Whole grain switch challenge urges people to improve their health – and the planet’s at the same time

Thin gruels, hard breads and stodgy may not sound much like superfoods but these humble meals fuelled our forebears as they worked long days in the fields. They were nutritional powerhouses in comparison with the sugary cereals and fluffy white loaves that many of us eat today. What they lacked in finesse, they more than made up for in nutritional value as potent sources of fibre-rich, nutrient-dense whole grains.

Since then, consumption of whole grains has dropped to the extent that, according to the 2019 Global Burden of Disease study, a diet low in whole grains was linked to almost 215,000 preventable deaths and more than 3.5m years of life lost due to ill-health, disability or early death in the EU in 2019 alone. Studies on whole grain intake are few – most focus more broadly on fibre intake – but an oft-cited UK National Diet and Nutrition Survey back in 2015 found that only 17% of UK adults are eating the recommended amount.

This matters because research shows that eating 50g of whole grains daily is linked to 25% lower incidence of Type 2 diabetes, a 20% reduced risk of heart failure and a 12% reduction in cancer deaths.

So, what exactly are whole grains? As a category, they encompass a wealth of global crops, including corn, oats, rye and wheat, as well as teff, sorghum, quinoa and freekeh. By definition, they contain all three parts of the grain kernel – the bran, the germ, and the endosperm – unlike refined grains, which have the bran and germ removed during milling. 

According to the Association of UK Dietitians, they contain up to 75% more nutrients than their refined counterparts as a result. The bran – the outer layer – provides B vitamins, minerals and dietary fibre, which helps improve gut health and mental health, aids weight management, and reduces the risk of Type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and some cancers. The germ, meanwhile – the grain’s interior – provides healthy fat, vitamin E, phytochemicals and antioxidants.

“Whole grains are one of the best ingredients to use in our daily diet,” says Valeria Degiovanni, a cookery teacher and chef. Trained in vegan, macrobiotic and ayurvedic cooking, she is based in Piedmont, north-west Italy. “They are richer in protein and fibre than refined grains. They’re good for your metabolism, less caloric, they have a lower glycaemic index, and they have great satiation power of course.”

One bushel of wheat can yield 60 loaves of whole grain bread, but only 42 of white

As well as being good for our health, the production of whole grains uses less resources than more refined food products. They contribute to soil quality, some, such as millet and teff, are drought-resistant, and there is less waste when they are processed than more refined products. For example, one bushel of wheat can yield 60 loaves of whole grain bread, but only 42 of white.

So if you’d like to increase your intake of whole grains, but don’t know where to start, why not take the Switch To Whole Grains challenge? Launching from the 1st November, the initiative from European Food Information Council (EUFIC) invites us all to sign the Switch To Whole Grains pledge. This entails swapping out white bread, pasta, and rice for whole grain alternatives for four weeks. The campaign’s website has recipe inspiration from chefs across Europe, information about new grains you might not have previously heard of and a guide to decoding food labels.

But before you race to put a pot of gruel on to boil, fear not: nobody is suggesting we start eating exactly like our ancestors. There are much more tasty ways to add whole grains to our diet. How about delicious black rice salad with roasted vegetables and creamy pesto? This is one of the recipes Degiovanni teaches on her cookery courses. Coming from the land of pasta and pizza, she acknowledges that while white pasta may reign supreme, Italy has a long history of using local whole grains. In her own region of Piedmont, corn and rice were once more common than pasta. Degiovanni’s absolute favourite is ‘riso venere’, a locally grown black rice that’s named after Venus, the goddess of beauty, because of its reportedly positive effect the nutrients it contains have on skin and hair. 

Degiovanni’s black rice salad is an easy and versatile recipe, she says, that you can adapt  with the seasons. “It’s autumn time now so I’m making it with pumpkin, broccoli and celery,” she says. “In the summer, I’ll use marinated raw vegetables. If you can’t find black rice, you can replace it with wild rice or whole grain basmati.”

Dietary changes will only be lasting when they suit your palate and your lifestyle, she points out. “I always recommend that people start by trying not just one whole grain but several, so they can find their favourites,” says Degiovanni. She is herself a fan of barley, oats, and millet, which she’ll use as an alternative to couscous in salads and in soups. A handful of millet added to minestrone soup towards the end of the cooking time is an easy nutritional win. She also recommends batch-cooking whole grains for the week ahead so they can be reheated from the fridge or freezer as needed. And she encourages experimentation with rice cookers, pressure cookers, and multi-cookers, which shorten whole grains’ cooking times considerably.

Those behind the Switch To Whole Grains campaign will share more cooking tips as the campaign progresses. Some straightforward ones include swapping your bag of crisps for popcorn, or substituting the white bread in your sandwich for whole grain – adding an extra 6g fibre a slice in the process.

Speaking from experience, Degiovanni says that once you discover the extra taste and texture that whole grains bring to your cooking, it’s hard to go back. “Once I tried them, I started to feel healthier, so I kept on going,” she says.

You never know, a four-week challenge might turn into a lifetime of good eating.

Main image: fcafotodigital