What Does Brown do for You?

Many think in terms of nutrition, brown is always best. Unfortunately, sometimes the “brown” things are not much different than “white”. Read on to learn how to navigate the grain world.

Make half your grains whole. Health professionals recommend increasing whole grains to reduce the risk of chronic disease: stroke, type 2 diabetes, and heart disease. Taking this recommendation to the grocery store is a little harder than it might seem. Choosing the brown stuff (breads, crackers, cereals, chips, etc.) will not always ensure that you are choosing a whole grain, in spite of the front of the box labels. Ignore the front of the box labels and flip to the ingredient list where you will know for sure if you are choosing a whole grain. To be the most nutritious option, a whole grain ingredient must be the first on the list. This rule leaves many of the “brown” breads, crackers, cereals, and chips in the dust. Ritz Whole Wheat Crackers and Tostitos Multigrain Tortilla Chips are just two examples that advertise whole grains, but are actually very similar to their “white” counterpart.

Whole Grain Key Words

A whole grain refers to the whole grain kernel that contains the bran (outer shell), the endosperm (the inner shell), and the germ (the nourishment for the seed grain). When a grain is refined (turned to a “white” flour), the bran and germ are removed. The bran and germ have an abundance of nutrients that provide all the health benefits.

Look for these to find a whole grain…

• “Whole Grain” is in front of the type of grain: whole grain wheat flour, whole grain rye flour, whole grain rolled oats.
• “Whole Wheat” is in front of the type of grain: whole wheat flour
• Surprises: whole grain but don’t say it
• Whole Corn: Popcorn is the whole grain kernel in its natural state!
• Brown Rice
• Bulgur
• Millet
• Oats
• Quinoa

What is not a whole grain?

• If it says “Enriched”: enriched wheat flour, enriched oat flour
• If it says “Made with Whole Grain”: this means it contains whole grains but a whole grain is not necessarily the first ingredient.
• Most Cornmeal
• Multigrain

Whole Grain Options on Campus

C-Stores:

Cereals	Snacks/Meals
Bare Naked Granola	Sun Chips
Raisin Bran	Belvita
Grape Nuts	Nutrigrain Bar
Quaker Oatmeal	Nature Valley Granola Bar
Cheerios	Kashi 7 Grain Crackers
Kix	Kashi Cookie (but it’s still a cookie!)
Whole Grain **	Original Wheat Thins
Golden Grahams**	Quaker Chew Bar
Trix**	Barilla Whole Grain Fusilli Microwave Meal
Cocoa Puffs**
Honey Nut Cheerios**

**These are whole grains, but remember sugar is the second ingredient!

Dining Halls:

Cereals	Breads	Grains
Raisin Bran	100% Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread	Brown Rice
Oatmeal	Cinnamon Walnut Bread	Quinoa
Honey Nut Cheerios**	Yellow Corn Taco Shells	Whole Wheat Pasta
Bran Flakes	White Corn Tortilla Chips	Bulgur
Cocoa Puffs**	Whole Grain Hot Dog Bun
Lucky Charms**
GF Brown Rice Krispies

**These are whole grains, but remember sugar is the second ingredient!