Question about whole wheat vs. white bread

[Kitara]

Why is whole wheat bread better for you?

Everyone in my family eats whole wheat bread so I've never thought about this question. I mean, it's just inherent. Which is better for you whole wheat or white? Most people will say wheat, but today while I was at the grocery store I though of looking at the nutritional values of white bread. I saw plain 'ol Wonder sandwich bread.

Calories - 60
Fat 1g
Sat fat 0g
sodium 140mg
carbs 12g
fiber 1g
sugar 1g
protein 2g
vit a&c 0%
calcium 2%
iron 4%
Thiamine 8%
Riboflavin 4%
Niacin 6%
Folate 6%

So, then I came home and looked at my whole wheat bread and the values were exactly the same with the exception of Carbs (16g), sugar (2g), protein (3g), Thiamin (8%), Niacin (10%), and folic acid (8%), (and obviously calories are higher (80) it made me stop and wonder.

[GraemeK]

White bread is bleached and all the goodness taken out to make it look clean!!!

G

[goloid]

yes

white bread and white rice are the devil

[HowHigh]

Are you sure it was WHOLE wheat bread? Wheat bread is just white bread in disguise. Make sure to get a whole wheat or multi-grain bread.

I usually shoot for a bread with 3-4g of fiber or more per slice.

[sac1973]

Originally posted by goloid
yes

white bread and white rice are the devil

that is funny

if your bread says enriched or bleached trash it.

[cursor]

A couple of things quickly come to mind.
² Is your bread labelled whole wheat, or just wheat?
² Are the serving sizes the same (look at the number of grams per serving, not the number of slices)?
² What are the specific bread types (I'd personally like to look them up)

Breads (just like everything else) vary so much in their included ingredients ... and in the quality of those ingredients.

Referencing the USDA Nutritional Database, there are unique values provided for all of the following "wheat" flour types:
² Wheat flour, white, all-purpose, enriched, bleached
² Wheat flour, white, all-purpose, enriched, calcium-fortified
² Wheat flour, white, all-purpose, enriched, unbleached
² Wheat flour, white, all-purpose, self-rising, enriched
² Wheat flour, white, all-purpose, unenriched
² Wheat flour, white, bread, enriched
² Wheat flour, white, cake, enriched
² Wheat flour, white, tortilla mix, enriched
² Wheat flour, whole-grain

Looking at the first (the most refined) and the last (the least refined) flour types (for 1 cup measurement):
13p 95c 01f [03 fiber] – Wheat flour, white, all-purpose, enriched, bleached
16p 87c 02f [15 fiber] – Wheat flour, whole-grain

The difference in fiber is clear.

c o m p a r e
02p 12c 01f [01 fiber] – Wonder (white) bread (Kitara's ref)
03p 16c 01f [01 fiber] – Wheat bread (Kitara's ref)
03p 23c 00f [03 fiber] – Great Harvest (honey whole wheat), 50g
05p 20c 04f [05 fiber] – cursor oat+wheat, 51g

I use 100% hard red winter wheat (Lehi Mill). Only 9.5% of the fat in my bread is saturated—the rest comes from the oats, canola oil, and flax seeds. All bread is not created equal.

[scott1968s]

I understand Whole Wheat is better for you. White bread is starchy and considered empty calories. Remember colors are your friends.

Examples:

100% Whole Wheat bread vs. white bread
Sweet Potatoes vs. Your Basic Idaho Potatoes
Brown Rice Vs. White rice.

[cursor]

It's not the fact that bread is starchy that makes it less healthy. As a matter of fact, complex carbohydrates (the type of carb that should comprise a great deal of our diet) are primarily starches. They're large chains of glucose molecules. Major sources of complex carbohydrates include grains (such as bread, rice, and pasta) and vegetables such as potatoes and beans. It's their added length or complex structure that makes them ideal as a reliable, moderate, steady-flow source of fuel for our bodies.

[4banger]

I guess the major difference between whole wheat or multi-grain bread and white bread would be the time it takes to digest it and how much it raises your blood sugar, white bread will digest much faster and will spike your insuline levels, whole wheat bread has longer carb molecules so it'll take longer to be converted into blood sugar so more of it will be used for energy instead of fat storage...
It also has more fibers and nutrients than white bread.

[bsenka]

4banger has it pegged. White flour is the same thing as sugar as far as your body is concerned. Anything made out of white flour is simply junk food.

Another prime concern is that manufacturers are allowed to call products "whole wheat" when they are not. Once the hull of the wheat berry is cracked, the germ will go rancid very quickly. Most of the vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals are in the germ. Refrigerating all the flour at a commercial bakery is usually not feasible, so most of them remove the germ from the seed, grind up the rest, and call that "whole wheat". Very few breads are actually made out of whole grain wheat, even when they say they are. Even buying "whole wheat" flour to bake your own bread might not help you either. If the flour is on the store shelves, unrefrigerated, then it is NOT whole wheat flour no matter what the package says. The only way to be sure, is to grind your own flour from whole wheat berries.

http://www.drmirkin.com/nutrition/n193.html

[Hazukidojo]

I like the taste of wheat bread better anyway! It just tastes like a big slice of mother natures ass!!

[Kitara]

Originally posted by HowHigh
Are you sure it was WHOLE wheat bread? Wheat bread is just white bread in disguise. Make sure to get a whole wheat or multi-grain bread.

I usually shoot for a bread with 3-4g of fiber or more per slice.

Yes - it says 7 whole grain wheat. But - I have limited options here so it's the best I can get.

if your bread says enriched or bleached trash it.

Damn - and the first ingredient is "enriched wheat flour".

What are the specific bread types (I'd personally like to look them up)

The one we eat at home says "7 whole grain" and it's made by Country Hearth. The white bread was Wonder, but we don't eat that kind. Serving sizes were the same; 1 slice.

OK - SO BOTTOM LINE ME HERE PLEASE.

This is the BEST bread I can get at the commissary. Off base all they have is white bread. I have NEVER seen Japanese wheat bread anywhere. Soooo, considering I only eat maybe one or two slices a day (sometimes none) is it acceptable for me to continue eating this bread?

[4banger]

As long as you don't eat too much it's fine, you may want to add a slice of cheese or some nuts with that so it'll slow down digestion a bit, but I wouldn't worry about it.

[Kitara]

Originally posted by 4banger
As long as you don't eat too much it's fine, you may want to add a slice of cheese or some nuts with that so it'll slow down digestion a bit, but I wouldn't worry about it.

OK - I'll add a little peanut butter and jelly. That should be good right . (yes, kidding)

[cursor]

bottom line: It should be just fine. Actually, by adding quality peanut butter you will be supplying your body with a great balance of amino acids that equate to the quality of protein that you might get from any animal product (legumes + grains). Again, moderation is the key.