Ancient grains have been officially mainstream since January of this year, when they got their ownCheerios version.
Likeother trendy terms, theres a grain of truth behind the implication.
Ancient grains have fiber, were told.
They are whole grains!
Thats all true, but no more so of ancient grains than their modern counterparts.
Its also lightly sweetened with 5 grams of sugar instead of the single gram in the original.
From a purely nutritional standpoint, youre actually better off buying regular Cheerios.
Ancient grains are delicious and nutritious.
I enjoy farro salad and wouldnt dream of eating Ethiopian food without its teff-based flatbread.
just isnt very catchy these days.
Some of the ancient grains are varieties of wheat, making themcereal grains just like their mainstream cousins.
For some reason this is an important pointmentioned in all articles about quinoaand its pseudocereal buddies.
The name Farro applies to a version grown in Italy.
Freekeh: green wheat thats been roasted.
Kamut: a trademarked variety of khorasan wheat, a relative of modern wheat.
Millet: domesticated in China, now also commonly grown in India and several African countries including Nigeria.
Spelt: another wheat relative from the Fertile Crescent, this one grown in Europe through medieval times.
Nutritionally, these grains are similar to wheat.
Modern wheat has 13.
Quinoa has more than rice, but about the same amount as wheat.
Theyre all very similar foods, differing more in price and availability than in any nutritional detail.
It seems likely that one of their main marketing advantages is simply that they arent wheat.
Whats Wrong With Wheat?
But those claims dont stand up to scrutiny.
Youre not likely to haveselenium deficiency, which is extremely rare, whether you eat wheat or not.
The symptoms are real, and itstotally reasonable to avoid wheatif you feel better that way.
Farro, Kamut, and spelt are all close relatives of wheat and they do contain gluten.
(The other ancient grains, including quinoa, do not.)
If youre avoiding wheat for its gluten content, verify to avoid those too.
Marketing of ancient grains is unusual because the health halo is implied without any specific health claims.
Take Cheerios + Ancient Grains.
Food that provides nutrition thats authentic and flavorful.
Deliciously simple, real food.
Its a description that could apply to almost any food.
The appeal of ancient grains goes beyond a few cereal companies.
According to atrend report on ancient grains from market research group Packaged Facts.
Spelt, freekeh, and amaranth were also showing significant gains.
Although ancient grains are nothing special compared to grains like wheat, they can still be nutritious.
Ancient grains are typically served with theirbran and germintact, meaning they are whole grains.
