With whole grains, just give me the facts, ma’am

Okay, I admit it, I was duped. I work with food and nutrition every day, chewing through the latest health research like it’s a bowl of granola. But even knowing better, I made the mistake of assuming that something labeled as having “13g Whole Grains” meant it was high in fiber.

It wasn’t.

But that’s the way it’s supposed to work, right? A whole grain means that they haven’t processed out all the good stuff, like fiber. And fiber is measured in grams, right? So when I saw “13g”, my mind thought “high in fiber”, and I was feeling a pleasant, righteous glow as I munched on the tasty snack bar. Then I did what I should have done before taking the package home. I turned it over and looked at the Nutrition Facts panel.

Turned out it was indeed too good to be true. 13 grams of whole grain per serving, translated to a measly 2 grams of fiber.

Looking through my pantry, I found that this wasn’t the only time I’d been duped into seeing a high fiber halo. I pulled out bars and snack crackers I had purchased for my kids, thinking that I was tricking them into getting more fiber, when in reality the trick was on me.

Now, whole grains are a good thing. In their natural state, they do provide fiber and nutrients that are typically lost when they are processed and refined. And fiber is definitely a weak link in my kids’ diets. The USDA guideline recommends that children get 14 grams of fiber per 1,000 calories a day. The benefits of increasing fiber in your diet are many, including improved blood sugar control, various cardiovascular benefits, and help in maintaining a healthy weight. And the USDA recommends eating more whole grains because they are, in part, a good source of fiber in your diet.

But that government agency also admits that you need to carefully read the label to figure out what you’re really getting. The color of the bread, the chewiness of the bar, the hardness of the cracker, or even the grams of whole grains printed on the front of the package do not necessarily indicate a high fiber food.

So, I’m going back to the basic rule that I thought I had learned a long time ago. It doesn’t matter how pretty the package or how good the claims on the front sound, flip it over and just read the facts, ma’am.

—Erin Gudeux