Farro (emmer wheat) and spelt are not the same thing, as this New York Times essay amusingly points out. While farro cooks like pasta, high-protein spelt needs waaaay more time and love to become edible. So what is spelt, that oft-mocked hippie grain, good for? Apparently those brick-like 1970s "health loves" have gone the way of the Earth Shoe, and the new generation of spelt bread is like wheat bread but with a tougher crust. And spelt flour can be made to make genuinely edible pancakes, pizza dough, pasta and crackers as well. Plus, for those of you concerned with organic foods, spelt is easier to grow without pesticides. The essay includes recipes for spelt-flour crackers, and mushroom farro (no, you can't substitute spelt).

Critics of this particular study say that the fact that whole grains came from cereal, as opposed to from some other source, has nothing to do with the results. The whole grains could have come from any source and as long as the same serving sizes was reached, the results should be the same. The benefit in associating the results with cereals is that it is relative easy to find healthy cereals that meet the minimum standards set by the study. Additionally,because people often skip breakfast (or don't have whole grains with it), eating cereals adds extra servings of whole grains above and beyond what they would normally eat throughout the day.

Chocolate cereals that are designed to appeal to adults - to women, specifically - rather than to children are one of the hottest new trends in the breakfast industry. Chocolate Oat Crunch Life is the first one out of the starting gate and is already available in stores. The cereal is regular, whole grain Life cereal that has had chocolate granola pieces added to it. It is touted as being low fat, high in fiber and as a generally healthy (2.5 grams fat, 190 calories per 1-cup serving), yet indulgent, breakfast option.

After trying a box, I think I would pass on this as breakfast food.

By now, just about everyone knows that whole grains are good for you and the simple advice to switch to whole wheat bread and substitute brown rice for white is only going to bring in grains in a very limited way. Whole Grains Every Day, Every Way is a cookbook that is also a complete, detailed guide to different types of grains. It covers fairly common ones, like barley and polenta, as well as more unusual grains, such as quinoa and amaranth.

The book has a tremendous amount of well-researched reference material in it that is intended to make the book instructive, a reference guide in addition to a regular cookbook - and one that you can turn to again and again for clarity on cooking methods and the properties of various grains, regardless of what cookbook you are using. The recipes themselves are very varied, with meat dishes, vegetarian dishes and plenty of desserts. Some are simple and others more complex, but thanks to the clarity given in the book's tables and descriptions, all are easy to make. Highlights include Quinoa and Calamari Salad, Popcorn Crusted Catfish, Posole with Pork and Chipotle, Bulgur Pudding with Honey and Dates, Coconut–Black Rice Pudding and Chocolate Chip-Hazelnut Cookies.

"Currently there is neither a regulatory definition of the term 'gluten free,' nor is there agreement among manufacturers or consumers as to what this term means," said the FDA. Their new rules state that "gluten free" foods must not have any type of wheat, rye or barley, including hybrid grains that use them. They allow for the use of such grains if the gluten is completely removed before processing, however. The terms that will be imposed on those who violate the new guidelines, assuming that they are accepted, has yet to be determined. The FDA will take comments on the proposal (PDF) for several weeks before revising it and making their final ruling.

Whole grains and baked goods? Where can we sign up? At this point, any regular reader of Slashfood is aware that it's good to eat whole grains and that, despite that fact, most people don't get enough of them. As I like to bake, I can definitely say that baked goods might be part of the problem. Most recipes - and definitely most of the good ones - don't call for whole grain flours. You can substitute, of course, but the result isn't quite the same. King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking is a book full of recipes - over 500 pages of them - for baked goods that are designed specifically for working with whole grain flours.

The book has plenty of tips, step-by-step guides and other useful tidbits that make other books from King Arthur worth reading and make it easy to transition to whole grain baking. Many of the recipes use a combination of whole grain and white flours because the blends make sure that you get the best possible textures while still incorporating grains. The recipes include 100% whole wheat pie crust, cakes, tarts, pastries, cookies and a variety of savory dishes, as well.

We already got some advice on which white breads were the best tasting (although you can always opt for homemade if you want to avoid store-bought entirely) but what about whole grain breads? There are so many different varieties to choose from, it's actually quite a feat to narrow down your criteria to the point where you can compare similar breads. One glance at the shelf in the grocery store shows whole wheat, honey wheat, oat bran, oat nut, multi-grain, 8-grain and dozens of other "whole grain" breads. Rather than trying to work out which might be the best, Food & Wine magazine picked out a few of their favorite whole grain products as a jumping off point, a benchmark that you can work from to find your own favorites. They selected De Cecco Whole wheat pasta, Pepperidge Farm Natural Pepperidge Farm whole wheat bread and Keebler Wheatables.

It's worth noting that the Pepperidge Farm bread did well in the white bread tasting, too, but I would choose Kashi's Tasty Little Crackers over F&W's choice of Wheatables for a whole-grain snack any day.

I know that there were more than a few people who found the labels "good source of whole grains" and "excellent source of whole gains" to be confusing and that the FDA has been working on developing a better definition of the term for some time now. The FDA has worked out a new system of classification based on the number of grams of whole grains in a food and has eliminated any good/excellent designations. The new labels are an eye-catching black and gold and clearly state the number of grams of whole grains per serving, as well as the recommended daily amount of 48grams, as suggested by MyPyramid. This eliminates any guess work - though it does call for a little bit of math - on the part of the consumer.

Products must be authorized to use the stamp, getting approval from the FDA or the UDSA, depending on what type of food the item is, since the two groups regulate different commodities. The USDA covers meat, dairy and eggs and the stamp is approved for use on those products, as well as the grains and other foods that the FDA regulates, if they contain whole grains.

So far, more than 800 products are approved. You can see a full list here or, of course, keep an eye out for the labels while you shop.

The recommended daily guidelines for Americans suggest that at least half of all the grains consumed during the day be whole grains, which comes out to be 3 -5 servings daily. Aside from whole grain breads, like those made from whole wheat flour instead of wheat flour, there are quite a few other foods that will let you get those servings in. The ten most popular sources of whole grains are whole wheat (flour), whole oats/oatmeal, whole-grain corn, popcorn, brown rice, whole rye, whole-grain barley, wild rice, buckwheat and triticale, and as they are the most popular, they are also the most readily available.

Oatmeal, corn, popcorn and both brown and wild rice are easy enough to add into your weekly diet, and barley can stand in for rice or potatoes at many meals. Rye and buckwheat can be found in many breads, most of which will make superb sandwiches during the week. To add them in at home, you can try buckwheat pancakes or a blueberry buckwheat bundt cake. Triticale is a hybrid of rye and wheat, found mostly at health food stores, and can also be incorporated into many recipes.

A great source for some whole-grain recipes online is Bob's Red Mill website, which covers recipes for all of the top 10 grains.

Over the past several months, we have seen that red wine and grapefruit are both good for your gums (a guy who lost most of his teeth says that peanut milk is good, too, but you'll have to take his word for that one) and can potentially help fight or prevent gum disease. Now, it looks like a diet rich in whole grains could also reduce the risk of developing periodontitis.

In a study done by researchers at McMaster University in Ontario, Canada, 34,000 men, aged 40-75, had their eating habits followed via survey for fourteen years. None had a history of periodontitis, heart attack, high cholesterol or diabetes at the start of the study. 5.5% of the men developed periodontitis (gum disease), but the men who reported that they ate at least three servings a day of brown rice, popcorn and other whole grains were significantly less likely to get the disease that the men who reported eating one or fewer servings of whole grains.

Well, if you didn't already know, now you know: barley is good for you. But just in case you forget, the FDA has confirmed that food manufacturers may now state the claim that whole grain barley is linked to a reduced risk of coronary heart disease on their products. Obviously, the news here isn't that we've suddenly found out that barley is heart-healthy. The news is that food products that provide at least 0.75 grams of soluble fiber per serving can use the health claim in their marketing.

Regardless of how exciting this may be for the food marketers, it's still a reminder that including grains like barley in our diets, especially in their "whole" form, is alwaysa good idea. Just remember, the barley in beer is not considered "healthy" in this case.