Whole Grains, Out of Hiding

The latest U.S. dietary guidelines urge Americans to consume at least three servings daily of whole-grain foods. But if you've ever stood in a grocery aisle trying to figure out what products have whole grains and how much they contain, you're not alone.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) , which oversees food labels, provides no definition of "whole grain." The agency allows whole-grain products to use such terms as "multi-grain" and similar statements as well as "whole grain," FDA CommissionerLester Crawford told the American Association of Cereal Chemists' annual meeting last week. Prompted by the new guidelines, Crawford said, the agency has made defining "whole grain" one of its priorities for the coming year.

To help cut through the nutritional fog in the meantime are three stamp-like images that already adorn more than 300 whole-grain products, with many more in the pipeline to receive them. Developed by the Whole Grains Council, a nonprofit consortium of chefs, industry scientists and the Boston-based Oldways Preservation Trust, the stamps give consumers a quick way to spot whole grain foods. Products that contain at least half a serving of whole grains can display a "Good Source" stamp. Those that provide at least a full serving of whole grains are eligible for an "Excellent Source" stamp, while products that contain both a full serving of whole grains and include only whole grains are awarded a "100 percent Excellent Source" stamp.

"We're trying to help make consumers' hands move to the right place on the shelves," said Cynthia Harriman, director of food and nutrition strategies for Oldways and the Whole Grains Council.

That's because the latest national nutritional survey shows that "42 percent of American never eat a whole grain," said Eric Hentges, director of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion. Yet, three, one-ounce servings of whole grains -- equal to about three slices of whole-grain bread -- not only can help reduce the risk of such chronic diseases as diabetes and heart disease but may help with weight maintenance, according to the dietary guidelines.

Here's what you need to know about increasing whole grains:

· Ease into them. Whole grains can be an acquired taste. So add a quarter-cup of whole-grain cereal to your more refined cereal and slowly increase that percentage over several weeks while decreasing the amount of processed cereal. Enjoy pancakes or waffles made with buckwheat or other whole grains. Or make rice pilaf that is a mixture of white, brown and wild rice. Consider pasta salads that are made from a mix of both regular and whole wheat pasta.

· Look for whole-grain white bread. Yes, you read that correctly. It sounds like a nutritional oxymoron, but a growing number of bakers are using winter white wheat to make whole-wheat white bread. It has the same nutritional punch as traditional whole wheat, but its milder flavor and color rivals traditional white bread.