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Food and Nutrition Sciences, 2012, 3, 1156-1161
doi:10.4236/fns.2012.38152 Published Online August 2012
Wholegrains: Emerging Concepts, Controversies and Alternatives
Cilla J. Haywood, Joseph Proietto

"Conclusion

Wholegrains are more nutritious than refined grains. There are multiple putative benefits of wholegrain con-sumption, and multiple prospective cohort studies have shown that wholegrain intake is inversely associated with risk of multiple diseases.

However, these results are not replicated in good-quality Meta-Analyses. There is only one prospective randomised controlled trial of increasing wholegrain intake (the WHOLEHeart study), and no benefit for increasing wholegrain intakes was shown. Most prominently, the prospective cohort studies are highly subject to confounding. Less obviously, there are inconsistencies within and between the studies in terms of confounding factors. Overall dietary and lifestyle pat-terns are more likely responsible for the results seen in the published cohort studies.
There seems to be little evidence for the suggested in-take of wholegrains, and foods labelled wholegrain are qualitatively heterogeneous.

Excessive intakes of poorly selected wholegrain foods may be high in glycaemic in-dex and load. This may lead to a pro-inflammatory mi-lieu and contribute to diseases of affluence. There are also anti-nutrients present in wholegrains; though the effects have not been well studied, they may be clinically relevant in individuals.

There is some evidence for alternatives to grain con-sumption in the context of a nutritious and complete palaeolithic diet. These require larger, longer-term studies to assess the safety and efficacy of these diets in terms of disease prevention. In the future, the findings of these trials may challenge the conventional wisdom of what constitutes a healthy diet, and the role of grains in such a diet."

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