Milling & Baking News - June 28, 2011 - 18

Nutrition and Health 

Food scientists explore reﬁned grains role in American diet
Continued from Page 1

fats, as the 2010 dietary guidelines did, leads to questions about their place in the American diet,” Dr. Lupton said. “But is there evidence that all refined grains should be the same category?” The discussion began with Dr. Slavin tracing the history of governmentsponsored dietary advice in the United States. She observed that questions have been asked about such guidance before and cited a 1988 paper by Alfred Harper, Ph.D., written when he was the chair of the food science department at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. In “Killer French Fries: The Misguided Drive to Improve the American Diet,” he described how the nutrient deficiencies model does not work for chronic diseases such as heart disease and cancer. Yet this model continues to drive dietary guidance today, Dr. Slavin observed. The 2010 D.G.A. were the first to address the problems of a bad diet, rather than try to correct a diet lacking in nutrients. Dr. Slavin was a member of the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee whose work supported the 2010 D.G.A. In doing its research, the committee looked only at peerreviewed, clinical human studies written in English and then graded the evidence. It assembled these

spurred by a moderate body of evidence from large prospective cohort studies that showed whole grain intake, which

“Refined grains have into the high-glycemic without much thought she added. “All refined grains same,” Dr. Jones said. Many more choices

also been put index bucket or evidence,” are not the are available

‘Putting reﬁned grains in the same group of “foods to avoid” as sugar and fats, as the 2010 dietary guidelines did, leads to questions about their place in the American diet.’
— Joanne Lupton, Ph.D., professor of human nutrition at Texas A&M University

‘I am very troubled by the guidelines putting all reﬁned grains in the same bucket. Rice is a staple food for more than half the world, yet it is considered a reﬁned grain by the guidelines.’
— Julie Miller Jones, Ph.D., emeritus professor of nutrition, St. Catherine’s University

studies into the Nutrition Evidence Library, cached for public viewing on the Internet by the U.S. Department of Agriculture at www.nel.gov. “A huge effort goes into the guidelines,” Dr. Slavin said. “It’s important to get them right because they affect much of this country’s public policy about food.” She told the I.F.T. audience that the committee’s interest, going back to 2005 and before, in increasing the consumption of whole grains was
18 / June 28, 2011 Milling & Baking News

includes cereal fiber, protected against cardiovascular disease. “My concern is that in my opinion, a lot of our evidence is not overly strong,” Dr. Slavin said. The overall strength of evidence supporting whole grains impact on health was determined by the committee to be moderate. The D.G.A.’s recommendation to “make half your grains whole” implies “make half your grains refined,” in the analysis of Dr. Jones. Refined grains afford better absorption of some nutritional components, with Dr. Jones citing iron and copper specifically. Whole grains carry phytate, an antinutritional component that interferes with mineral absorption. She observed that 12% of low-income children and teenagers are deficient in zinc and iron. Dr. Jones voiced another concern: Without the folic acid now mandated for inclusion in refined cereals, the number of neural tube birth defects will rise again. “In the 1940s, refined grains were selected as the optimum vehicle for enrichment,” Dr. Jones said. “The policy of enriching bread celebrated its 70th anniversary this year. Today, we nutritionists only read about pellagra; we’ve never seen a case.” During the panel discussion, Dr. Fulgone observed that if Americans change their diets enough to move away from enriched grains altogether, “over time, we may very well see the return of these deficiency diseases.” “I am very troubled by the guidelines putting all refined grains in the same bucket,” Dr. Jones said. “Rice is a staple food for more than half the world, yet it is considered a refined grain by the guidelines.” She also pointed out that the same reasoning lumps donuts and sweet goods together with breakfast cereal, bagels and sourdough bread.

today for grains, whole and refined, Dr. Jones said. “Various grains have different nutrient profiles,” she said, “and we need consumers to focus on eating a variety of grains.” And she added the advice first voiced by Benjamin Franklin: “Moderation in all things, including moderation.” To make the case for refined grains, Dr. Fulgone looked at the epidemiological data associated with rice. His study examined the reports of the NHANES surveys, 1994 to 2004 combined, and was funded by U.S. Rice Associates. Seeking out consumers of brown (whole grain) and white (refined grain) rice, his group found more than 20,000 individuals, ranging in age from children aged two years or more up to adults 51 years and older. They were compared with people who reported eating no rice products. “Epidemiology shows relationships, not causes,” Dr. Fulgone cautioned. Nutritionists and policy makers must understand that refined grains are not consumed by themselves, but along with other foods as part of the complete diet. When the nutritional status of the age groups was analyzed, the biggest differences were found among adults 19 to 50 years old, with rice consumption a positive factor. “This age group has such a poor diet in general that anything nutritional you give them improves their nutrient status,” Dr. Fulgone said. He concluded that rice consumption is associated with lower intake of fat and sugar and that it has no negative impact on health. In fact, he found that consumption of rice often correlated with consumption of legumes, another food group that Americans typically don’t eat in sufficient quantities. Dr. Fulgone’s report will be published in the November/December 2011 issue of Nutrition Today. MBN
bakingbusiness.com / world-grain.com

http://www.nel.gov http://www.bakingbusiness.com http://www.world-grain.com

Milling & Baking News - June 28, 2011

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Milling & Baking News - June 28, 2011