On the surface, whole grain and multigrain is the same thing; both contain several different types of grains and both are therefore just as good for you. Some could even argue that multigrain might even be better for you because, by what its name implies, it is using a multitude of grains.
Dietary guidelines set forth that we should eat at least three servings of whole grains a day to help with the prevention of things like heart disease, cancers and even type 2 diabetes.
What if we have been eating multigrain instead of the suggested whole grain? If this is the case, then we have been cutting the dietary guideline by two and only eating half of what we were supposed to be eating.
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Whole grain consists of all the parts of the grain, germ, endosperm and bran. The germ is rich in vitamin B and essential fatty acids while the endosperm is mostly starch and lastly, the bran is high in fiber. All three parts make whole grains healthy for us.
On the flipside, the once thought of healthy multigrain is a refined grain that is vague as to its constitution, mostly consisting of the endosperm (which happens to be the least nutritious part of the three). They are correct though, the refined grains (mostly endosperm) in multigrain does come from several sources, making it multi but not necessarily nutritious.
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Whole grains add up to be more beneficial than their parts. This means, that by eating whole grains as opposed to eating multigrain while taking fiber, etc supplements, we are getting a greater health impact.
Just when you think you have it all under control, you take a look at multigrain packaging and see luxurious words like “100 % Wheat” or “multigrain” or, my favorite, “stone-ground”. It is hard to pass up words like this, but don’t be fooled, the words are not going to pack any more nutrition into the product.
When you are shopping, remember to look at the label and that the ingredients are going to be listed in ascending order and that the word “whole” should appear as close to the top of the list as possible.