By Alexandra Locke & Rebecca Williams
What’s all the fuss about ancient grains?
You can’t have failed to notice the
recent media hype given to a group of little grains, commonly referred to as ‘ancient
grains’ and are frequently touted as being considerably more nutritious than
traditional grains such as wheat, oats and rye – more than likely to justify
their often considerable price tags. These trendy grains are now a selling
point for many products on supermarket shelves and are commonplace on
restaurant and café menus.
But with so much conflicting
information out there, do you really get more bang for your buck when investing
in trendy grains over traditional grains, such as oats, wheat and rye? We’ve
compared the nutrient
profiles of some of the most well-known traditional and trendy grains to
find out which group packs a superior nutritional punch!
But first, what do we mean by ‘trendy’ grains?
Trendy grains have actually been
around for years but have only recently enjoyed a surge in popularity, in part
due to increasing numbers of people looking for alternatives to wheat. Many of
these grains, including quinoa, amaranth and buckwheat aren’t even ‘true’ grains
but actually belong to the seed family and are known as pseudo-cereals. Many people think
pseudo-cereals are nutritionally superior to the traditional grain, but they actually offer
similar benefits to ‘true’ grains and are used in much the same way.
So do trendy grains really contain more
protein?
One of the most common misconceptions
is that trendy grains have much higher levels of protein than traditional
grains, but they’re
actually very similar. Whilst
trendy grains quinoa and amaranth do indeed top the list for protein content in
our grain comparison, traditional wheat comes in a close third with a hefty 13.4g
of protein per 100g, closely followed by rye.
Another misconception is that quinoa
is the only grain to contain the complete spectrum of amino acids – in fact, all grains
contain complete amino acids with quinoa having only slightly higher levels!
Did you know? Quinoa is
pronounced ‘keen-wah.’
What about fat?
Traditional grains steal the show on
this one with brown rice, rye, barley and wheat being lower in fat than trendy
grains. And there’s further good news for wheat, with recent Australian
research showing that Australian adults with the highest intakes of core grain
foods, including breads and breakfast cereals made from wheat, had a similar
waist circumference and no difference in Body Mass Index (BMI)
compared to those with the lowest core grain food intake(1) While
oats top the list with the highest total fat levels in our comparison, much of
this is healthy fat.
Surely trendy grains have more fibre than
wheat or rye?
Again, traditional grains top the list with rye
containing a whopping 14.6g of fibre per 100g, followed by wheat and
barley, whilst trendy
grains sorghum, quinoa and amaranth lag behind with around half the
fibre content of rye.
Many people are surprised to learn
that the leading
sources of fibre in the Australian diet are actually breads and breakfast
cereals, most of which are wheat based.(2) What’s more, whole grain wheat, oats and rye
can help to promote good gut health due to their prebiotic fibres(3,4) which
encourage growth and activity of health
promoting bacteria in the gut.(5-7)
What about wheat?
Contrary to common perception, wheat is a
particularly nutritious grain, even when compared to trendy grains
like quinoa. Although wheat’s taken a hammering in recent years with many
people avoiding gluten or cutting out carbs, this nutritious grain is easily
accessible and readily found in many breads and breakfast cereals. And several recent studies have shown that individuals who
regularly consume whole grains (mostly wheat based) are at a reduced risk of
developing Type 2 Diabetes, compared to those who eat less.(8-10)
To give you an idea of how two of the
most well-known grains stack up, we’ve compared their nutrient profiles below…
Wheat (g per 100g)
|
Quinoa (g per 100g)
|
|
Protein
|
13.4
|
14.1
|
Fat
|
1.4
|
6.1
|
Fibre
|
12.2
|
7
|
Carbohydrate
|
60.1
|
64.1
|
Iron
|
11.0
|
4.6
|
Did you know? Some grains,
including amaranth, buckwheat and quinoa aren’t actually grains at all but belong
to the seed family and are occasionally referred to as pseudo-cereals.
So what’s the verdict?
The takeaway message is that whilst
many trendy grains do offer certain nutritional benefits, traditional grains offer comparable
nutrients and in some cases have a more substantial nutrient
profile. But whether you’re a fan of traditional or trendy grains or enjoy both,
what’s important is ensuring we eat core grain foods 3-4 times a day and make at least
half either high fibre or whole grain. Our infographic shows why we should be eating
more whole grains…
To benefit from the range of nutrients
both traditional and trendy grains offer, mix it up every once in a while and enjoy a variety
of grains as part of a balanced diet. And for recipe inspiration using both traditional
and trendy grains, visit our website.
References
1. Fayet-Moore F, Petocz P,
McConnell A, Tuck K, Mansour M. The Cross-Sectional Association between
Consumption of the Recommended Five Food Group “Grain (Cereal)”, Dietary Fibre
and Anthropometric Measures among Australian Adults. Nutrients. 2017;9(2):157.
2. ABS. Australian Health Survey:
Nutrition First Results - Foods and Nutrients, 2011-12. Australian Bureau of
Statistics, 2014.
3. Shewry PR, Hey SJ. The
contribution of wheat to human diet and health. Food Energy Secur.
2015;4(3):178-202.
8. Brouns FJPH, van Buul VJ,
Shewry PR. Does wheat make us fat and sick? Journal of Cereal Science.
2013;58(2):209-15.
