Nutrients in Whole Grains

Introduction

Since the previous post provided an update on sources of whole grains, I thought it would be helpful to also give an overview of the many nutrients found in whole grains.

To emphasize the value of whole grains, we will also look at some historical nutrient deficiencies that occurred when the bran and germ were completely removed from grain products.

About Nutrients

Since I am not a nutritionist, to prepare for this post, I did some research on nutrients.

Nutrients include water, carbohydrates, fats, proteins, minerals, vitamins and dietary fiber.

Often we hear of the terms macro, micro and trace nutrients.

Macro nutrients are simply those that our body needs in larger quantities while micro and trace nutrients are needed in lesser amounts.

Nutrients are needed for good health, growth and reproduction.

Essential nutrients are those that our body cannot produce on its own.

Then there are vitamins which are typically identified as either water soluble or fat soluble.

How Vitamins Were Discovered

This past February 23rd, 2024, a Google Doodle featured Casimir Funk, the Polish biochemist born in February 23, 1884 who is among those credited with identifying vitamins to cure major, often fatal diseases such as pellagra, rickets and beri beri.

For example, Casimir Funk found that people who ate brown rice were less vulnerable to beri beri than individuals who ate fully milled white rice as a staple in their diet.

I was reminded of a lecture by Sue Becker (author of the Essential Home-Ground Flour Book) that I had the privilege of listening to several years ago on the benefits of whole grains.

Sue Becker is an excellent story teller and she was able to vividly show the impact of modern milling on human health.

As an example, she described the mysterious epidemic rise of pellagra in the American South in the early 1900s.

Pellagra is a disease whose symptoms are listed as the four D’s: diarrhea, dermatitis, dementia and death.

Insane asylums started filling with patients due to this new disease and suicides skyrocketed.

The search for a cure to pellagra led to the discovery and identification of niacin, also known as vitamin B3.

Sadly, it wasn’t until the late 1930s that it was discovered that pellagra was due to a niacin deficiency in the diet.

Pellagra grew in the American South due a change in corn milling processes that removed the niacin rich germ from the cornmeal:

“The milling and degerming of corn in the preparation of cornmeal became feasible with the development of the Beall degerminator, which was originally patented in 1901 and was used to separate the grit from the germ in corn processing. However, this process of degermination reduces the niacin content of the cornmeal.”

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pellagra#History

Modern milling practices impacted all major grains including wheat, corn and rice and resulted in the loss of nutrients due to the mineral rich bran and oil rich germ being discarded to extend shelf life.

Partial Enrichment

According to this source: enrichment is defined as “the addition of vitamins and minerals to a food in order to restore those nutrients to levels that were found in the food prior to storage, handling, and processing.”

Due to a variety of factors, starting in the 1940s, refined white flour was enriched to compensate BUT ONLY IN PART for the B vitamins that had been removed with the germ and bran.

Likewise products like cornmeal and white rice were enriched but only with a portion of what had been taken out.

As an example, while over 20 nutrients are removed from wheat flour with the germ and bran, at this time, only 5 are added back: iron, vitamin B1 (Thiamin), vitamin B2 (Riboflavin), vitamin B3 (Niacin) and Folate.

While I have seen this information mentioned many times, I thought it might be useful to show it in a chart.

The chart below shows the list of nutrients found in 100 grams of wheat berries and, where known, what percentage of the US Recommended Daily Allowance they represent.

It shows in red font the list of nutrients which have been enriched and the increase in quantity relative to the original amount.

The last column shows all the nutrients which are reduced in quantity, expressed in percentages, after the wheat berry is processed into refined white flour.

Also included as an example is a main illness related to a deficiency of each nutrient – though typically there are multiple issues found with any deficiency.

In addition to this list, there are three essential trace nutrients not included in the USDA database but mentioned here, as being found in wheat berries.

Their percent reduction in refined white flour is:

Note 1

Because wheat is the most widely consumed grain in the United States, the detailed chart uses wheat as an example.

Keep in mind that different whole grains provide different amounts of essential nutrients.

A good summary chart related to many essential nutrients found in grains can be found here on the Whole Grains Council website.

Note 2

Below are two additional in depbth links which you might find interesting:

• Nutritional Characteristics of Organic, Freshly Stone-Ground, Sourdough and Conventional Breads
• Wheaty Indiscretions: What Happens to Wheat, from Seed to Storage

Overfed and Undernourished

Our Western society is often described as overfed and undernourished.

One cannot help but wonder what are the long term impacts of on human health from having suboptimal levels of essential nutrients.

What started out for our family as an attempt to eliminate refined flour led us to exclude other processed foods as well and shift to a whole-food, plant-based diet a few years back, as detailed in this post.

Properly Preparing Grains

I do want to emphasize the importance of properly preparing whole grains for optimal nutrition.

Many grains contain anti nutrients such as phytic acid.

Depending on the grain, sprouting, fermenting or nixtamalization of grains neutralizes particular anti-nutrients.

The grains essentially are predigested and the nutrients become more bio available.

The current series on Cooking with Whole Grains 101 covers each whole grain and traditional ways to prepare them.

You can subscribe here to be notified of when the next posts in the series are published.

Buy Your Whole Grains From Reputable Sources

If you are looking to optimize your health, consider buying your whole grains from organic suppliers.

This post includes a FREE PDF list of over 70 whole grain vendors, by state, to help you minimize shipping costs.

Many of the whole grain vendors listed sell both whole grains and quality flour.

Consider Milling Your Own Flour

If you want maximum shelf life as well as nutritional quality, having your own grain mill and milling on demand is an outstanding option.

For some helpful tips on choosing a grain mill, please see this guide.

Conclusion

As a reminder, I am not a nutritionist or health professional.

Rather, I am a data geek and whole grain enthusiast.

Hopefully, the above will lead you to appreciate whole grains even more.

Wishing you a grainlicious experience!

Disclaimer:  I am not a medical professional or a nutritionist and this information is provided for general educational purposes only.  For a full disclaimer, please see here.  As a reminder, when embarking on any type of significant diet/lifestyle change, it is wise to consult with a medical professional and continue to be monitored routinely as warranted by your particular health condition.

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