Multigrain Vs. Whole Wheat

October 29, 2014

From your roti atta to bread, your morning cereal and even cookies, there’s much choice of multi-grain and whole wheat foods out there. Here’s something that will help you make an informed choice.

Multigrain foods

As the name says, multigrain means that the food — cookies or atta(flour) — contains more than one variety of grain. However, this is no guarantee that the food contains whole grains, meaning it could be a refined variety of wheat, millet or any other type of grain.So unless you’re absolutely sure that your multigrain food is made of whole grains, it can’t be the healthiest choice. The best way to check would be to read the label. And pick it up only if the label specifies that it’s made of whole grain ingredients.

TIP: Make your own multigrain atta for rotis. Buy whole grain flours of different types, and combine them at home. Bajra, jowar, soya combined with wheat can be nutritious.

Whole wheat foods

A food is called whole wheat when it’s made of the entire cereal grain, in this case, wheat. The whole wheat grain includes the cereal germ and bran that provide fibre, and are absent in refined grain products; and the endosperm, which is a source of starch.

This would apply to any other whole cereal like millet, rice or oats.

So, whole wheat bread and other foods would be a healthy option, as they’ll provide you with fibre, protein, several vitamins, minerals and carbs.

OUR VERDICT!

As said, multi-grain foods are healthy only if the contain multiple grains made of the entire cereal grain. If they aren’t, then you’ll just be eating refined food made of many types of grains, and that can’t be the best choice.

Whole wheat options are healthy choices. Wheat is a good source of protein, carbohydrates, fibre, vitamins and minerals.

Now you’re equipped to make an informed choice, aren’t you!?

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Written by Team HealthifyMe

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