“Ancient Grains” Like Quinoa Are More Fashionable Than Wheat, but Not Healthier
The Ancient Seeds have been officially mainstream since January this year with their own version of Cheerios . Varieties such as quinoa, spelled and teff are popping up more and more, always with a hint that they are healthier than boring old wheat or corn.
Marketing ancient grains is a masterclass that you can’t say for sure: the labels don’t say the foods are better for your health. As with other fashionable terms , there is some truth in the subtext. We are told that ancient grains contain fiber. They have protein! They are whole grains! This is all true, but not more about ancient grains than about their modern counterparts. Foods made from ancient cereals are sold in beige boxes with green accents, which somehow became an abbreviation for “this is healthy, natural, possibly organic food.”
But none of this makes ancient grains healthier than the wheat (or corn, or rice) they replace. Take Cheerios made from ancient grains: Compared to the original Cheerios based on oats, the version made from old grains contains the same amount of protein (3 grams per serving) and less fiber (2 grams instead of 3). It is also “slightly sweetened” with 5 grams of sugar instead of one gram in the original. From a purely nutritional point of view, you are better off buying regular Cheerios.
Ancient grains are delicious and nutritious. I love farro salad and would not dream of eating Ethiopian cuisine without teff-based tortillas. But it’s time to admit the marketing bluff: an exotic name, a beige box, and a premium price tag don’t make the product more useful.
Meet the ancient grains
“Ancient” grains got their name because their selection was not as selective as that of modern mainstream crops. The teff grain grown today is more similar to its wild ancestors than the grain of modern wheat in theeinkorn and spelled it comes from .
Ancient grains are also simply less popular and therefore have a more exotic flavor than more common grains. Corn, rice and wheat make up the majority of the world’s grain production , and Contains Corn! just not very catchy these days.
Some of the ancient grains are varieties of wheat, making them ” cereals ” like their main cousins. (Rice and corn are also considered cereals, or in other words, the grains that we think of when we think of grains.) Others, such as quinoa, are considered pseudo-grains – they look and taste like cereal grains, but they really are not this way “. t part of the family of cereals . For some reason, this is an important point that is mentioned in all articles about quinoa and its pseudo-grain buddies. If you ever meet someone who cares deeply about this, I recommend that you wow him by letting him know that quinoa and wheat are fruits , just like a tomato.
Here are some of the fruits that are considered “ancient grains”.
- Amaranth : Domesticated by the Aztecs about 8000 years ago.
- Farro (also known as Emmer): An ancestor of modern wheat, domesticated in the Fertile Crescent also around 8,000 years ago. The name Farro refers to the version grown in Italy.
- Freekeh : roasted green wheat. In such lists, it is often combined with ancient grains, but in fact it is the same species as modern wheat.
- Kamut : commercial grade of Khorasan wheat, a relative of modern wheat.
- Millet : Cultivated in China, it is now also widely grown in India and several African countries, including Nigeria.
- Quinoa : First grown at least 3,000 years ago in South America, it is now so popular in the US that it is causing major economic changes for Bolivian growers ( some good, some bad ).
- Spelled : Another relative of the Fertile Crescent wheat, grown in Europe during the Middle Ages.
- Teff : An herb with tiny seeds, domesticated and still cultivated in Ethiopia, where it is used to make injera bread , which you will recognize if you have ever been to an Ethiopian restaurant.
In terms of nutritional value, these grains are similar to wheat. In terms of protein content, for example, in 100 grams of raw grain from 11 grams (millet) to 15 grams (kamut). Modern wheat has 13 amino acids. The amino acid balance in quinoa makes it a “high quality” protein, but this is mistakenly confused with a lot of protein . Quinoa contains more than rice, but about the same as wheat.
While each grain has a slightly different nutritional profile – teff is rich in calcium, for example – none are much better than wheat, they are just different. They are all very similar to each other and differ more in price and availability than in nutritional value. It seems likely that one of their main marketing benefits is simply that they are not wheat.
What’s wrong with wheat?
Wheat is frowned upon in some quarters. Mark Sisson argues that modern wheat contains less selenium than ancient grains, and that it contains more of the supposedly harmful gluten component. Dr. William Davis, author of Wheat Belly , calls modern wheat “the ideal chronic poison” and blames a gluten component called gliadin.
But these claims do not hold water. You are unlikely to have a selenium deficiency, which is extremely rare , whether you eat wheat or not. There has been no significant increase in gluten in modern wheat, and Dr. Davis’s wilder claims (such as that gliadin triggers opioid receptors) are not credible .
Avoiding wheat makes sense if you have celiac disease or feel that gluten-containing foods are not right for you. Sensitivity to gluten is not associated with gluten is controversial , but only on its reason – maybe it’s gluten-free, maybe it fodmap . The symptoms are real, and it is perfectly wise to avoid wheat if you are feeling better.
Farro, Kamut, and spelled are all close relatives of wheat, and they do contain gluten. (Other ancient grains, including quinoa, don’t.) If you avoid wheat because of its gluten content, avoid it as well.
A rare case of pure health halo
The people who make and sell packaged foods love to remind you of their healthier aspects in the hopes that you will be blinded by the “health halo” and overlooked their less angelic qualities. The marketing of ancient grains is unusual because the halo of health is implied without any specific health claims.
Take Cheerios + Ancient Grains. General Mills’ product announcement was just one sentence in a press release which mentioned that “Cheerios is the first company to bring ancient grains to the mainstream with cereals.” Here’s how their marketing manager explained the origin of the cereal to a New Yorker :
At General Mills, marketing research and taste tests by [marketing manager] Cunningham and colleagues showed that consumers were fascinated by the concept of ancient grains and were willing to pay more for products containing them. Cunningham said that while people often cannot accurately define ancient grains, they associate them with “simplicity” and “health.” … Cunningham noted that “there is no additional claim that it is healthier than any other cereal in the world,” and General Mills did not tell the press. He explained that the company simply wanted to capitalize on the trend towards using ancient grains and also improve the flavor of the cereal – hence the sugar.
Likewise, Kellogg’s describes its Origins line (cereals, muesli and muesli with ancient grains) with emotional buzzwords:
We started Kellogg’s Origins ™ with a simple mission to create wholesome, wholesome food that nourishes. Food that provides authentic and flavorful nutrition. Delightfully simple, real food.
This description applies to almost any food. Of course, they don’t think other foods, including foods like their own cornflakes, are fake, tasteless, deficient, and unsustainable.
Ancient grains are not only attracting a few grain companies. According to the Packaged Facts Research Group on Trends for Ancient Grains . In 2014, sales of quinoa were up 35% (they write, “Quinoa fatigue is not yet here”), but sales of Kamut are up 686%. Spelled, freekeh and amaranth also showed significant gains. Why? The group cites four reasons:
- opportunities for a quick breakfast and snacks,
- being a good source of vegetable protein,
- gives the impression of cleaner, shorter and simpler ingredient labels,
- and perhaps most importantly, supporting claims that foods are free of whole grains and gluten.
Get rid of claims about gluten and protein, as they are not unique to ancient grains and the trend is an empty halo of health: ancient grains “give the impression” that ingredient labels are shorter, but offer nothing unique in terms of nutrition.
While ancient grains are nothing special compared to grains like wheat, they can still be nutritious. Ancient grains are usually served with the bran and germ intact, which means they are whole grains. We already know that whole grains are rich in fiber, vitamins and minerals, so they are definitely worth looking up on labels . The Whole Grain Council, a nonprofit consumer advocacy group, endorses ancient grains, but notes that many cheaper foods, such as oatmeal and whole grain breads, “offer the same benefits of whole grains.”
Image via Slowfoodlife .
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