Whole grains are a delicious way to eat healthy and lower our risk of many chronic diseases like asthma, inflammatory disease and high blood pressure.
However, there are those who don't or can't eat gluten, so their whole grain consumption has to plummet, right? Wrong!
Janel Hemmesch, a bariatric dietitian at Abbott Northwestern Hospital Bariatric Center, helps us navigate living gluten-free while keeping whole grains at the table.
Selected Podcast
You CAN Eat Gluten Free and Whole Grain Too
Featured Speaker:
Janel Hemmesch, RD, LD
Janel Hemmesch is a bariatric dietitian at Abbott Northwestern Hospital Bariatric Center with the Medical Weight Loss Program, and has been a dietitian for 10 years. Mom of two young tots, Hemmesch can be found "doing life" with her family. She loves to sing, read utopia-dystopia books and get in a couple games of volleyball. Of her profession, Hemmesch says, "It's a privilege for me to witness the moment when a patient's goal becomes reality." Transcription:
You CAN Eat Gluten Free and Whole Grain Too
Melanie Cole (Host): Whole grains are a delicious way to eat healthy and lower our risk of many chronic diseases like asthma, inflammatory disease and high blood pressure. However, there are those who don’t or can’t eat gluten so their whole grain consumption has to plummet, right? Not necessarily. My guest is Janelle Hemmesch. She’s a bariatric dietician at Abbott Northwestern Hospital – Bariatric Center with the medical weight loss program. Welcome to the show, Janelle. Tell us a little bit about whole grain, what it is and how does it differ from what we hear is whole wheat or multigrain.
Janelle Hemmesch (Guest): Sure. Lots of people are confused about that. I get questions about that all the time. A whole grain is any time the original kernel has been used. It has the bran, the germ and the endosperm part of that product. I like to think of whole grain as a category of grains and if I was to make a comparison of grains actually being cars, whole grain is like a luxury car—it’s a category. Whole wheat would be like an example of that whole grain. So, it would be like the BMW. Multigrain, on the other hand, just simply means that it’s a lot of grains that have been put together in the same product so it’s just simply more than one grain and it may or may not be a whole grain. I kind of characterize that as similar to like a car lot where you’re not really sure if it’s new cars or used cars; that you just have to dig a little deeper to see what’s actually in that multigrain product.
Melanie: What are we looking for when we dig a little bit deeper?
Janelle: You’re looking for the words that would reflect it being an actual whole grain. Lots of people think that they have to see the word “whole” in order for it to be a whole grain but that’s not necessarily true. A lot of foods have not been messed with yet by the food industry and when you see it listed, you just know that it’s a whole grain. For instance, brown rice is not going to have the word “whole” in front of it. Quinoa or oats are not going to have the word “whole” in front of it but you can guarantee that it is a whole grain.
Melanie: Okay. So, when somebody thinks that they need to go gluten-free or they do need to go gluten-free, can they not eat grains? Can they not eat whole grains, multigrain, whole wheat? Tell us why or what they can eat.
Janelle: Sure. Well, when we have to avoid gluten, gluten is a protein that can be found in wheat, barley, rye and triticale which is a hybrid of rye and wheat together. So, those are the only grains that they have to avoid. Many people think they can’t eat gluten-free and whole grain at the same time simply because the food industry puts wheat in so many different products, so they feel like they have to avoid pretty much every grain because they manage to squeak whole wheat into pretty much anything. You add to the fact that a lot of the gluten-free products that are out there, unfortunately, are tending to use the refined, processed version of the naturally gluten-free grain and then, you also add to the fact that many educational materials that are given to people that have to eat gluten-free tend to just list out what they shouldn’t have rather than what they should have and so they tend to just focus on all these products that they feel like they can’t eat.
Melanie: So, what are some whole grain, gluten-free options that people can eat?
Janelle: Well, the naturally gluten-free grains that are out there, the really common ones are brown rice, wild rice, corn in food and in popcorn. A lot of people are surprised to hear that popcorn is a whole grain. Quinoa and oats, if they’re not contaminated with wheat, are all naturally gluten-free options and are very common to find whole grain versions of it. Then, there are also some less common ones like millet and sorghum. Hopefully, eventually, those types of options will become more prevalent just like quinoa, at one time, nobody knew what it was but not it’s very prevalent.
Melanie: People are looking for gluten-free and you’re mentioning some of these products. How do people know if it’s a gluten-free product? We see the signs around but people are not quite sure they can believe it.
Janelle: Right. Well, back in 2013, the FDA finally did come up with standards for the food companies. So, if you see something labeled “gluten-free”, “no gluten”, “free of gluten”, “without gluten”—any of those words—they could not put that on there unless they meet the standard and the standards is that it contains less than 20 parts per million of gluten. They, unfortunately, don’t have a universal symbol to look for but those words cannot be used unless it meets that standard.
Melanie: How much would you like people to be eating whole grains every day?
Janelle: Right now, the recommendations for Americans is that at least half of the grains you’re eating are whole grains.
Melanie: And, we hear a lot about carbohydrates and pre-diabetes and grains being linked to some of this weight gain and problems. Tell us a little bit about that, Janelle.
Janelle: Right. You know, just like anything with nutrition, it feels like you can find some kind of piece of research supporting your theory and, unfortunately, a lot of the research that’s out there should never be reported on. A lot of times, I’ll see some kind of headline and I look a little deeper and it was like, “Oh, there’s 15 people in that study. Wonderful. I’m not sure why that’s a headline.” If you really look at the bulk of research that’s being done, actually eating whole grain can help you manage your weight. One particular study that was done by the Harvard School of Public Health showed that eating 40 grams of whole grains which is about the equivalent of about a cup of oatmeal and about ¾ cup of brown rice--so, it’s not a lot—actually could significantly reduce middle age weight gain and the whole thought process behind that is the fiber and the protein that’s naturally found in whole grains helps you feel fuller longer so it delays hunger and it also helps you regulate your blood sugar. One other really great thing about high fiber foods is that your body actually literally uses more calories just to break down that food. So, there are lots of good reasons of including whole grains into your diet but, really, keep in mind that weight loss is about calories in/calories out and not necessarily about specific foods.
Melanie: Give us some ways, Janelle, to incorporate whole grains into our diet and people don’t always know what to do with quinoa and various grains.
Janelle: Right. Right. Two resources that I really love to recommend to people are The Complete Guide to Naturally Gluten-Free Foods. It was written by Olivia Dupin in 2013. So, it’s fairly recent. I really like that one because it’s focused on the naturally gluten-free products so that you can steer away from some of those processed gluten-free products. The other one that I really like is The Complete Gluten-Free Whole Grain Cookbook. That was written by Judith Finlayson. That’s also a 2013 resource. So, those are the two that I really like if someone needs to do that gluten-free diet, that they have found really helpful.
Melanie: So, in just the last few minutes, Janelle, give the listeners your best advice about eating gluten-free, why we should be doing that and getting your whole grains in at the same time.
Janelle: Right. Well, definitely, there are certain conditions like celiac disease where gluten-free is necessary as well as lots of evidence showing you might not have celiac disease but a gluten intolerance and so those folks definitely should be avoiding gluten. I think the biggest piece of advice that I’d like to give is that rather than just gravitating toward all those processed gluten-free products, seeking out the naturally gluten-free whole foods that exist and so many times when people hear that, they think that that means lots of time in the kitchen or making everything from scratch and I just think that that’s not true. Really seeking out some of the whole foods that still are convenient, it’s not an oxymoron. You still can find them. For instance, I really like to use the brown rice steamer bags that you can find in the frozen section. Brown rice takes about twice as long to cook as white rice but if you get the steamer bag, you just equal it out to about 5 minutes to put that together. Or, another example, grabbing a canister of instant oatmeal and making refrigerator oats is another really quick gluten-free but whole grain option that eliminates the processed foods.
Melanie: Wow. That’s great advice. Thank you so much, Janelle, for being with us today. You’re listening to The WELLcast with Allina Health. For more information, you can go to AllinaHealth.org. That’s AllinaHealth.org. This is Melanie Cole. Thanks so much for listening.
You CAN Eat Gluten Free and Whole Grain Too
Melanie Cole (Host): Whole grains are a delicious way to eat healthy and lower our risk of many chronic diseases like asthma, inflammatory disease and high blood pressure. However, there are those who don’t or can’t eat gluten so their whole grain consumption has to plummet, right? Not necessarily. My guest is Janelle Hemmesch. She’s a bariatric dietician at Abbott Northwestern Hospital – Bariatric Center with the medical weight loss program. Welcome to the show, Janelle. Tell us a little bit about whole grain, what it is and how does it differ from what we hear is whole wheat or multigrain.
Janelle Hemmesch (Guest): Sure. Lots of people are confused about that. I get questions about that all the time. A whole grain is any time the original kernel has been used. It has the bran, the germ and the endosperm part of that product. I like to think of whole grain as a category of grains and if I was to make a comparison of grains actually being cars, whole grain is like a luxury car—it’s a category. Whole wheat would be like an example of that whole grain. So, it would be like the BMW. Multigrain, on the other hand, just simply means that it’s a lot of grains that have been put together in the same product so it’s just simply more than one grain and it may or may not be a whole grain. I kind of characterize that as similar to like a car lot where you’re not really sure if it’s new cars or used cars; that you just have to dig a little deeper to see what’s actually in that multigrain product.
Melanie: What are we looking for when we dig a little bit deeper?
Janelle: You’re looking for the words that would reflect it being an actual whole grain. Lots of people think that they have to see the word “whole” in order for it to be a whole grain but that’s not necessarily true. A lot of foods have not been messed with yet by the food industry and when you see it listed, you just know that it’s a whole grain. For instance, brown rice is not going to have the word “whole” in front of it. Quinoa or oats are not going to have the word “whole” in front of it but you can guarantee that it is a whole grain.
Melanie: Okay. So, when somebody thinks that they need to go gluten-free or they do need to go gluten-free, can they not eat grains? Can they not eat whole grains, multigrain, whole wheat? Tell us why or what they can eat.
Janelle: Sure. Well, when we have to avoid gluten, gluten is a protein that can be found in wheat, barley, rye and triticale which is a hybrid of rye and wheat together. So, those are the only grains that they have to avoid. Many people think they can’t eat gluten-free and whole grain at the same time simply because the food industry puts wheat in so many different products, so they feel like they have to avoid pretty much every grain because they manage to squeak whole wheat into pretty much anything. You add to the fact that a lot of the gluten-free products that are out there, unfortunately, are tending to use the refined, processed version of the naturally gluten-free grain and then, you also add to the fact that many educational materials that are given to people that have to eat gluten-free tend to just list out what they shouldn’t have rather than what they should have and so they tend to just focus on all these products that they feel like they can’t eat.
Melanie: So, what are some whole grain, gluten-free options that people can eat?
Janelle: Well, the naturally gluten-free grains that are out there, the really common ones are brown rice, wild rice, corn in food and in popcorn. A lot of people are surprised to hear that popcorn is a whole grain. Quinoa and oats, if they’re not contaminated with wheat, are all naturally gluten-free options and are very common to find whole grain versions of it. Then, there are also some less common ones like millet and sorghum. Hopefully, eventually, those types of options will become more prevalent just like quinoa, at one time, nobody knew what it was but not it’s very prevalent.
Melanie: People are looking for gluten-free and you’re mentioning some of these products. How do people know if it’s a gluten-free product? We see the signs around but people are not quite sure they can believe it.
Janelle: Right. Well, back in 2013, the FDA finally did come up with standards for the food companies. So, if you see something labeled “gluten-free”, “no gluten”, “free of gluten”, “without gluten”—any of those words—they could not put that on there unless they meet the standard and the standards is that it contains less than 20 parts per million of gluten. They, unfortunately, don’t have a universal symbol to look for but those words cannot be used unless it meets that standard.
Melanie: How much would you like people to be eating whole grains every day?
Janelle: Right now, the recommendations for Americans is that at least half of the grains you’re eating are whole grains.
Melanie: And, we hear a lot about carbohydrates and pre-diabetes and grains being linked to some of this weight gain and problems. Tell us a little bit about that, Janelle.
Janelle: Right. You know, just like anything with nutrition, it feels like you can find some kind of piece of research supporting your theory and, unfortunately, a lot of the research that’s out there should never be reported on. A lot of times, I’ll see some kind of headline and I look a little deeper and it was like, “Oh, there’s 15 people in that study. Wonderful. I’m not sure why that’s a headline.” If you really look at the bulk of research that’s being done, actually eating whole grain can help you manage your weight. One particular study that was done by the Harvard School of Public Health showed that eating 40 grams of whole grains which is about the equivalent of about a cup of oatmeal and about ¾ cup of brown rice--so, it’s not a lot—actually could significantly reduce middle age weight gain and the whole thought process behind that is the fiber and the protein that’s naturally found in whole grains helps you feel fuller longer so it delays hunger and it also helps you regulate your blood sugar. One other really great thing about high fiber foods is that your body actually literally uses more calories just to break down that food. So, there are lots of good reasons of including whole grains into your diet but, really, keep in mind that weight loss is about calories in/calories out and not necessarily about specific foods.
Melanie: Give us some ways, Janelle, to incorporate whole grains into our diet and people don’t always know what to do with quinoa and various grains.
Janelle: Right. Right. Two resources that I really love to recommend to people are The Complete Guide to Naturally Gluten-Free Foods. It was written by Olivia Dupin in 2013. So, it’s fairly recent. I really like that one because it’s focused on the naturally gluten-free products so that you can steer away from some of those processed gluten-free products. The other one that I really like is The Complete Gluten-Free Whole Grain Cookbook. That was written by Judith Finlayson. That’s also a 2013 resource. So, those are the two that I really like if someone needs to do that gluten-free diet, that they have found really helpful.
Melanie: So, in just the last few minutes, Janelle, give the listeners your best advice about eating gluten-free, why we should be doing that and getting your whole grains in at the same time.
Janelle: Right. Well, definitely, there are certain conditions like celiac disease where gluten-free is necessary as well as lots of evidence showing you might not have celiac disease but a gluten intolerance and so those folks definitely should be avoiding gluten. I think the biggest piece of advice that I’d like to give is that rather than just gravitating toward all those processed gluten-free products, seeking out the naturally gluten-free whole foods that exist and so many times when people hear that, they think that that means lots of time in the kitchen or making everything from scratch and I just think that that’s not true. Really seeking out some of the whole foods that still are convenient, it’s not an oxymoron. You still can find them. For instance, I really like to use the brown rice steamer bags that you can find in the frozen section. Brown rice takes about twice as long to cook as white rice but if you get the steamer bag, you just equal it out to about 5 minutes to put that together. Or, another example, grabbing a canister of instant oatmeal and making refrigerator oats is another really quick gluten-free but whole grain option that eliminates the processed foods.
Melanie: Wow. That’s great advice. Thank you so much, Janelle, for being with us today. You’re listening to The WELLcast with Allina Health. For more information, you can go to AllinaHealth.org. That’s AllinaHealth.org. This is Melanie Cole. Thanks so much for listening.