Wholegrain: The Whole Grain at Once

1. What Is It Actually?

Take a wheat grain in your hand. It is tiny, but it consists of three parts. On the outside is the husk. It is tough and protects the grain. Inside lies the kernel, the endosperm. It is soft and light. And right at the bottom is the germ, from which a new plant could grow. With whole grain, all three parts stay together. With white flour, only the light kernel is ground. Husk and germ are removed. That is why wholemeal bread is darker and grainier than white bread. It feels rougher and you have to chew longer. Fibre is in the husk. These are parts that your body does not absorb. They travel further into the intestine and help with digestion there. Vitamins and minerals are also mainly in the husk and germ. Whole grain is therefore not a special magic grain. It is simply the whole grain, nothing removed.

2. Where Does It Come From?

Grain grows in fields. From a small seed a plant with long stalks develops. At the top are the ears. The grains ripen in them. Farmers sow in spring or autumn and wait many weeks. When the grains are ripe, they drive large machines over the field and harvest. Afterwards the grains are dried and cleaned. Only then do they go to the mill. There they are ground. Wholemeal flour is made from the whole ground grain. There are many varieties: wheat, rye, oats, barley, millet, rice and maize. Some grow here, others in warmer countries. People bake bread, rolls and cakes from the flour. Or they cook the grains whole, for example as porridge or as a side dish.

3. What Do Researchers Investigate?

Researchers want to know what whole grain does in the body. They look, for example, at how blood sugar behaves after eating. They also observe how long people feel full. One study was about meals in kindergartens. The researchers wanted to know whether children eat more whole grain when it is on the table more often. Other studies compare people who eat a lot of whole grain with people who eat little of it. The researchers see indications of connections. But caution: people who eat a lot of whole grain often do other things too. Maybe they move more or eat more vegetables. Then you do not know exactly what comes from what. Some questions are still open. Researchers continue to investigate what role whole grain plays exactly.

4. An Experiment to Think About

Take a piece of wholemeal bread and bite off a small piece. Chew it slowly and count to thirty at the same time. Pay attention to how it tastes. At the beginning it tastes like bread. After a while it becomes a bit sweeter in the mouth. Why? Your saliva contains a substance that breaks down the starch in the bread into small sugar pieces. The longer you chew, the more of that happens. You can try the same with a piece of white bread. Does it taste sweet faster? Both breads consist of starch. The difference lies in the parts around it. This is not a competition, just an observation. Maybe you will notice something that you never noticed before.

For Adults and Professionals: the detailed page on whole grain.