Foods With Fiber – What Are Whole Grains?

Any food made from wheat, rice, oats, cornmeal, barley or another
cereal grain is a grain product. Bread, pasta, oatmeal, breakfast
cereals, tortillas, and grits are examples of grain products.

Foods with fiber include grains which are divided into 2 subgroups, whole grains and refined grains.

Whole grains contain the entire grain kernel — the bran, germ, and endosperm. Examples include:

• whole-wheat flour
• bulgur (cracked wheat)
• oatmeal
• whole cornmeal
• brown rice

Refined grains have been milled, a process that removes the bran
and germ. This is done to give grains a finer texture and improve their
shelf life, but it also removes dietary fiber, iron, and many B
vitamins. Some examples of refined grain products are:

• white flour
• degermed cornmeal
• white bread
• white rice

Most refined grains are enriched. This means certain B
vitamins (thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, folic acid) and iron are added
back after processing. Fiber is not added back to enriched grains.
Check the ingredient list on refined grain products to make sure that
the word “enriched” is included in the grain name. Some food products
are made from mixtures of whole grains and refined grains.

Some commonly eaten grain products are:

Whole grains: brown rice buckwheat bulgur (cracked wheat) oatmeal popcorn Ready-to-eat breakfast cereals: whole wheat cereal flakes muesli whole grain barley whole grain cornmeal whole rye whole wheat bread whole wheat crackers whole wheat pasta whole wheat sandwich buns and rolls whole wheat tortillas wild rice Less common whole grains: amaranth millet quinoa sorghum triticale	Refined grains: cornbread* corn tortillas* couscous* crackers* flour tortillas* grits noodles* Pasta* spaghetti macaroni pitas* pretzels Ready-to-eat breakfast cereals corn flakes white bread white sandwich buns and rolls white rice.

*Most of these products are made from refined grains. Some are made
from whole grains. Check the ingredient list for the words “whole
grain” or “whole wheat” to decide if they are made from a whole grain.
Some foods are made from a mixture of whole and refined grains.

Some grain products contain significant amounts of bran. Bran
provides fiber, which is important for health. However, products with
added bran or bran alone (e.g., oat bran) are not necessarily whole
grain products. Source USDA