Whole wheat grains are tops

by Jacki Donaldson (Subscribe to Jacki Donaldson's posts)
May 9th 2008 8:00AM

Categories: Healthy Habits, Diet & Weight Loss, Nutrition & Supplements

I'm on board for this whole grain thing. If it's the best for my body, then I'm game. And yes, I'm just now committing to it. I happen to be one of those people who considers her diet a work in progress. I can't change everything at once and amazingly, while I've known certain things are bad for me for quite some time -- excess sugar, lots of fat, loads of sodium -- other Aha! moments strike me long after others catch on. Case in point: Whole wheat.

I guess I've known for longer than I let on that whole wheat is the way to go. Maybe it's just that I like the whiter versions of breads better. Perhaps preference and habit have kept me grabbing at that honey wheat bread for so long. Well, no more. Because yesterday, while grabbing my two loaves at the grocery store, I checked out not only the nutritional label but the list of ingredients too. My kid's school newsletter tells me this week that the word "whole" should be listed first on the healthiest of products -- manufacturers must list ingredients in descending weight order so you want your whole grains to be tops -- and sure enough, things just didn't read this way on my bag of honey wheat bread, which also happened to hide the bad words "high fructose corn syrup" amidst the tiny typed paragraph I tried to decipher. So the bread went back on the shelf. And whole wheat, without any of that fructose stuff, became content in my cart. One-hundred percent whole wheat, I should add.

Today, I'll have a sandwich for lunch on my new bread. So will my kids. Not so sure how they'll react but it's just got to be this way. For my health. And theirs.

For a bunch of whole grain guidance and inspiration, check out The Whole Grains Council here.

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Comments (3)

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

marcie0305 5-10-2008 @ 7:52AM

Just for a reference, I find that Pepperidge Farm tends to be a good bread brand to look for - void of high-fructose corn syrup and usually whole-grain. The SunMaid raisin bread (traditional in the red package) also fits the bill. That's if you're in a "regular" grocery - there are lots of other choices, of course, in a WholeFoods or the like, keep trying, there are some that taste like cardboard, to be sure, but many yummy choices out there as well.

I too used to prefer white bread, but once you start eating something on a regular basis, that's what you will start to crave :)

~Marcie
http://feedingblackmail.blogspot.com

Jacki 5-10-2008 @ 8:00AM

Thanks for your wisdom -- as always -- Marcie. Appreciate it!

Jacki

Whole Grains Council 6-05-2008 @ 1:58PM

Thanks so much for mentioning us Jacki!

The team at That’s Fit does an incredible job of educating folks about the many health benefits of whole grains, ways to incorporate more whole grains into your daily diet, and – in this particular case – how to know if you’re actually getting whole grains. There are so many tricky packaging claims out there about whole grains that, unless you see the Whole Grain Stamp, you really don’t know how many grams of whole grains you’re getting. There are nearly 1,900 products with the Stamp on store shelves throughout the country and we’re adding more every day, but there are plenty of great products out there that still don’t have the Stamp. Knowing how to read ingredients is a consumer’s best weapon in the hunt for whole grains.

Keep up the great work!
- all of us at the Whole Grains Council and Oldways