It occurred to me whilst reading some replies to questions recently, that some people are being misled by ‘health’ claims.
I saw a film recently that summed it up well; foods that are being sold as whole-grain are associated with being wholesome or even whole-foods. This is obviously not the case; think of the processing grains and oils have to undergo to make them edible. You wouldn’t eat them as they grow in the field would you?
My understanding is that whole grain foods may be processed but the end product retains all the constituent parts : a tough, fibrous outer layer called bran; the interior containing mostly the starchy endosperm (is job is to provide stored energy for the germ, the seed's reproductive kernel, which nestles inside the endosperm); the germ, which is rich in vitamins, minerals, and unsaturated oils.
Refined foods do not use all these three parts and therefore are not as good for us.
That's an excellent demonstration of promoting the 'health' aspects YvonneD. Bran is known to inhibit vitamin and mineral absorption, so they may be in the germ (although not as richly as in fruit and vegetables) but the benefit is overstated. The fibre in grains and cereals is often coarse and harmful to our digestive system, and the unsaturated oils tend to be high in omega-6, which skews the omega-6:omega-3 ratio in a detrimental way. The western diet tends to be too high in omega-6 and too low in omega-3.
The mummified remains of the ancient Egyptians illustrate the potential detriment of a high whole-grain diet.