Being tricked with "whole wheat bread"......the TRUTH!

Jeanine_Colavecchi

So I read in one of my books that when you buy multi grain or wheat bread....its NOT tuly whole grain...they trick you! This is suprising and teaches me to really read the label now. Below is a site that I saw that talks about it. Good info


http://www.cspinet.org/nah/bread.htm

Shopping for Grain

How can you tell if you're getting whole wheat bread? Look at the ingredients. "Whole wheat flour" should be the only flour listed. Not "wheat flour," "unbleached wheat flour," or "unbleached enriched wheat flour." Those are just sneaky ways of saying "refined white flour."

Too busy to squint at the tiny print? Look at the name. Any bread, roll, or bun with "whole wheat" as part of its name must be made with only whole wheat flour.



Breads with "Stone Ground Wheat," "Cracked Wheat," "Crushed Wheat," or "Wheat Berry" in their names may or may not be whole grain. Check the ingredients.

If you're a fan of multi grain breads, look for whole wheat flour or some other whole grain as the first or second flour listed.

Original Bran'nola, for example, has more refined white flour than any other grain. But just barely, thanks to all of its whole grain. Bran'nola is sold under the Arnold label in the East, as Brownberry in the Midwest, and as Oroweat in the West. Refined flour is also the first ingredient in Brownberry Natural Whole Bran. But the bread is almost half whole wheat and wheat bran.

A few caveats:


Don't be fooled by high-fiber "light" breads. They're all or mostly refined white flour. Yet two slices of some-Arnold Bakery Light Italian or Wonder Light Wheat, for example-contain five to six grams of fiber . . . more than two slices of most 100% whole wheat breads. What gives?
The "light" makers have probably added highly processed cottonseed, oat, or soy fiber. That means the breads may help prevent constipation, but they don't supply the nutrients and phytochemicals that come with the whole grain. "Light" breads have fewer calories (and less sodium) than regular breads, at least in part, because they're sliced thinner. (And the labels can subtract the calories in the added fiber, because it passes through the body unabsorbed.)
Check the serving size. What's a serving of bread? For most people, it's two slices. Yet many labels give calories, sodium, fiber, and other nutrition information for one slice. That's fine, as long as you double the numbers before you make your sandwich. That's what we've done in our chart.

Small Brands. Our chart lists mostly major brands available in large supermarkets. Many delicious whole grain breads that are sold in natural food stores would probably qualify for Best Bites. That includes breads from Alvarado St. Bakery, The Baker, Food for Life, French Meadow, Natural Ovens, Nature's Path, and Shiloh Farms.
If your favorite sandwich-maker isn't in the chart, use our Best Bite and Honorable Mention criteria to see how it stacks up.

Loaves at First Bite
Within each category, breads are listed from most fiber to least. The weight (in ounces) of two slices is in parenthesis following each name.
Bread (weight of 2 slices in ounces) Calories Sodium (mg) Fiber (g)
100% Whole Wheat

Rubschlager 100% Stone Ground Honey Whole Wheat (2)
140 270 5
Oroweat Light 100% Whole Wheat (1.5)
80 230 5
Arnold Stoneground 100% Whole Wheat (2)
120 230 4
Schmidt's Old Tyme 100% Whole Wheat (2)
120 260 4
Mrs. Wright's 100% Whole Wheat (2)
120 280 4
Grant's Farm 100% Whole Wheat (2)
140 300 4
Pepperidge Farm Natural Whole Grain 100% Stoneground Whole Wheat (2.5)
180 320 4
Earth Grains 100% Whole Wheat (1.5)
90 240 3
Wonder 100% Whole Wheat (1.5)
110 280 3
Pepperidge Farm 100% Whole Wheat Thin Sliced (2)
120 240 2
Wheat

Brownberry Bran'nola Hearty Wheat (2.5)
180 270 6
Oroweat Original Honey Wheat Berry (2.5)
120 340 4
Pepperidge Farm Very Thin Sliced Wheat (1)
70 150 3
Arnold Country Wheat (2.5)
180 340 2
Mixed Grain

Rubschlager European Style Whole Grain (2)
140 270 6
Rubschlager Sunflower Multi-Grain (2)
140 240 4
Pepperidge Farm Natural Whole Grain Crunchy Grains (2.5)
180 260 4
Nature's Cupboard Natural 10-Grain (2.5)
160 340 4
Pepperidge Farm Natural Whole Grain Nine Grain (2.5)
180 340 4
Brownberry Health Nut (2)
140 300 2
Pumpernickel & Rye

Rubschlager Danish Style Pumpernickel (2)
140 270 4
Rubschlager Westphalian Style Pumpernickel (2)
140 270 4

YukonJoy

Awesome! Thanks for this post. I buy President's Choice (Canadian?) Multigrain Flax Bread. I will check out the label when I get home now. It's tasty and crunchy though!

CraftyGirl4

A little refined white flour is included sometimes to help with the texture (from someone who works in food manufacturing)

debdptg

I love bread but I am always worried about eating it cuz the calories and carbs don't seem to outweigh (pun intended:laugh:) the benefit. I like the look of that Oroweat light, though. I will check it out. Thanks much!

sheroar50

very cool post....its true for sure..."whole grain" is only a standard they have to achieve according to government regulations..and we all know the government wants to keep us fat, happy and addicted to fast food, junk food, quick weightloss pills, and other medications you have to take after having such a poor diet....cholesteral, diabetes, high blood pressure, ulcers....etc....

eviltwinkie

MMM I like Ezekiel Cinnamon Raisin or Sesame best, followed by Dave's Killer Bread (the light seeded one.) The ezekiel is hearty. Wasn't so much sandwich bread for me, as 'special toast bread.' The sesame bread, toasted, was awesome with a black bean burger tho, in lieu of a bun.

saldridge

"whole wheat" != "whole grain" and basically doesn't indicate any health benefit.

"wheat flour" doesn't mean much, it still doesn't mean it is whole grain and neither does "multigrain"! Wheat is just a type of grain, like rye, barley, corn, spelt and multigrain just means it uses a variety.

Whole grain includes a lot of additional nutritional benefits that come from the hull/bran, the endosperm and the germ of the grain, like antioxidants, oils, vitamins and minerals.
Fiber also isn't directly related really, those are two different nutritional facts, ie. we should eat about 20 to 35 grams of fiber (depending who you are asking), but usually the recommendation for whole grains is higher, around 50 grams.
All those values are more flexible than vitamin values.

As for the light foods with lots of fiber, for example also the fiber one bars, from what I understand the ruling is still out. Added fiber is great, but added inulin fiber and other added substances are never as good as natural fiber like the bran of a grain, but they aren't really bad either.

crysofmyk

Make your own, and then there's no doubt about what kind of yummy goodness your bread contains. We started making our own about 6 months ago, and will never go back. Good place to start is a book called "artisan bread in 5 minutes a day". You make a base that stays in the fridge, you pull off what you need and bake the same day you eat it. NO KNEADING! Plus, when you buy your base ingredients at a whole foods (or similar market) you know you're getting healthy organic whole wheat flour. Takes a while to figure out which flours make the consistency you like in a bread but it's worth it in the end.

Jeanine_Colavecchi

"whole wheat" != "whole grain" and basically doesn't indicate any health benefit.

"wheat flour" doesn't mean much, it still doesn't mean it is whole grain and neither does "multigrain"! Wheat is just a type of grain, like rye, barley, corn, spelt and multigrain just means it uses a variety.

Whole grain includes a lot of additional nutritional benefits that come from the hull/bran, the endosperm and the germ of the grain, like antioxidants, oils, vitamins and minerals.
Fiber also isn't directly related really, those are two different nutritional facts, ie. we should eat about 20 to 35 grams of fiber (depending who you are asking), but usually the recommendation for whole grains is higher, around 50 grams.
All those values are more flexible than vitamin values.

As for the light foods with lots of fiber, for example also the fiber one bars, from what I understand the ruling is still out. Added fiber is great, but added inulin fiber and other added substances are never as good as natural fiber like the bran of a grain, but they aren't really bad either.

Exactly why I posted this Thanks for the info

Jeanine_Colavecchi

Make your own, and then there's no doubt about what kind of yummy goodness your bread contains. We started making our own about 6 months ago, and will never go back. Good place to start is a book called "artisan bread in 5 minutes a day". You make a base that stays in the fridge, you pull off what you need and bake the same day you eat it. NO KNEADING! Plus, when you buy your base ingredients at a whole foods (or similar market) you know you're getting healthy organic whole wheat flour. Takes a while to figure out which flours make the consistency you like in a bread but it's worth it in the end.

Good idea! Do you know of any sites with good recipes?

TK421NotAtPost

very cool post....its true for sure..."whole grain" is only a standard they have to achieve according to government regulations..and we all know the government wants to keep us fat, happy and addicted to fast food, junk food, quick weightloss pills, and other medications you have to take after having such a poor diet....cholesteral, diabetes, high blood pressure, ulcers....etc....

Wut? :huh:

crysofmyk

I don't know about sites, but the book "Artisan Bread in 5 minutes a day". Was lent to me by a friend. 8 months later had yet to open it, but had to give it back, because 8 months is just too long! So I tried it. Went on amazon that night an bought it. It's awesome.