Currently browsing posts about: Grains

The study:  Refined grain intake and cardiovascular disease: Meta-analyses of prospective cohort studies.  Glenn A.Gaesser.  Trends in Cardiovascular Medicine, Available online 6 September 2022.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tcm.2022.08.002

Conclusions:  Meta-analyses of prospective cohort studies demonstrate that refined grain intake is not associated with risk of CVD, stroke, or heart failure. This conclusion holds for studies that restricted analyses to staple grain foods only, as well as for studies that included both staple and indulgent grain foods as a single refined grains category. Although refined grains are included as a component of the Western dietary pattern, the present findings suggest that refined grains do not contribute to the higher CVD risk associated with this unhealthy dietary pattern. This information should be considered in formulation of future dietary recommendations.

Declaration of Competing Interest:  The author is a scientific advisory board member of the Grain Foods Foundation and the Wheat Foods Council.

Funding: Preparation of this manuscript was supported in part by a grant from the Grain Foods Foundation.

Comment: Refining of grains removes the outer bran and germ and most of the fiber and nutrients along with them, leaving some nutrients along with teh starch and protein.  Refined starch is quickly digested to sugars and rapidly absorbed.  The Wheat Foods Council wants to reassure you that you can eat as much refined grain as you like without raising disease risk.  Much independently funded research argues otherwise, alas.  If nothing else, refined grains contribute calories relatively low in nutrients and constitute major components of ultra-processed foods.  This study did not look at dietary patterns.

And thanks to David Ludwig for alerting me to this one.

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The publication date is tomorrow!

For 30% off, go to www.ucpress.edu/9780520384156.  Use code 21W2240 at checkout.

The review:  Do Refined Grains Have a Place in a Healthy Dietary Pattern: Perspectives from an Expert Panel Consensus Meeting .  Yanni Papanikolaou, Joanne L Slavin, Roger Clemens, J Thomas Brenna, Dayle Hayes, Glenn A Gaesser, Victor L Fulgoni, III.  Current Developments in Nutrition, Volume 4, Issue 10, October 2020, nzaa125.

Method: “A scientific expert panel was convened to review published data since the release of 2015 dietary guidance in defined areas of grain research, which included nutrient intakes, diet quality, enrichment/fortification, and associations with weight-related outcomes.

Results: 

1) whole grains and refined grains can make meaningful nutrient contributions to dietary patterns,

2) whole and refined grain foods contribute nutrient density,

3) fortification and enrichment of grains remain vital in delivering nutrient adequacy in the American diet,

4) there is inconclusive scientific evidence that refined grain foods are linked to overweight and obesity, and

5) gaps exist in the scientific literature with regard to grain foods and health.“

Supported by the Grain Foods Foundation.  The sponsors (Grain Foods Foundation) had no role in the design of the study or in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of the data.

Author disclosures: YP, as President of Nutritional Strategies, provides food, nutrition, and regulatory affairs consulting services for food and beverage companies and food-related associations and collaborates with VLF on NHANES analyses. VLF, as Senior Vice President of Nutrition Impact, provides food and nutrition consulting services for food and beverage companies. VLF also conducts analyses of NHANES data for members of the food industry. JLS, RC, JTB, DH, and GAG all received an honorarium and travel expenses in the current scientific collaboration.

Comment: The Grain Foods Foundation commissioned the panel and paid the panel participants for their service and travel.  For the authors, this was a paid gig.  The Foundation got what it paid for.  About results #1, 2, and 5, there can be no argument.  #1 and #2 are obvious and did not require a scientific panel to come to those conclusions: even refined grains have nutritional value, not least because they are fortified with several key nutrients.   That’s why these authors consider fortification and enrichment to be “vital.”

What this really is about is to demonstrat that refined grains are healthy and do no harm (#4).  But refined grains are major components of ultra-processed foods, which cause people who eat them to take in more calories than they recognize or need (see Hall et al, 2019) and are strongly associated with higher levels of obesity, chronic disease, and mortality.  Despite dozens of studies consistently linking ultra-processed foods to these conditions, this industry-sponsored panel says the evidence is inconclusive.

The underlying purpose of this study, therefore, is to cast doubt on the connection between refined grains, ultra-processed foods, and weight gain.

With independently funded research, even by biased researchers, the underlying purpose is usually explicit.

–Thanks to Lisa Young for alerting me to this one.

I cannot resist sharing this item from BakeryAndSnacks.com:

Waste not, want not: Bizaare [sic] ingredient adds nutritional and environmental benefits to our daily baguette:  French scientists claim that baking bread with wheat fertilized with human urine could slash nitrogen usage from artificial fertilizers, cut costs for farmers and boost yields, and retain nutrients often lost…. Read more

French scientists can’t bear the thought of wasting all the nitrogen excreted in urine, and have done a study showing its nutritional and ecological value.

Valoriser l’azote et le phosphore de l’urine pour une meilleur sécurité écologique et alimentaire. Pruvost-Bouvattier, M., Vialleix, M., Jovéniaux, A., Exculier, F., 2020. Note rapide de l’institut Paris région n°858.

I suppose we could all go out and pee on our gardens if it weren’t for those pesky pathogens we might be excreting.

Bizaare is not the name of the company eager to do this.

Well, it’s been a bizarre kind of week.

Stay healthy.

While we are seeking ways to support farmers and feed hungry people, Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) is a good model.  Civil Eats ran an especially interesting article about it.

CSAs are rooted in Black farmers in the South: In the 1960s and 70s, farmer and Tuskegee University professor Booker T. Whatley began advocating for what he called “Clientele Membership Clubs.” In the mid-1980s, two farms in New England started what has now become the model for today’s CSAs: small-scale farmers invested in agricultural stewardship, organic and other sustainable practices to build direct relationships with consumers. The idea is simple: members pay a small fee up front and commit to buy produce throughout a season…the CSA provides a sustainable financial model for farmers…In return, CSA members get regular boxes of fresh, local produce delivered to neighborhood pick-up spots…Today there are close to 13,000 CSAs across the country listed by USDA’s 2012 farm census data.

My partner and I belong to a bread CSA run by Stefan Senders’ Wide Awake Bakery.

Deliveries these days are in the middle of a parking lot for a mall that’s mostly closed.  The rule: masks and 6-food distancing.

Sometimes the lines are very long, but the bread is worth waiting for.

In addition to its world class bread, Wide Awake now provides sour dough starter, flour, and recipes, along with a how-to guide to dealing with this new member of your family.

The bakery uses grains grown locally.  So it is helping farmers.

CSAs aren’t for everyone.  Not everyone can afford to pay for food in advance.  But helping this bakery stay in business seems good for everyone, as do CSAs in general.

Perspective: Refined Grains and Health: Genuine Risk, or Guilt by Association? Glenn A Gaesser.  Adv Nutr. 2019 May 1;10(3):361-371.

Conclusion: This literature analysis illustrates a pitfall of attributing health risks to specific food groups based primarily on analysis of dietary patterns. With regard to refined grains, a large and consistent body of evidence from meta-analyses of prospective cohort studies suggests that the assumed health risks are largely a consequence of guilt by association with other foods within the Western dietary pattern, and not to refined grains per se.

Funding: Preparation of this manuscript was supported in part by a grant from the Wheat Foods Council and Grain Foods Foundation. Author disclosure: GAG is a member of the scientific advisory boards of the Grain Foods Foundation, the Wheat Foods Council, and Ardent Mills.

Comment:  The author set out to counter a recommendation of the 2015 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee that to improve dietary quality, it’s better to replace most refined grains with whole grains.  Refining whole grains removes the great majority of their vitamins, minerals, and fiber (fortified flour replaces some of the nutrients, but not all).  Furthermore, refined grains are the main ingredients in many ultra-processed junk foods that promote overeating calories and raise risks for chronic disease.  Wheat per se may not be the problem, but what about the foods made from it?  I keep thinking: “grain-based desserts,” the number one contributor to calories in the American diet, according to the Dietary Guidelines.

Why do studies like this?  So the Texas Wheat Association can issue this headline: “New study exonerates refined grains.”

Want details and references on these contentions?  I provide them at length in Unsavory Truth.

From the daily industry newsletter, BakeryAndSnacks.com, I learned that “free from” is an entire marketing category.  Here is its collection of recent articles and videos on the topic.

Special Edition: The rise of free from

What is driving the free-from trend – grain-free, gluten-free, lactose-free, sugar-free, fat-free, and so forth – and will it have legs? Which businesses are already tapping demand for free-from snacks and bakery products? We look at the alternatives the traditional snack ingredients, and who supplies them. Also, a peak into the manufacturing challenges in creating snacks and baking in the free-from category.

• The unprecedented rise of free from: The free from sector was conceived for – and remains vital to – millions of consumers who deal with allergies, intolerances and related conditions, but today, the movement has evolved into something far more complex encompassing a host of consumer interests from health (free from sugar, fats, calories) to vegan (free from any animal products) to ethical (free from plastic)… Watch now
• It’s a wrap: Gluten-free beetroot wrap ‘bang on-trend’, says Warburtons exec: The UK’s oldest national bread company has launched a gluten-free beetroot wrap that it claims is the first of its kind in the UK gluten-free bakery market… Watch now
• Gluten free offers foil to UK’s high consumption of wheat-based mainstream bread, says founder of Genius Gluten Free: Lucinda Bruce-Gardyne of Genius Gluten Free believes that – overall – UK consumers eat too much bread, which opens opportunities for nutritious non-wheat alternatives… Watch now
• The demand for products with dual or multiple free-from labeling is growing: The rise of free from is throwing up unique challenges for manufacturers in that, often products that replace allergens can have an allergen classification themselves, like nuts to provide protein and fat content; or eggs or milk to bind ingredients in gluten free. We spoke to Verity Clifton, applications technologist at specialist ingredients company Thew Arnott, to find out more… Read
• Gluten-free children snacks are not nutritionally better than regular alternatives, Canadian researcher finds: Gluten-free snacks targeted at children – often perceived as healthy – can be just as nutritionally poor as their regular counterparts, according to Canadian researcher Charlene Elliott… Read
• FPF continues campaign to identify hazardous chemicals in plastic packaging: The fight to eliminate hazardous chemicals in plastic packaging is not over with the Food Packaging Forum (FPF) submitting its latest research to the scientific journal ‘Science of the Total Environment’, this month… Read
• Paleo granola startup rebrands for grain-free consumers: Chicago-based granola startup Paleo Scavenger has rebranded itself as Within Without to capture the growing number of US consumers going grain-free… Read
• Purezza wins investment to set up vegan cheese-alternative facility: UK vegan pizza company Purezza is planning to set up a facility to produce a dairy-free mozzarella cheese alternative after winning a £35,000 ($45,500) prize from Bran Investments… Read
• Edlong showcases dairy-free range at IFT: Illinois-based Edlong showcased a handful of its 250+ dairy-free flavors at the IFT expo last week, highlighting a national trend in consumer demand for vegan options… Read

BakeryandSnacks.com is another industry newsletter I subscribe to for keeping me up to date on what’s happening with baked goods and snacks.

Special Edition: Is grain-free the new gluten-free?

Grain-free may still be niche but it’s gaining traction among consumers who perceive it as the next step to better health. ‘Going completely grainless’ is becoming increasingly popular among consumers who are moving away from processed foods and incorporating natural ingredients, such as nuts, legumes and pulses, into their diets that boost their intake of proteins and minerals. The grain-free trend is an extension of the gluten-free trend, which is predicted to reach $4.35b by 2013 in the US, according to MicroMarketMonitor.

• Promise Gluten Free sells majority stake to UK private equity firm: Mayfair Equity Partners (MEP) has bought a majority stake in the Donegal-headquartered Promise Gluten Free for an undisclosed amount… Read
• Grain-free trend just sprouting in bakery, but may overtake gluten-freeMany bakery industry professionals believe the grain-free trend will catch on – drive by a demand for more natural, less processed ingredients – and will eventually supersede gluten-free… Read
• Rice-based enzyme will bring gluten-free bread to the next level, says DSMDSM has unveiled a rice-based baker’s enzyme which boosts the softness and moistness of gluten-free bread, allowing it to compete with wheat-based breads in texture, it says… Read
• Witte dryers safeguard gluten-free foods from cross-contaminationThe Witte Company has developed a range of dryers and coolers that eliminate the need for a dedicated, gluten-free drying system… Read

And just for fun, I’m adding this fascinating one from the B&S daily feed:

• Prehistoric grains identified in Swiss Alps lunch box:
  Scientists have discovered a 4,000-year-old ‘lunch box’ – obviously lost by a plucky primitive traveler crossing the Swiss mountains – contains microscopic traces of ancient wheat and rye… Read

Food Navigator is an industry newsletter with articles about topics of interest to food companies.  This is one of its occasional collections of columns on a particular topic, in this case, beans, seeds, and grains.

Beans, chickpeas, peas and lentils are now appearing as added value ingredients in every part of the store, from chips and snacks to salads, soups, pastas, dips and baked goods. Non-GMO, gluten-free, high in protein, fiber and micronutrients, and low in fat, beans in particular are undergoing a PR renaissance among consumers, who have been eating them for years in tacos and burritos, but now see them as a more wholesome alternative to soy, rice, corn and potatoes in their snacks. So where will they go next, and who is driving innovation, both from a formulation, and branding perspective? We also take a look at ancient and ‘heirloom’ beans and grains.

•  Manufacturers answer FAO’s call to increase pulse consumption in 2016 with new bean-based snacks: In declaring 2016 the year of the pulse, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN issued a call to action to increase the consumption and popularity of legumes such as chickpeas, lentils and beans which are under used in the US… Watch now
• How consumer demand is resurrecting ancient grains from the past: Data from SPINS reveals that sales of products featuring ‘ancient grains’ grew 16.6% year-over-year to $198,884,358 in 2016… Read
• Rancho Gordo brings heirloom beans to American doorsteps: Working with farmers from Central California, Oregon, Washington, New Mexico, and Mexico, Napa-based Rancho Gordo is resurrecting long-forgotten beans and bringing them back to the American table…Read
• Modern Table Meals serves up bean pasta as meal kits or plain: The team of moms is cornering the category with a double whammy-pulse-based pasta for both the time-strapped parent and the aspiring chef with more time on their hands… Read
• The Good Bean rides bean-based snacking wave in the Year of the Pulse: The Good Bean – a Berkley-based snack brand built around the garbanzo bean (chickpea) – more than doubled its sales in 2015 and expects to do so again in 2016 as pulse-based snacking (beans, peas, lentils) gains momentum. .. Read
• US volumes of pulses surge 8% in 2015, outpacing overall fresh food growth of 1%: Volumes of pulses (defined as leguminous crops – beans, peas, chickpeas, lentils – harvested for dry grains) surged 8% in the US in 2015, while overall volumes of fresh food (retail, foodservice, institutional channels combined) grew by a more modest 1%, according to Euromonitor International… Read
• Beans, peas, lentils, chickpeas: The hottest ingredients in the snack developer’s toolbox? North American pulse growers still export a lot of their wares, but domestic demand has ramped up significantly in recent years as beans, peas, chickpeas, and lentils have started to infiltrate every aisle in the grocery store, from hummus, bean dips, pasta and salads, to chips, brownies and nutrition bars, according to pulse processor AGT Food and Ingredients…Read
• Inclusion of pulses in processed food grew the fastest, says Pulse Canada: Of the many culinary ways pulses can be used, inclusion as an ingredient in snack foods or pasta really ramped up, Pulse Canada data says. We chatted with the industry association to learn more about the state of pulses… Read
•  Full of beans: Banza chickpea pasta now in 2,000+ stores… ‘It’s been a wild ride!’: Unlike some of the more esoteric products at Expo West, Banza chickpea pasta is aimed squarely at mainstream consumers who are looking for more protein and fiber in their pasta, but are not prepared to compromise on taste or texture (no mush). .. Watch now
•  Bean pasta category emerges to meet demand for high-protein, fiber-packed and gluten free options: Ongoing interest in products that are gluten free and better for you are colliding with the international push to celebrate 2016 as the year of the pulse to create a burgeoning category of pasta created from legumes rather than more traditional wheat or rice… Display
• Whole grains consumption increases thanks to plant-forward diet, focus on new flavors: Once shunned for their distinct taste and texture, whole grains are gaining acceptance among more Americans for these same attributes thanks in part to innovative restaurateurs and chefs who are using them to round-out increasingly popular plant-forward dishes, according to the Whole Grains Council… Read
•  Taste Test Friday: Banza chickpea pasta with One Hop Kitchen Bolognese offers a twist on a classic: On the menu for this edition of Taste Test Friday is a blind sampling of a classic American-Italian meal: pasta with Bolognese sauce – but with a twist. .. Watch now
• World Peas acquired by Snack it Forward: Austin based World Peas – best known for its coated peas and fava bean snacks, has been acquired by L.A. based Snack it Forward LLC – which makes freeze-dried fruit snacks (Sunkist Fruit Chips) and trail mix… Read
• NY start-up unveils the ultimate plant-based protein snack: BRAMI lupini beans: Lupini beans have a nutritional profile to die for. The problem is, most Americans have never heard of them. But that could change rapidly if the New York based entrepreneur behind BRAMI snacking beans gets his way… Read
•  Soup-To-Nuts Podcast: Quinoa’s rise to superfood superstar status and the challenges it must address: Quinoa was one of the first superfoods to take America by storm more than a decade ago, and one of the few such stars to sustain its reign long enough to push past being a fad food to become a staple on restaurant menus and households across the country, but the popular grain faces challenges as it become commoditized. .. Listen now
•  Whole grains 101: Highlights from the 2015 Whole Grain Summit: The 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans say half of our grains should be whole. So how are we doing? FoodNavigator-USA headed to Portland, Oregon, for the 2015 Whole Grain Summit  – organized by Oregon State University and the Grains for Health Foundation – to find out….. Display
• Eating more whole grains could reduce risk of chronic diseases, study finds: New research that demonstrates a clear association between eating whole grains and the reduced risk of chronic diseases supports the 2015 dietary guideline’s recommendation that Americans “shift” their diet by making at least half their grains whole grains. .. Read
•  Selling complex carbs in a post Grain Brain world: Do grains really make us fat and sick? Grains, according to the author of best-selling book Grain Brain, are “silent killers”. Not only are they making us fat, says Dr David Perlmutter, “but even healthy ones like whole grains can cause dementia, ADHD, anxiety, chronic headaches, depression, and much more…” But is there any truth behind these assertions, and if not, what can the grain chain do to fight back?.. Watch now