White Whole Wheat Offers Another Healthy Option

Healthy foods, including whole grains, taste differently than their heavily processed counterparts; and those who thrive on one may be immediately turned off by the other.

For health food junkies, it's not a bad situation to be caught in, but for those who need to make over their eating habits, these changes can be difficult.

To counter the taste that may be a turn off, many companies are using white whole-wheat flour to make breads, pastas and cereals that are nutrient-rich, but don't taste like health food.

Unlike whole-wheat products, which are made with a whole grain kernel, white-flour products are processed and stripped of certain nutrients and grain parts.

White-whole wheat products use the whole grain, but generally, use either an albino wheat or undergo a process that removes part of the whole grain, fortifies it with vitamins and minerals and reattaches it to the grain.

But how do these new products compare to regular whole grains?

Vitamin- and nutrient-filled whole grains reduce the risk of stroke, Type 2 diabetes and heart disease. Whole grains are also a main source of fiber, which helps you manage your weight by making you feel fuller faster when you're eating.

Most Americans get about half the amount of fiber they need, according to dietitian Joan Salge Blake, an associate professor at Boston University. Adults need 25 to 35 grams of fiber. A simple trick to make sure that you're consuming enough fiber is to make sure that half of the six to eight grain servings you consume daily are whole grains.

If your stomach turns at the thought of adding whole grains to your diet, the albino grains can help. Peek at bread, cereal, pasta and cracker labels to ensure the product, whether it's oat, wheat or rye, is really 100 percent whole grain.

"There are items that can be tricky," Salge Blake said. "Multi-grain bread sounds like a great option because it has many grains, but you have to make sure that it's multi-whole grain."

If you're still looking for a way to get fiber into your diet, try adding fiber-rich snacks like popcorn, whole-grain crackers or fiber-rich fruits and vegetables.