Focus on: wholegrains

As part of the Focus on Fibre Challenge, we're taking a deeper look at the best sources of fibre in our diets. This week, our focus is wholegrains.

What are wholegrains?

The grains in our diets come from a variety of cereal crops, including wheat, rye, barley, maize, rice and oats. These cereals are a staple to human diets across the world. We can think of the grains from these cereals as being comprised of three main parts: the bran (where the majority of the fibre is), the germ (where most of the nutrients are) and the endosperm (where much of the starch is found). When we refer to 'wholegrains', we mean all three of these parts together.

Why choose wholegrains?

Commonly during processing, the cereal grains are milled and the bran and germ are removed. This leaves just the endosperm, which leaves the cereal with a whiter appearance. While this might be visually appealling to consumers, it also means that much of the fibre is extracted. So white bread, white pasta, white rice, white flour and processed breakfast cereals are much lower in fibre.

On the other hand, wholegrain bread, wholewheat pasta, brown rice and wholegrain breakfast cereals are made with 'whole-grains', meaning the entire grain, including the bran and germ, are used in the manufacturing process. This allows them to retain their fibre content, and also gives them a darker more brown colour than their highly processed white counterparts. They're also richer in nutrients such as zinc, magnesium and folate, which are found in the germ.

Good examples of wholegrains (including gluten-free options)

Here is a non-exhaustive list of wholegrain foods and natural wholegrains that you can try incorporating into your diet to boost your fibre intake. If you follow a gluten-free diet, your initial impression might be that grains aren't suitable for you and your dietary requirements, however there are plenty of naturally gluten-free options to choose from!

• Wholegrain bread
• Wholewheat pasta
• Brown rice (GF)
• Oats (GF if not contaminated during processing)
• Quinoa (GF)
• Pearl barley
• Buckwheat (GF)
• Bulgur wheat
• Millet (GF)
• Spelt
• Corn (GF)