Whole grain, fiber benefits are focus of Kellogg-sponsored symposium in Japan

Celeste Clark opened the Kellogg-sponsored "Grains, Fiber and Health" symposium with an address to the 300-plus attendees.

The bottom line on whole grains As a Kellogg retiree, you may occasionally get questions from friends, family or other acquaintances about various food and nutrition topics. How should you respond when asked about whole grains and fiber? • While whole grains are great, it's also important to look for products made with whole grain to provide fiber, too. That's because many of the health benefits from eating whole grains actually come from the fiber they contain. • We offer many products that provide both. A few examples of the many Kellogg products with whole grains and fiber are: All-Bran Yogurt Bites; All-Bran Complete Wheat Bran Flakes; Low Fat Granola with Raisins; Low Fat Granola without Raisins; Frosted Mini-Wheats; Mueslix; Kellogg's Raisin Bran and Raisin Bran Crunch; Kellogg's Frosted Flakes Gold; Wild Animal Crunch; Kellogg's Eggo Nutri-Grain Waffles; and Kellogg's Nutri-Grain Cereal Bars. Our Global Nutrition team has put together similar useful information on other key nutrition topics in a handy booklet entitled The Bottom Line for the Top Nutrition Topics. In addition to whole grains, it covers sugar, trans fat, sodium, natural and organic foods, allergens and much more. Although The Bottom Line was originally intended as a resource for our sales employees, it offers a wealth of valuable information for everyone with in our company. The KelloggsNutrition.com Internet site also is a great source for the latest nutrition information.

How important are whole grains to the human diet? And do the benefits of whole grains come primarily from the dietary fiber they contain or other components?

Those are two of the key questions addressed during a symposium on "Grains, Fiber and Health" that Kellogg sponsored Monday at the 15th International Congress of Dietetics in Yokohama, Japan.

More than 300 nutritionists, dietitians and public health experts attended the symposium, which explored the latest research on the health benefits associated with consuming more dietary fiber and whole grain in the diet. Symposium participants also examined definitions of whole grain and fiber grain content in food, as well as the need for alignment among regulatory bodies to guide the food industry seeking to innovate foods for consumers.

The event was hosted by our own Celeste Clark, Senior Vice President, Global Nutrition, Corporate Affairs and Chief Sustainability Officer.

"Scientific evidence has confirmed the benefits of whole grains are related to increased dietary fiber intake," Celeste said in her introductory remarks. "While emerging data indicates that there are other component parts that also provide health benefits, such as antioxidants and phenols, we recommend that any definition or guidance on whole grain should take into account fiber nutrition."

Celeste pointed to studies that indicate cereal fiber and whole grains have positive effects on chronic diseases like coronary heart disease and type II diabetes. Several other studies have tried to separate the effect of cereal fiber and whole grains but found that both cereal fiber and whole grains are important in achieving a beneficial effect.

Celeste's opening remarks were followed by presentations from Chris Seal, a professor of food and human nutrition at the United Kingdom's Newcastle University as well as Dr. Michael McBurney, a professor of nutrition and food science at Texas A&M University. In addition, the event featured a guided discussion on the benefits fiber and whole grain.

"Whole grains contain many beneficial nutrients such as dietary fiber, antioxidants, vitamins and minerals, which appear to work together to have positive effects on risk factors for diseases such as high blood pressure and raised blood lipids," Seal told the audience.

McBurney concluded that "it is unclear how much of the observed health benefits of eating whole grain foods is due to the various components in the grain."

Most studies showing beneficial effects include foods that contain cereal bran or dietary fiber, but may not be considered whole grains based on the current U.S. Food and Drug Administration definition, as they do not contain all of the grain fractions – the endosperm, the germ and the bran.

McBurney reviewed the science on dietary fiber and showed that health benefits from high fiber intakes were similar or in some cases superior to those for the whole grain studies.

"It appears that both whole grains and dietary fiber are important," McBurney said. "Any whole grain definition should include high-fiber cereal brans."

Along with Celeste, also attending from Kellogg were Reg Fletcher, Nutrition Affairs Director, Europe, who served as a symposium panelist, as well as Julie Howden, Nutrition and Regulatory Affairs Consultant, Asia, and Rumi Ide, Manager, Public Relations/Nutrition, Japan.

Held every four years, the International Congress of Dietetics serves as a global forum for exploring approaches to new solutions for key food and nutrition issues, based on sound scientific evidence. Nearly 4,000 people from 57 countries are attending this year's ICD, which concludes tomorrow.

The ICD is sponsored by the International Confederation of Dietetic Associations.

Celeste Clark – pictured in the back row, third from left – is joined at the 15th International Congress of Dietetics by, from left, (back) Michael McBurney; Christopher Seal; Julie Howden; Reg Fletcher; Kazuhiko Yamada of Japan's National Institute of Health and Nutrition, a "Grains, Fiber and Health" symposium participant; (front) Becky McBurney, Michael's wife; Masako Hashimoto, formerly of Kellogg Japan; JuWon Lee of Kellogg Korea; Purvi Varma of Kellogg India; Madhav Trivedi of Kellogg India; Rumi Ide of Kellogg Japan; and Yuko Yamaguchi from Kellogg Japan's public relations agency.