It’s no secret that I am not a fan of recommendations for people to eat large of amounts of “Healthy” or “Clean Burning” grains in their diet. These recommendations come more from economic forces than anything as the huge US grain industry pushed lots of research and for it’s insanely high contribution to the original USDA Food Pyramid (you’ll notice the recommended grain consumption on the new pyramid has dropped greatly in the new version).
However, attacking grains as a whole is for another day, but I think the latest health findings are coming to agreement that refined grains (white rice, white bread, most pasta) are not good for you. But I don’t think the message is really getting out. A visit to any grocery store will still reveal that whole grain products are a very small minority. This is really unfortunate as refined grains have been linked to a whole host of health issues from obesity to cancer. I think that effecting change in people’s eating habits is a matter of how we present this food to the public. Refined grain should be called what it is, Junk Food.
Refined grain is grain that has had its outer bran shell removed, as well as the germ. The bran has certain vitamins and fiber contributing that “heaviness” to the grain, both in weight and that feeling of satiety after eating a smaller amount. The germ contains some protein and good fats and other good nutrients. What you have left after removing these are nutrient void calorie bombs that do not fill you up (low satiety). What other food can you think of that can be described as nutrient-void-calorie-bombs -that-never-seem-to-fill-you-up? Junk food. Chips, popcorn, cookies, and other processed unholiness. Besides the extra toxic chemicals in traditional junk foods (coloring, preservatives), both foods offer you a boat load of easy-eating calories with little nutritional return. The worst part is the lack of satiety. Just think about how much white rice or white bread you could potentially pack away before achieving that same fullness of a few bites of chicken breast or beans. That and the refined grain will make you hungry again much sooner because your body digests refined carbs just about as fast as pure sugar, another similarity to junk foods. We often make the differentiation between “fattening sugar” and “healthy carbs”. However, when you really look at these two, it’s all just Junk Food.
