Ancient grains ?

I'm always a little skeptical of UK news reports regarding our friends over the pond because we like to portray them in unflattering ways if possible.



The BBC website is reporting that the U.S. is in the grip of a desire to eat more "ancient grains" because they are perceived to be more healthy. Quotes from the article include:

Quote:

"It's been a positive perfect storm for these ancient grains," says Cynthia Harriman, director of food and nutritional strategies at the non-profit organisation, the Whole Grain Council. "They fit with our desire to look for a super-food, a magic bullet we should be eating," she says.

Whether it's the grains themselves or merely the lack of processing is a good point:

Quote:

They are seen as more healthy, more natural and better for us, providing more vitamins, minerals, fibre and protein than modern wheat - partly because they are rarely eaten in processed form.

But fear-ye-not, General Mills are here to offer "ancient grains Cheerios", only one small fly in the ointment:

Quote:

It's a way to bring this product into the mainstream," Cunningham says. "Consumers may feel that the barrier to eating ancient grains is that they're not convenient, so we figured a way to deliver them in a bowl of cereal." But this will also mean including five times as much sugar as in the original Cheerios recipe - 5g of sugar per 28g serving, instead of just 1g

Personally I worry less about the age of my grains and instead try to ensure that as much as my food as possible is cooked form scratch from fresh or frozen ingredients.