Whole grains are hot, thanks to the new wave of “better carb” diets, especially South Beach. That’s because people are getting the “whole” story behind these and other fiber-rich foods, including beans, fruits, vegetables, and nuts. We already knew that whole grains fight heart disease and diabetes, but we’re beginning to understand why. It seems that the individual nutrients interact uniquely as part of a whole food, which helps them protect against disease in a way that they simply don’t when isolated. Since refined flours and sugars and fiber supplements and fiber-fortified foods don’t quite measure up, load up on the carbs that count for health, and may even help with healthy weight management.

Refined Carbs:  A Step Backward
Whole grain foods include the entire grain, but fiber is the first thing to go when grain is refined. It’s in the outer layer of the grain, also called the bran, that’s milled away in making white flour or polished off brown rice to make it white.  Unfortunately, we favor white refined flour, pasta, rice and cereal. In fact, since only 5% of the grain products sold in America are whole, it’s no surprise that few of us get the recommended 3 whole grain servings a day. And we come up dramatically short on total dietary fiber, averaging less than half of the recommended levels.

How Much Fiber Do You Need?
More than you think! The National Academy of Sciences Institute of Medicine recently updated their recommendations for adults:
50 years or younger:  38 grams for men and 25 grams for women
51 years or older:  30 grams for men and 21 grams for women

Note:  For children, nutritionists recommend that you add the child’s age plus 5 to get a daily fiber goal.

Fiber Facts
Did you know that fiber is not one thing, but actually a variety of substances in plants that our digestive tract can’t break down? Also known as roughage, fiber travels along the 30-foot digestive tract as it helps push along other waste. Learn more about fiber and its various forms. Figure out Your Fiber with this handy chart.

Fiber Pills and Pumped-up Foods
Though fiber supplements are safe and effective in treating chronic constipation, they don’t seem to have the same advantages of whole natural foods. For example, whole grains, fruits and vegetables have been linked with lower rates of several cancers, heart disease and diabetes.

Despite efforts to show a protective effect with fiber supplements, most studies have found either a weak link or no benefit at all. And, though some foods like energy bars, beverages and breads, have been fortified with fiber they have not been proven to offer the benefits of their natural counterparts.

Lose Weight with Whole Grains?
So says the author of the South Beach Diet. And there is some support for the theory that better carbohydrates satisfy more, reduce the appetite, and thereby result in fewer calories eaten at this meal and the next. In contrast, carbohydrates in the form of soft drinks, so called “liquid carbs,” readily add up, resulting in weight gain.  But ultimately (dare I say it again?) it’s calories that count.  Eating more whole grain foods, if not balanced by either a reduction in other foods or by more physical activity, can result in weight gain.