Fiber is the Future

A new report out from the CDC says that breads and rolls are the number one source of salt in the US diet.

These findings are surprising because they indicate that it’s the amount of breads and rolls we eat – and not necessarily the sodium content per serving – that is pushing US salt intake over recommended intake levels.

The 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend we eat no more than 2,300 mg of sodium per day. People aged 51 and over, African Americans and those with hypertension, diabetes or chronic disease should limit salt intake even further, to 1,500 mg of sodium per day.

It is estimated that 90% of Americans eat more salt than they should each day and the CDC report finds that just 10 foods are responsible for 44% of the sodium intake in the US. Breads and rolls make up 7% of the salt we eat.

The top ten contributors of salt in our diet are:

• Breads & rolls
• Cold cuts & cured meats
• Pizza
• Poultry
• Soups
• Sandwiches
• Cheese
• Pasta dishes
• Meat dishes
• Snacks

Cutting back on breads and rolls – especially those made from refined wheat flours (i.e. white flour with brown food coloring and a few micronutrients thrown back in) can not only help reduce calories and promote weight loss, but we now know they may also be a vital link in lowering our excessive sodium intake levels too.

Watch out for 100% whole wheat bread though – while it might be better for you from a whole grain and fiber standpoint, sodium can rack up here too. Look for 100% whole wheat breads that are lower in sodium, keeping in mind that salt is an essential component of the bread-baking process.

Like any fiber loving carbo-phobe, I enjoy a good pasta. Problem is that the calories in pasta can add up pretty quickly.

Enter Granoro brand’s Tagliatelle Verdi. Probably without even trying to, this authentic Italian brand pasta is automatically portion controlled.

Each individual ball is 1 oz or roughly 100 calories, making it easy to measure your pasta carbs and calories without digging around for the food scale. Just drop a ball (or two) into boiling water, cook and enjoy – no wistfully hoping you’re just eating 1 or 2 ounces, with this product you know for sure!

The fiber content isn’t great at 1 gram per 100 calorie serving, but the 11 grams of protein from higher protein semolina flour steps in to help keep you full.

Granoro’s products aren’t the easiest to find in the US; most sites that carry it are based overseas. But check out your local Italian and ethnic grocery stores for Granoro’s line of pasta and olive oils. Surprisingly, I discovered this Italian product at a Middle Eastern grocery store in San Diego.

So here’s to hoping that more domestically-available pasta companies will pick up on the pre-portioned pasta idea…maybe finally turning the tide on the dismal state of other 100 calorie pre-portioned options available here at home.

A new study published in the online edition of Nutrition Reviews concludes that eating up to 50% of your grains from refined grain sources does not significantly increase disease risk.

The review article, entitled “Evaluation of the evidence between consumption of refined grains and health outcomes” looked at 135 articles published on the topic from 2000-2010.

The author, Peter G Williams of the University of Wollongong (Australia) found that consuming half of grains from refined grains – provided the refined grains did not have added fat, sugar or sodium – did not increase risk of developing heart disease, diabetes or promoting weight gain.

Although there was no established link between high refined grain consumption and disease development, the author still warns that it’s not a reason to eat less whole grains, saying, “Nonetheless, eating more whole-grain foods remains an important health recommendation…most consumers will need to reduce their current consumption of refined grains to no more than one-third to one-half of all grains in order to meet the targets for whole-grain foods.”

The sticking point is the study looked at refined grains WITHOUT added fat, sugar or sodium. This excludes sugared cereals, fatty fries and salted snacks: the very refined grains that account for so many excess carb calories in the American diet, once again proving the point that when it comes to carbs, you’re safer to say, “If it’s white – walk away!”

If you have traveled or lived anywhere with a British influence, you’ve no doubt come into contact with Weetabix Cereal. It’s a simple, straightforward whole wheat cereal, and only recently available – but not that well-received – in US grocery stores.

Here at home, Post Cereals now offers a very similar product, Post Wheat ‘n Bran Shredded Wheat. If you don’t like a lot of salt or sugar in your cereal, you’ll love this product.

It’s an unadulterated whole wheat loving dietitian’s dream. Why? Because the ingredient list consist of:

• Whole Grain Wheat
• Wheat Bran

That’s it. 200 calories and 8 grams of fiber per 1 1/4 cup serving. No added sugar. No added salt. And more impressively – no added functional fibers.

Tastes just like Wetabix…just doesn’t cost as much.

While the taste might be a little bland for some palates – it’s nothing a topping of fresh fruit can’t take care of.

So, if you’re looking for a great whole wheat cereal with no doctoring needed, then meet your new breakfast!

Uncle Ben – that master of parboiled gummy rice-like starch – has a new product: Uncle Ben’s Whole Grain White Rice. But wait: how can white rice be whole grain?

Let’s answer that question with another question: what is white rice?

White rice is what you get when you remove the husk, bran and germ from whole grain – or brown rice. When you lose the bran – you lose the fiber. When you lose the germ – you lose B vitamins and some fat. All that remains is the endosperm, making white rice essentially, nutritionally naked starch.

Consumers like white rice because it’s light and fluffy. Food manufacturers like it because without the fat it is less likely to go rancid and has a longer shelf life than whole grain rice does.

So what exactly is whole grain white rice? With the Uncle Ben’s product, it’s parboiled white rice (reduces cooking time) with rice bran, germ and B vitamins added back in – along with a good dose of inulin (in the form of chicory root) to bulk up the fiber.

How does it compare nutritionally to brown rice and white rice?

• Uncle Ben’s Whole Grain White Rice: 1/4 cup dry rice has 170 calories and 4 grams of dietary fiber
• Brown rice: 1/4 cup dry has 180 calories and 2 grams of dietary fiber
• White rice: 1/4 cup dry has 180 calories and 1 gram of dietary fiber

It may look like Uncle Ben’s Whole Grain White Rice is the hands down winner when it comes to fiber. And while it technically does have twice as much fiber as brown rice as it advertises – keep in mind that all of that fiber is from inulin, a resistant starch whose health benefits are suspect.

If you hate the texture of brown rice, then this is a decent alternative. If you like white rice, eat it – and find your whole grains elsewhere. But if you’re looking for the most nutritionally sound rice – stick with the brown rice. It’s cheaper, it doesn’t need enriching and its fiber is naturally occurring.