World Grain - September 2016 - 68

FEATURE: HOW DO YOU WANT YOUR WHOLE GRAINS?

Meta-analysis finds people who eat whole
grains live longer
A meta-analysis published on-line June 14 in Circulation showed an inverse association of whole grain intake with total and cause-specific mortality. Researchers from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in
Boston examined 14 studies that included 786,076 people and 97,867
deaths, including 29,957 from cardiovascular disease and 37,492 from cancer. The studies were conducted in the United States, the United Kingdom or
in Scandinavian countries between 1970 and 2010.
People who ate four servings of whole grains daily, or about 70 grams,
had a 22% lower risk of death from any cause, a 23% lower risk of dying
from cardiovascular disease and a 20% lower risk of dying from cancer
when compared to people who ate little or no whole grains.
"These findings further support current dietary guidelines that recommend at least three daily servings (or 48 grams) of whole grains to improve
long-term health and prevent premature death," said Qi Sun, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Health at the Harvard T.H. Chan School
of Public Health and senior author of the study.
The researchers noted that multiple bioactive compounds in whole grains
could contribute to their health benefits and that high fiber content may
lower cholesterol production and glucose response while increasing satiety.
Grants from the National Institutes of Health funded the study.
The 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends people eat
three servings of whole grains, or 48 grams, a day. Whole grains are a source
of nutrients such as dietary fiber, iron, zinc, manganese, folate, magnesium,
copper, thiamin, niacin, vitamin B6, phosphorus, selenium, riboflavin and
vitamin A, according to the Dietary Guidelines.
A majority of Americans consume less than one serving of whole grains
per day. Average intakes of whole grains are below recommended levels
across all age-sex groups, according to the Dietary Guidelines.
68

Healthy Food Ingredients offers Suntava
brand purple corn that is gluten-free and
non-bioengineered.
An ancient species of Andean maize, Suntava
FRQWDLQVDQWKRF\DQLQVSRO\SKHQROVDQGÀDYRnoids. It may be puffed or popped and used in
such applications as extruded snacks, cereal,
FUDFNHUVEDUVJUDQRODÀRXUPHDOVDQGPL[HV
³,W¶VDOLWWOHELWVZHHWZLWKDQXWW\QHXWUDOÀDvor," Froemming said. "It's a really fun product
to work with."
Many grains offer distinct color properties.
"The color palette ranges from a cream to yellow to beige to red-pink to green to a purple to a
deep dark brown-black," Kay said. "The developer can mix and match the whole kernels or seeds
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Ivory teff or white quinoa would be creamy in
color, while whole white wheat or millet could be
described as a yellow-beige. Red quinoa, red rice
or red corn would impart a red-pink color in the
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are described as green-gray in color. Purple bread
has been showing up on supermarket shelves.
Purple wheat, black rice, purple corn, blue corn
and purple barley are the drivers in changing the
shade of bread to purple. The deep dark brown or
black colors are often found in seeds, including
black sesame, poppy or chia."
Food companies also might seek whole grain
ÀRXU WKDW UHVHPEOHV HQULFKHG ÀRXU LQ WDVWH WH[ture and color. Ultragrain from Ardent Mills has
assisted in that area for years. Ultragrain comes
from exclusive varieties of white wheat that
are milder and sweeter than standard red whole
wheat. Ultragrain offers whole grain nutrition
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Pastas, pizza dough, bread, cookies and crackers
in school meal programs are possible targets for
Ultragrain inclusion.
Ardent Mills may work on products from both
HQULFKHGÀRXUDQGZKROHJUDLQÀRXUDWDQLQQRYDtion center that opened this year in Denver. The
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quality and baking laboratory, a culinary test
kitchen, and a chef's demonstration area.
Jeff Gelski is associate editor of Food Business News,
sister publication of World Grain. He may be reached
at jgelski@sosland.com.
We want to hear from you - Send comments and inquiries
to worldgrain@sosland.com. For reprints of WG articles,
e-mail reprints@sosland.com.

September 2016 / World Grain / www.World-Grain.com

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World Grain - September 2016

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