Sorry all you white bread lovers, but wheat wins by a big margin. Wheat and white start out the same. Both begin with flour that is made from wheat berries. Wheat berry has three very nutritous parts: the bran(the outer shell), the germ (the inner shell), and the endosperm (the starchy part in between the two). Wheat bread uses all three which makes whole wheat much higher in fiber, vitamins and minerals. White bread only uses the endosperm. The flour is stripped of the bran and germ through a process called milling. This is done to give the bread a longer shelf life and make it easier for companies to ship anywhere while making it less suceptable to bugs. Bugs don't like it because of the lack of nutrients. They simply cannot sustain life from it. Then the flour is bleached with postassuim bromate or chlorine dioxide gas to give it the white color, and make it look fresh when it arrives at a destination no matter how long ago it was baked. Refining the flour (milling and bleaching) is not done to make the bread healthier, and it is a waste of engery. In fact this greatly reduces the bread's nutrtional value. The process only benefits the needs of the company.
Switching to to whole wheat bread can reduce your risk of heart disease and stroke. The fiber in whole wheat aids in digestion. It will also help you lose or maintain weight because fiber helps you feel full.
Don't be fooled by labels that say multi gran or nutrient enriched. The flour still goes go through refining and then only a small amount of its nutrition is added back. By law a company only has to add back 5 of the 30 vitamins and minerals lost during refining. You would have to eat more than 6 slices of multi grain/nutrient enriched vs 1 slice of wheat bread to make up for all the nutrients lost.
Remember to always read the labels!
Written by Joann Agoglia
Edited by Robert Marshall
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