With the popularity of diets like South Beach and the changes to the USDA dietary requirements and food pyramid, many people are now aware of the importance of including whole grains in the diet. Your mother always told you wheat bread was good for you!

But what exactly is a whole grain? What does it do for you? Where can you find it? These are common and important questions that I will attempt to explain.

Whole Grains, explained.

The new USDA food pyramid looks more like those prism-color pictures you studied in high school physics (www.mypyramid.gov). Really, it is much more the food prism than the food pyramid; all the food you eat explained in rays of color. On the new pyramid, grains are the orange stripe all the way on the left. It’s a fairly big stripe, so people assume it must be important, and it is very important.

The orange stripe of grain encompasses both whole and refined grains. Unlike the food pyramid we all had to color and fill out in elementary school, the prism makes a distinction between whole and refined grains. The government says a whole grain has “the entire grain kernel—the bran, germ, and endosperm.” Endosperm! Gross! You say? Not at all.

You may recall at some point during your public education that your teacher showed a picture of a dissected kernel of corn. Remember? Probably you were required to color the corresponding parts with a certain shade of crayon.

Anyhow, the “bran” is the outer layer (skin) of the kernel. It’s very tough to protect the delicate parts underneath. The bran is where the fiber is found. Next comes the “endosperm.” (Yes, the endosperm) The endosperm is the spongy part of the kernel that is the seed’s “food.” If it were to grow into another plant, this is the part the little seed would feed off until its root system begins supplying nutrients. This part of the grain provides the carbohydrates and some protein and vitamins. Finally, you have the “germ.” No the government is not suggesting you consume bacteria; the germ is the part of the kernel that, if fertilized, would sprout into a new plant. It usually has some vitamins, protein, and healthy fats.