Milling whole wheat into white flour may cause as much as a 300-fold loss in phytonutrient content.
Great Grain Robbery
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In 2007, whole grains were linked to a healthier body weight in people both young and old. Whole grains are the very staples of human civilization. The Aztec empire had amaranth; the Incas had quinoa, Asian empires were built on rice and buckwheat; African empires had millet and teff, and wheat, oats, rye, and barley kept Europe going. You should be able to find any of these whole grains in bulk at your local natural food store. When whole wheat flour is milled into white flour, at least 25 nutrients are removed, and five are chemically replaced to “enrich” it. It is the Great Grain Robbery! And that’s just the vitamins and minerals. There’s also a 2- to 300-fold loss in phytonutrient content. So, if we have a choice, never again white bread, white pasta, or white rice. Instead, eat the grain, the whole grain, and nothing but.
A healthy body weight is important, but more important than the circumference of our waist is the circumference of our carotid arteries that supply the blood to our brain. Researchers at Wake Forest University followed 1,000 people for five years, and measured the amount of plaque in their carotid arteries. This is what our blood flow should look like. This is what our blood flow should not look like. Those eating whole grains had a slower progression of their atherosclerotic disease. These were all omnivores who ate meat, so the plaque in their arteries continued to grow, but those eating whole grains had slower growth—slower closing off of their arteries—than those eating just refined grains. To use diet to actually stop the plaque from growing, to reverse the disease, and actually start opening up our arteries, they’d have to have gone on a nearly completely plant-based diet, and eliminated cholesterol and saturated animal fat.
To see any graphs, charts, graphics, images, and quotes to which Dr. Greger may be referring, watch the above video. This is just an approximation of the audio contributed by veganmontreal.
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- Rose N, Hosig K, Davy B, Serrano E, Davis L. Whole-grain intake is associated with body mass index in college students. J Nutr Educ Behav. 2007 Mar-Apr;39(2):90-4.
- Newby PK, Maras J, Bakun P, Muller D, Ferrucci L, Tucker KL. Intake of whole grains, refined grains, and cereal fiber measured with 7-d diet records and associations with risk factors for chronic disease. Am J Clin Nutr. 2007 Dec;86(6):1745-53.
- Mellen PB, Liese AD, Tooze JA, Vitolins MZ, Wagenknecht LE, Herrington DM. Whole-grain intake and carotid artery atherosclerosis in a multiethnic cohort: the Insulin Resistance Atherosclerosis Study. Am J Clin Nutr. 2007 Jun;85(6):1495-502.
In 2007, whole grains were linked to a healthier body weight in people both young and old. Whole grains are the very staples of human civilization. The Aztec empire had amaranth; the Incas had quinoa, Asian empires were built on rice and buckwheat; African empires had millet and teff, and wheat, oats, rye, and barley kept Europe going. You should be able to find any of these whole grains in bulk at your local natural food store. When whole wheat flour is milled into white flour, at least 25 nutrients are removed, and five are chemically replaced to “enrich” it. It is the Great Grain Robbery! And that’s just the vitamins and minerals. There’s also a 2- to 300-fold loss in phytonutrient content. So, if we have a choice, never again white bread, white pasta, or white rice. Instead, eat the grain, the whole grain, and nothing but.
A healthy body weight is important, but more important than the circumference of our waist is the circumference of our carotid arteries that supply the blood to our brain. Researchers at Wake Forest University followed 1,000 people for five years, and measured the amount of plaque in their carotid arteries. This is what our blood flow should look like. This is what our blood flow should not look like. Those eating whole grains had a slower progression of their atherosclerotic disease. These were all omnivores who ate meat, so the plaque in their arteries continued to grow, but those eating whole grains had slower growth—slower closing off of their arteries—than those eating just refined grains. To use diet to actually stop the plaque from growing, to reverse the disease, and actually start opening up our arteries, they’d have to have gone on a nearly completely plant-based diet, and eliminated cholesterol and saturated animal fat.
To see any graphs, charts, graphics, images, and quotes to which Dr. Greger may be referring, watch the above video. This is just an approximation of the audio contributed by veganmontreal.
Please consider volunteering to help out on the site.
- Rose N, Hosig K, Davy B, Serrano E, Davis L. Whole-grain intake is associated with body mass index in college students. J Nutr Educ Behav. 2007 Mar-Apr;39(2):90-4.
- Newby PK, Maras J, Bakun P, Muller D, Ferrucci L, Tucker KL. Intake of whole grains, refined grains, and cereal fiber measured with 7-d diet records and associations with risk factors for chronic disease. Am J Clin Nutr. 2007 Dec;86(6):1745-53.
- Mellen PB, Liese AD, Tooze JA, Vitolins MZ, Wagenknecht LE, Herrington DM. Whole-grain intake and carotid artery atherosclerosis in a multiethnic cohort: the Insulin Resistance Atherosclerosis Study. Am J Clin Nutr. 2007 Jun;85(6):1495-502.
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Title
Great Grain Robbery
LicenseCreative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)
Content URLDoctor's Note
Learn more about the health benefits of whole grains:
- Lifestyle Medicine Is the Standard of Care for Prediabetes
- Whole Grains May Work As Well As Drugs
- Dietary Guidelines: It’s All Greek to the USDA
For additional context, check out my associated blog post: Plant-Based Diets for Metabolic Syndrome.
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