Who Knew Coloured Wheat Was So Good For You!

Jul 12, 2012

Coloured Wheat Research Spurs Healthy Food Choices

A colourful wheat research initiative between Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) and the University of Saskatchewan are working on capturing the potential for purple or blue wheat as a natural food colouring and an antioxidant source. The hope is that the research could lead to more available market choices for Canadian farmers and food processors.

Research priorities have changed and until now most government research has focused on fruits and vegetables and now governments and researchers alike are paying more attention to coloured grain as a functional food source. Coloured grain is classified as modified food that has a potential to provide additional health benefits beyond the traditional nutrients wheat would normally contain.

Purple or blue wheat is even more abundant in vitamins compared to red cabbage and plums. Foods that are high in pigments have very strong antioxidant levels. Antioxidants are rich in vitamins including E and C and help reduce the risk of developing chronic diseases such as cancer, heart disease and diabetes.

One of the leading research scientists on the project Dr. Elsayed Abdelaal based out of the Guelph Food Research Centre has been instrumental in developing a process to separate the anthocyanin pigments from the wheat. This process is pivotal in order for it to be utilized to make colourful foods, cosmetic products and provide an excellent source for antioxidants in food products.

This research is important because there is a high demand for anthocyanin-rich foods as more consumers wish to lead healthier lifestyles. The research is one way to provide consumers with healthy food choices.

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.