Our Whole Grain Hotline answers phone and email questions about whole grains every day, from across the country and around the world. Every once in a while a question comes along that we just have to share, because we suspect many of you out there may have the same thoughts running through your heads.

So here’s today’s question, from Melissa M., who emailed us saying,

Hello there! I have a question about the grams of whole grain. Is having a lot of whole grain bad for you? I had some Post Shredded Wheat Cereal and I didn’t realize that there are 49 grams of whole grain per serving! And I had two bowls that day LOL, one for breakfast and one for lunch, so about 98 grams of whole grain right there! I was just curious if this was waaaaay toooo much for any form of diet. Is there such a thing as too much whole grain?
Thank you, Melissa

Here’s what we answered Melissa:

No, there’s absolutely no “upper limit” for whole grain.

In fact, the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend making at least half your grains whole, then go on to say, “more whole grains, up to all the grains recommended, may be selected…” So if you’re a typical person who should eat 6 servings of grain each day, all 6 could be whole grain.

So how many grams is that? 16g is the amount of whole grain in a slice of 100% whole grain bread, and is the MINIMUM whole grain serving. Most “label servings” — the amount on the package label — count as two “MyPyramid” or “Dietary Guidelines” servings because of differences in the definition of serving between FDA and USDA (don’t get me started…)

Let’s say you adhere to the Dietary Guidelines and eat the following whole grain servings:

1 cup shredded wheat (breakfast) [49g, counts as two MyPyramid servings]
1 cup shredded wheat (lunch) [49g, counts as two MyPyramid servings]
a cup of whole grain pasta (dinner) [56g, counts as two MyPyramid servings]
154g whole grains total from 6 MyPyramid servings

Hope my math didn’t make things MORE confusing. You can ignore it all if you want and just be assured that more is better when it comes to whole grains.
Best regards, Cynthia

Two bowls of cereal and a cup of pasta by themselves wouldn’t be a very healthy diet. Of course Melissa will want to add plenty of fruits, vegetables, beans, and other good fresh, whole foods to the whole grains above. Since all those whole grains listed above only total up to 538 calories, she’s got plenty of leeway for all the other delicious whole foods her body needs.

100% whole grain cereals and pasta make a great base for a day’s meals. Note that Melissa’s not getting her whole grains from cookies and cakes, and kidding herself that she can eat as much of those as she wants. The bottom line? 48 grams of whole grain is the daily minimum, and just a starting point for good health. Melissa’s doing just fine. (Cindy)