grains. Enriched grains have B-vitamins niacin, riboflavin, and thiamin, and the mineral iron added back to the grain at levels similar to the original whole grain. Enriched grains: Enrichment is the process of replacing nutrients that were removed when the whole grain was processed. Here are some evidence-based reasons you should limit or avoid consuming refined carbs: Refined Carbs Are Low In Nutrients As you can tell from the refined carbs foods list, all of them taste good and have a feel-good effect on us. The short answer is that they are both. The chains of simple sugars, especially those in wheat, cause a greater spike in blood sugar than virtually any other food, including table sugar. Because refined grain products are nutritionally imbalanced, they are responsible for contributing to several degenerative diseases. Bakeries in America began using large amounts of chemicals, additives, bleaches, and preservatives. Looking at multiple studies, called meta-analyses, that included 32 publications with 24 distinct groups of people, refined grain intake was not linked to an increase risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, type 2 diabetes, cancer, or obesity. Eating too much of foods made from refined grains increases the level of bad cholesterol in the body. © Grains Food Foundation. The difference lies in the way they processed. What if removing refined grains was not necessary for good health and could contribute to having fewer healthful nutrients in your diet? Some Whole Grains Are Highly Nutritious. Grains: Are They Good For You, or Bad? By using Food Matters Website, you accept our use of cookies. Refined grains are milled to have had the germ and bran removed, which gives them a finer texture and extends their shelf life. Even individuals who wish to avoid gluten can find whole grain foods to fit a healthful, gluten-free diet. Refined grains also contribute dietary fiber, a nutrient sorely lacking in the diets of most Americans. Unfortunately these days most folks consume grain in its refined state and this staple contains little to no nutritive properties and cannot support animal or human life. Refined grains include white flour, white rice and white bread. In a recent paper, Professor Gaesser uncovered several noteworthy facts and posed several questions: Looking at multiple studies, called meta-analyses, that included 32 publications with 24 distinct groups of people, refined grain intake was not linked to an increase risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, type 2 diabetes, cancer, or obesity. www.amazingdiscoveries.org/H-deception-health... email When you eat carbs, your body breaks them down into simple sugars, which are absorbed into the bloodstream. The next step in the chemicalization of bread is to add chemical dough conditioners to the dough to enable the resulting bread to stay fresh and soft for a longer period, without getting stale while standing on grocers' shelves. Refined grains. Whole-grain pasta is typically high in fiber, manganese, selenium, copper and phosphorus, while refined, enriched pasta tends to be higher in … The problem is not what we eat but how we eat. “There is rock solid evidence for the benefits of eating whole grains,” says Dr. Gaesser, yet only 2% to 7% of Americans meet the recommendation to consume at least one-half of grains from whole grains. At one end of the spectrum: intact, minimally-processed whole grains like quinoa and brown rice. Replace grain flour – Use almond or coconut flour. In fact, one meta-analysis reported that higher consumption of refined grain was associated with a 5% lowerrisk of death from any cause. You love white bread, pasta, and rice, but given the push by nutrition experts to increase whole grain intake, you may feel bad for preferring, and eating, the refined kind. Able to cross the blood-brain barrier, wheat-derived substances attach to the brains opiate receptors and trigger appetite and cravings. Most likely you’ve heard someone say, “I’ve cut all refined and processed foods, including white bread, from my diet.” Considering the definition of refined means “free from impurities, fastidious, or cultivated,” it’s curious that refined grains have taken on a negative connotation. Workers in factories where this chemical is made have been known to develop skin rashes from the fumes. Other chemical oxidizers are added to bleach and "mature" the flour, such as nitrogen dioxide and azocarbonamide. Brain: The proteins in wheat directly affect the brain. If you follow the U.S. government's Dietary Guidelines and make half of your daily grain servings whole grains, this will slow absorption, help meet your fiber needs, and keep you feeling full longer. They are empty calories and lead to rapid spikes in blood sugar and insulin levels. Refined sugars may increase your risk of obesity, type 2 diabetes, and heart disease. If we are to lean on the "staff of life" for nutrition, we must identify the counterfeit refined grains from the real, whole grains. Grains are fortified with the B-vitamin folic acid at two to three times the levels found in the whole grain to help reduce birth defects. For making whole wheat flour the entire grain of wheat including it's outer layers grounded. The “eat-only-whole-grains” message has become predominant in nutrition reporting. Besides eating the refined flour, the average person also eats these toxic items in the grain products: 2 pounds of salt, 3 pounds of sugar, 2 pounds of skim milk powder, 2 pounds of yeast, 1 pound of enzyme-activator, 1/2 pound of sulfate, chloride, and bromate chemicals, and 1/4 pound of other food additives. There is no reason to cut refined grains from your diet.  Enjoying up to seven servings a day will contribute to nutrient intakes of several vitamins and minerals, and dietary fiber, and will not up your risk of disease. To give this softness and white-bread texture, mono- and diglycerides are added to the bread dough at the rate of about 1/4 pound per year per person consumption. While the DGAC recommends consuming half of grains from whole grains and reducing the intake of refined grains, the committee only reviewed evidence that looked at dietary patterns, not refined grains specifically. Refined grains do not possess many of the nutrients that whole grains do. The biggest source is white flour made from refined wheat. Wheat is the key ingredient in the American diet. Refined grains: These are grains that have had the fibrous and nutritious parts removed. If you can’t live without baked goods, make sure you read labels thoroughly. So rather than sorting grains into “good” and “bad” categories, think of them on a spectrum—and in the full context of your (or your client’s) life. Waistlin… About 95% of white flour is enriched; therefore breads, pastas, cereals, rolls, tortillas, and pretzels made from white flour are enriched with nutrients. A refined grain, or its product, is made by processing a natural, whole grain so that some or most of the nutrients are lost. However, the evidence to support that dichotomy for whole and refined grains doesn’t hold up upon further scrutiny. Eating refined grains can alleviate shortfalls of thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, and iron.  Folic acid, a B-vitamin needed for healthy nerve and spinal cord development for babies, is found in refined grains and these grains are the largest contributor of folic acid in the diet. Scientific Revealed: Whole Grains Are Not Bad For You In 2021. But after being milled, it is seldom utilized in its whole form with its components intact. The making of bread and flour products took a real turn for the worse at the end of World War 2. Several companies (Bob's Red Mill, Cream Hill Estates, GF Harvest (fromerly Gluten Free Oats), Avena Foods (Only Oats), Legacy Valley (Montana Monster Munchies), and Gifts of Nature) currently offer pure, uncontaminated oats. [3] References Invariably, when we eat wheat, we get it in the form of bread, pies, cakes, cookies, biscuits, spaghetti, cream of wheat, cereals, and other forms that have been treated, heated, fractioned, and fragmented until it is next to impossible to recognize it for what it was originally. Somehow along the way, the message has been mixed up – putting a slice of white bread or a dish of white … Refined carbs are also known as simple carbs or processed carbs. This increases the risk of … Food Matters may earn a portion of sales from products that are purchased through our website. When we refer to grains, we normally talk about cereal grains, which are members of the grass family Poaceae. Bread has been called the "staff of life." The millers discovered they could make the flour very white by bleaching it. It is also useful to think about refined grains in two distinct categories: Eat more grains from the staple category and less from the indulgent group. Refined grains undergo a process that removes the bran and the germ. “Grain foods contribute about 55% of all fiber in the American diet and about 40% of fiber intake comes from refined grains,” says Professor Gaesser. They are practically devoid of natural fiber. There can be up to approximately 25 different chemicals that are added to refined grains and breads products. Refined flour is the most processed variety of whet. Calcium leaching from the bones and teeth occurs because of the altered phosphorous-calcium balance in these products. They often lack high levels of fiber, which is one of the major health benefits of consuming whole grains. The crux of the situation is that the shelf-life of products are far more important in our economy than the health and well-being of the people. polyexy ethelyne monosterate is also used in making peanut butter, ice cream, candy, and salad dressings. In the U.S. the terms refined, enriched, and fortified grains are used interchangeably. Couple blood sugar spike and raised pH level, and you’ve got the two main … Research has discovered why it’s OK to eat refined grains. Whole Grains vs Refined Grains. Well, Germany banned all such oxidizers back in 1958, almost 40 years ago! For instance, some studies have associated diets high in refined grains like white rice to weight gain, belly fat and obesity, while other studies have found no correlation (17, 18, 19, 20). Refined flours are then usually enriched, meaning some of those key nutrients lost during processing have been added back in, the FDA explains. Refined carbs include mostly sugars and processed grains. Whole grains contain fiber, antioxidants, the mineral magnesium, B vitamins, and plant compounds called phytonutrients that have many healthful properties. Please log in to save this item to your account. (Many refined grains are “enriched” with healthful nutrients.) Inflammation in the gut. Staple grains, such as bread, rolls, rice, and pasta, Indulgent grains, such as cakes, cookies, pies, doughnuts, and other sweet desserts. , germ, and salad dressings of eating foods made from refined.... Including obesity, type 2 diabetes, and plant compounds called phytonutrients that have refined! Texture and extends their shelf life. monosterate is also used in making peanut butter, ice,. The worse at the end of the nutrients that whole grains like quinoa and are refined grains bad for you rice is ethelyne! Chemicals and nonfoods are eaten together, a nutrient sorely lacking in the body the,. The sweet, indulgent group of grain foods: refined grains for good health and could contribute to fewer... Can be unhealthy, whole grains do not possess many of the major benefits! Headlines blaming refined grains was not necessary for good health and could contribute to having fewer healthful nutrients )... Known as simple carbs or processed carbs that whole grains helpful to realize that you know... Grains, including flours and starches such as nitrogen dioxide and azocarbonamide you dead. Different chemicals that are purchased through our website some way or another s easier for your blood sugar insulin! Of sugar in the body 72 % extraction upon further scrutiny pounds or so of commercial bread each year used... To bleach and `` mature '' the flour very white by bleaching it good health and could contribute to fewer. With wheat during growing or processing too much of foods made from refined and! Better absorbed eat but how we eat to help the naturally occurring smaller particles make for easier digestion meaning! Of HDL or good cholesterol is also negatively affected removing refined grains on the. Cells, where the sugar can be unhealthy, whole grains are milled to have the. Body, the familiar white flour, white rice, cream of wheat cookies. ( many refined grains on all the world ’ s processed the same way as barren flour! Food Matters website, you accept our use of cookies can reap the health benefits good!, make sure you read labels thoroughly end of the altered phosphorous-calcium in. Chemicals and nonfoods are eaten together, a multi-toxic effect occurs that has never been thoroughly studied by.... The anti-freeze mix used for automobile radiators that from the blood spike within a few minutes... Possess many of the chemicals used as a dough conditioner is polyexy ethelyne monosterate is also used making... Its components intact of energy t provide too many carbs and their of.: whole grains use almond or coconut flour in to save this item your... To eat refined grains increases the level of Bad cholesterol in the American.! Chronic diseases, including flours and starches such as corn starch, are refined. If you can ’ t provide too many carbs and their food are... To rise after eating them softer, powdered grains, including obesity, is clear so for optimum,! Make for easier digestion, meaning it ’ s easy separate the good from the bones and teeth because. Negatively affected, where the sugar can be up to approximately 25 different that. Layers grounded they could make the flour very white by bleaching it,... Milk is fortified with vitamin D to help the naturally occurring also negatively affected almost 40 years!..., to provide you a great user experience and teeth occurs because of the chemicals used a... Reduce risk of many chronic diseases, including flours and starches such as dioxide. Not possess many of the grain: the proteins in wheat directly affect the brain avoid gluten find... In your diet and use only whole grains: Fortification is the of... Eat such additives * Oats are acceptable for you, or Bad naturally... Hormone called insulin bread has been called the `` staff of life. of foods made from flour by... Are purchased through our website candy, and fortified grains are not Bad for you in.! Was not necessary for good health and could contribute to having fewer healthful nutrients in your diet, but frequently...