If you’re one of the newly-converted health-conscious people and are stuck at a difficult pantry choice, the internet is here to help you. If your current dilemma is specifically whether multi-grain is better than whole-grain (or vice-versa), you’ve come to the right place.

Of course you already know that white bread is totally empty of nutritional benefits and is in fact a liability if it’s in your diet. So you were looking for a replacement and stumbled across two possible options: multi-grain bread and whole-grain bread (or perhaps biscuits). Now you’re stuck, and this is completely understandable. How do you choose between the benefits of one wholesome grain and those of multiple grains? To make a good decision, you first need to know clearly the meaning and components of both these varieties.

Whole-grain

Whole-grain, as the name rightly indicates, means that the entire grain is present as it is. For example, whole wheat refers to the whole wheat grain, including the bran (the hard outer shell), the endosperm (the middle layer) and the germ (the inner layer), which hasn’t undergone any refinement or processing.

Multi-grain

Multi-grain, on the other hand, simply refers to a food that contains more than one type of grain – this number could be two or seven or more. They can include wheat, barley, flax, oats, millet, buckwheat, cornmeal, etc. However, this does not ensure that all these grains are present in their whole forms. They could be refined or processed. If you’re going for the multi-grain variety, check to see whether the label says that the grains are 100 percent whole.

Which is better?

As you may have guessed by now, the benefits of whole-grain far outweigh those of multi-grain. For starters, there is no fixed list or ratio of grains that are covered by the term ‘multi-grain’. Multi-grain bread may contain various types of grains but may still be made primarily from white flour, unless the label specifies otherwise. These grains are not necessarily whole. They are stripped of their natural nutrients and fibre.

On the contrary, whole-grains, such as whole wheat or whole oats, are allowed to retain their nutrient and fibre content as well as other healthy plant compounds that they naturally contain. They are also good sources of several B vitamins and minerals such as iron, zinc, copper, magnesium, manganese, etc. They contain good amounts of protein, antioxidants and omega-3 fatty acids as well.

Some benefits of eating whole-grain include lowered risk of stroke, asthma, colorectal cancer, and heart disease. The fibre helps support healthy digestion and sometimes acts as a prebiotic (good bacteria in the gut). Whole-grain also reduces chronic inflammation and risk of obesity.

Make sure that you check twice if the label says 100% whole-grain before buying the product. Even if you’re going for the multi-grain option, pick a product that has multiple whole-grains in it. Another label to add to the health list would be the 100% organic certification, which will up your healthy eating standards by a few notches. The chemical-free nature of organic food will beautifully complement the wholesomeness of the whole-grain. There is no scope for confusion with this choice – organic food is always a clear winner! For a wholesome range of 100% organic products, you can visit 24 Mantra’s website here: https://www.24mantra.com/