Grains in a Healthy Diet

Australian dietary guidelines1 recommend Australians eat ‘Plenty of cereals (including breads, rice, pasta and noodles), preferably wholegrain’.

Grains and legumes contain many nutrients – they are an excellent source of healthy carbohydrates and dietary fibre and an important source of protein. They are generally low in fat and good sources of B-vitamins, Vitamin E and many minerals. Wholegrain foods also contain many protective components such as antioxidants and phytoestrogens.

A diet high in grain-based foods, especially wholegrains (breads, cereals, pasta etc), legumes, fruits and vegetables can help protect against heart disease, diabetes and some cancers and is associated with better long term weight management.

Wholegrain, Wholemeal or White?

Both milled and unmilled grains are important sources of nutrients and fibre. The degree to which grains are milled determines the nutrient content of the end product.

• Wholegrain: Wholegrain foods contain all the components of the grain- the bran, germ and endosperm. The grains may be whole, cracked or milled. The outer grain layers are a great source of essential nutrients and contain many protective elements. It is in the outer layers (bran and germ) that beneficial nutrients like fibre, vitamins and minerals are found.
  
  Typical wholegrain foods include wholemeal and mixed grain breads, rolled oats, wholemeal pastas and brown rice.
  
  
• Wholemeal: Wholegrains that have been milled to a finer texture become wholemeal. Wholemeal contains all the components of the grain, therefore wholemeal foods are also wholegrain.
  
  Wholemeal bread and rye bread are typical examples of wholemeal products.
  
  
• Australian foods regulations require that a food must contain at least 1.5grams of fibre per serve before it can state that it contains fibre and 3 grams per serve before it can claim to be high- fibre. A food may either be naturally high in fibre eg wholemeal bread, or have fibre added eg white high fibre bread. High fibre foods eg those with added bran, do not always contain all the outer layers of the grain.
  
  
• Foods such as white bread, white rice and pasta are made from refined grains. Australian white flour contains about 80% of the original grain. White bread contains nutrients and fibre, albeit at lower levels (around 30-50%) than wholemeal or wholegrain products.
  

A healthy diet includes at least 2 serves of wholegrain foods every day (a good target is to make at least half your grain foods wholegrain).

Dietary Guidelines for Australians

1 Food for Health. National Health & Medical Research Council. 2003.