TABLE 1.
Percentages by food category of weekly servings of foods classed as WGs and RGs in most epidemiological studies1
| Percentage of weekly servings2 | Recommended staple (core) food | |
|---|---|---|
| WG food categories | ||
| Dark bread | 60.5 | Yes |
| WG ready-to-eat cereal | 17.6 | Yes |
| Popcorn | 13.4 | At times3 |
| Oatmeal | 6.8 | Yes |
| Wheat germ | 1.5 | Yes |
| Brown rice/rice mixes | 1.3 | Yes |
| Bran | 0.6 | Yes |
| Other4 | 0.3 | Yes |
| RG food categories | ||
| White bread and pita | 29.9 | Yes |
| Pasta | 5.0 | Yes |
| English muffins, bagels, rolls | 4.7 | Yes |
| RG breakfast cereal | 3.9 | Yes |
| White rice and mixes | 3.4 | Yes |
| Pizza crust | 2.5 | At times |
| Sweets/desserts | 45.2 | No |
| Muffins or biscuits | 3.2 | At times |
| Sweet rolls | 2.6 | No |
| Pancakes or waffles | 22.6 | At times |
| Crackers5 | Not included in initial study | At times |
1
RG, refined grain; WG, whole grain.
2
Percentages of weekly WG servings for WG foods; percentages of weekly RG servings for RG foods. Data are from the Iowa Women's Health Study (31, 32). Proportions of intakes from indulgent grains, RGs, and staple ones were similar in subsequent studies, such as references 33–37.
3
An “at times” designation suggests the food in question could be a recommended staple if prepared with little sugar or saturated or total fat.
4
Bulgur, kasha, couscous, barley.
5
All crackers were deemed as RG regardless of their WG content.