About The Whole Grains Council

The Whole Grains Council (WGC) is an Oldways' educational program helping consumers achieve better health by increasing their consumption of quick, easy, and delicious whole grains.

The WGC's many initiatives help individuals and families to find whole grain foods and to understand their health benefits; help the media to write accurate, compelling stories about whole grains; and help manufacturers to create a wide variety of appealing whole grain products.

The WGC was originated in 2003 by Oldways. The Whole Grain Stamp helps consumers quickly spot foods containing at least a half serving (8g) of whole grains.

Eating whole grains reduces our risk of strokes, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and a host of other illnesses. Now that these health benefits are known, it makes sense for all of us to eat more traditional whole grain foods - and to explore the wide variety of new whole grain products that have recently appeared in markets.

What is a whole grain?
The definition of whole grains agreed upon by the WGC: "Whole grains or foods made from them contain all the essential parts and naturally occurring nutrients of the entire grain seed. If the grain has been processed (e.g., cracked, crushed, rolled, extruded, lightly pearled and/or cooked), the food product should deliver approximately the same rich balance of nutrients that are found in the original grain seed." The important point here is that a grain doesn’t have to be "whole" - intact - to be a "whole" grain, it just has to have all three parts (bran, germ and endosperm) still present in their original proportions. "Whole grain" means that all the parts of the grain (bran, germ and endosperm) are kept in the product. It's still considered a whole grain as long as none of the nutrients are removed by processing.


Consumer Resources for Whole Grains

• Intro to Whole Grains
• Whole Grain Health Benefits
• Educational Materials
• Whole Grain Recipes
• Whole Grain Books
• List of Whole Grain Products with our Stamp
• List of Restaurants with Whole Grain Options

• History and Accomplishments
• Member Directory
• How to Join