Magazines, news channels, diet books and food manufacturers have jumped on the anti-carbohydrate bandwagon, focusing on Americans excessive intake of the "bad," refined carbohydrates — soda, candy, cakes, white bread, etc. However, not all carbohydrates should get a bad name. In fact, you should eat carbohydrates such as fruits, vegetables, low-fat or nonfat yogurt/milk, and whole grains if you want to be healthy and to have a well-balanced diet.

The New Dietary Guidelines
Eating the whole grain, rather than refined grains, offers so many health benefits that when the federal government was updating the New Dietary Guidelines, they had to address the importance of the whole grain. Their final recommendation says, "Make at least half your grains whole." The guidelines recommend six daily servings of grains, but three or more should be whole grains. Replacing refined grains with whole grains (at least 3 ounces per day) can help reduce the risk of cancer, heart disease, diabetes and obesity, as the guidelines indicate.

What makes a whole grain different than a refined one?
Both grains come out of the ground in their natural state, i.e., as a whole grain, consisting of three parts: bran (outer layer), germ (core) and endosperm (starch). When grains are refined through processing, their bran and germ are removed, which takes away many of the grain's nutrients and leaves just the starch. This means that the refined grains are stripped of all the good stuff — fiber, antioxidants, tumor suppressors, cholesterol reducers, insulin regulators, antithrombotic agents, phytoestrogens, vitamin E, folic acid, zinc, selenium and magnesium. Clearly, since the whole grain has all of this, it is the nutritional winner!

It's easy to be tricked when shopping for whole grains.
Venturing down the bread aisle and looking for the whole grain, you may choose the darker colored breads, assuming they are the whole grain. However, manufacturers are tricky and the darker color may simply mean that caramel coloring or molasses has been added, not that you are picking a whole grain. In addition, many people assume that because a label says "7-Grain," "9-Grain" or "Wheat Bread," these are whole-grain breads. However, this is not always the case!