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in the developing world, wheat can play a
huge role in the fight against malnutrition
and hunger. Wheat has not been considered
as a healthy grain so much as a staple food.
Wheat is unique as it can be both.
GW
: What about the gluten?
Ames:
If people have Celiac disease or are
sensitive to gluten, they need to avoid it.
However, for the majority of people, there is
no scientific evidence showing a nutritional
advantage in removing gluten from the diet.
What many people don’t know is that gluten
is protein, and people need protein as part
of a complete diet. Sound, scientific messag-
ing needs to be distributed to consumers
so they can understand the whole story
around gluten.
GW
: How have you been involved with
grain health claims?
Ames:
I was involved in researching and
preparing a petition for a therapeutic health
claim—“barley beta-glucan soluble fibre and
reduction of blood cholesterol, a risk factor
for cardiovascular disease”—that was ap-
proved by Health Canada in 2012. Now we
are starting to see more interest from indus-
try in using barley for food. There are also
new opportunities to use health claims. We
continue to research barley health benefits
because we see additional effects that are
not [already] validated by the claim, like the
potential effects on glycemic response and
the potential for use with diabetes patients.
GW
: How do these health benefits affect
farmers?
Ames:
Consumer demand for nutritious
and health-promoting food products is
an important factor in today’s agri-food
processing industry. Growing high-qual-
ity cereal grains that will impart improved
nutritional properties to the end products
represents an opportunity to strengthen
demand for Canadian grains and expand
into new, value-added markets.
GW
: Do you think there will be a health
claim for wheat in the future?
Ames:
The soluble fibre component in
wheat meets a health claim in Europe, so
it’s not out of the realm of possibility. There
was a whole-grain health claim proposed
in Canada, but it was not accepted. There
needs to be more work on this.
GW
: Why do you think the science com-
munity has been so quiet, relative to the
wheat naysayers?
Ames:
The science community is focused
on providing factual evidence from sound
research studies, and does not customarily
critique articles found in the popular press.
In fact, there is often no venue for scientists
to respond to apparent market trends that
may not be based on science or healthy
choices for consumers.
Perhaps the best approach the scientific
community can take is to increase efforts to
transfer science-based findings into consum-
er-friendly messages. Validating food-based
nutrient and health claims and educating
consumers are important functions of
the scientific community in this age of
health-conscious consumers.
GW
: Why is it important for the public
research sector in Canada to get involved
with whole-grain research and
promotion?
Ames:
Part of the role of public research is
to support the development of value-added
agricultural products that will be competi-
tive and profitable in the marketplace for
our Canadian producers and processors.
As well, it promotes the production of
agriculture products that will improve
the health and wellness of Canadian
consumers. Research and promotion of
whole grains and their products would help
achieve these outcomes.
GW
: Do you see nutrition as something
that will ever be included in the variety
registration process?
Ames:
Currently, nutritional constituents
are not considered as quality factors in
varietal registration of wheat, but they are
considered in registering oat and food barley
varieties. Part of the reason for this is that
the industrial users of oats and barley are
motivated to meet the requirements of the
U.S. and Canadian health claims.
A health claim for wheat, or increased
demand for whole grains by industrial
processors and consumers, may result in
nutritional traits being considered in variety
registration.
Winter
2014
Grains
West
20