Bread: Whole Wheat vs. Whole Grain Light

karmasBFF

So I realized yesterday that there are whole grain light breads that are much better for you than whole wheat (half the calories!)

What is your take on this? I know there are debates on this but I just want to make sure I am doing myself justice by going with the light whole grain (saves me tons of calories cuz I love bread!!!) instead of 100$ whole wheat.

I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Nelski

The healthiest is 100% whole grain. Most wheat bread isn't any better for you than white. Read the ingredients. Make sure none of the wheat is enriched and there are no hydrogenated oils or high fructose corn syrup. The less ingredients, the better.

karmasBFF

I heard that also, with regard to the enriching and the HFCS...thanks for the reminder! That will definitely help me decide...any idea why the "light" would have half the calories...it seems like a significant difference.

ractayjon

Im not 100% sure where this came from, but it is hanging up as a "take home" at my gym.... it might help to clarify.....I cant vouch for how 100% accurate it is - but it helped me understand what to look for. Sometimes what we eat isnt about calories but about what is better for our body...

We have all seen it, 100% whole wheat bread that sits next to the white bread. It looks like white bread, but it says enriched. Enriched with what? Well, let me back up a little. When wheat is harvested the whole grain is taken to the refinery. REFINERY, did you see that! The wheat is heated to a point when the germ and the bran fall off. What is left is the starch, the white part, the not good for you part. The part that has a long shelf life and is bug resistant. Do you know why it is bug resistant? Bugs CANNOT sustain life in it. They will die if they only eat this refined grain. So why on earth, with the abundance of good life sustaining food do we eat white flour, which is the starch of the wheat grain ground up. Honestly do I need to answer that? Take a look around and you will see obesity on the rise, and now not only are adults overweight, but kids, little kids are getting more and more fat. Why? We are feeding ourselves all kinds of unhealthy food. Some do it because it is cheaper, some because of taste, and some just because they don't know any better.

So now that I explained what white bread is made of, let me continue to answer the question of "what exactly is enriched"? After the refinery takes the grains apart and makes white flour, which has no nutrition, they add some vitamins, some minerals, and some fiber, but not even a gram worth. The white bread is enriched with some of the very things they just worked so hard to take out. However, they do not add in as much of the grain they take away, otherwise it would be whole grain. Just enough to add some flavor and calories to it.

What is whole grain? It is the WHOLE grain used in the process of making bread, cereal and the building blocks of many other foods. For it to be truly healthy whole grain needs to be listed on your bread, cereal or other food in the number 1 or number 2 position on the ingredients list. No, whole wheat flour which is followed by (enriched white flour, niacin, and iron) is not healthy, it is a way of making people believe that they are getting a whole grain bread. They are not lying, it is whole wheat flour, but not whole grain. It did come from the wheat plant and it is all wheat, but not all grain. Whole is just another word like all. If you look a little farther down on the list you will see molasses, why molasses you ask? It colors the bread to make it look brown. Yup, white flour plus vitamins and minerals still does not bring the bran back into the bread. Bran is what helps to give the natural brown color to bread. So, they again, add something to it, to try and make it look like something it is not

Nelski

I would have to see the actual breads myself, but most light breads I've seen are just smaller pieces or less dense, so you are just eating less.

LittleSpy

For my bread I forget about calories. I go for the bread with lots of whole grains and the most fiber & protein per serving (compare serving sizes to ensure they're similar from bread to bread). Then I'm be able to use less of it because it's more satisfying & it's a lot more nutritious than low calorie fluff breads.

gnme4243

I agree that the whole grains are better for you. Not all of them are higher in calories. I eat Ezekiel 4:9 Sprouted Whole Grain Bread, and it's only got 80 calories per slice, plus, being sprouted grains your body will process the nutrients better. There are no sugars whatsoever in it, and it tastes good. Here's the link if you want to check it out; [/url]http://www.foodforlife.com/procart_catalog/index.cfm?ProductID=33&do=detail[url] [/url]

Oompa_Loompa

Stay away from MULTI GRAIN! Its just more calories and isnt that great for you. I saw it on oprah lol

karmasBFF

WOW! Great post! This explains why my good-for-you cereals and flour and rice gets bugs in it if it sits too long! Now....to get my kids to understand this! LOL

karmasBFF

Thanks, all! Looks like I am going to have to spend much more time in the bread aisle researching the labels because this is just something I cannot give up!!!!

Oompa_Loompa

I like pepperidge farms, lite wheat with extra fiber. its so soft and good

Oompa_Loompa

oh and only 80 calories for 2 slices. :happy:

karmasBFF

oh and only 80 calories for 2 slices. :happy:

WOW! Really! The lowest I found is 80 calories for 1 slice!! I am definitely going to research this one with everything I learned in this post!

I love MFP!!!

annastasia76

What about whole wheat flour that you buy from the store, is that still the same as the wheat they use in the bread and such not good for you?? I bake muffins, bread and pizza with it, I thought it was the good stuff.

karmasBFF

I like pepperidge farms, lite wheat with extra fiber. its so soft and good

Well, I looked this up and it is only 47 calories per slice, which is great! However, it is an enriched flour, which is not soo great!

However, for the first steps of cutting back, this is DEFINITELY something I will be stocking! Either way, I'm eating bread (a lot of it!) and yes, it is enriched....might as well eat the lowest calories/fat until I learn to cut back on my bread habit!

I will also be looking up the other link provided and will post feedback on that too!

karmasBFF

I agree that the whole grains are better for you. Not all of them are higher in calories. I eat Ezekiel 4:9 Sprouted Whole Grain Bread, and it's only got 80 calories per slice, plus, being sprouted grains your body will process the nutrients better. There are no sugars whatsoever in it, and it tastes good. Here's the link if you want to check it out; [/url]http://www.foodforlife.com/procart_catalog/index.cfm?ProductID=33&do=detail[url]
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WOW!!! This entire line of products seems great! Although the double the calories of the Pepperidge Farm brand, it is not enriched! And its available at sooooo many places near my house! Will definitely be trying this one also!!!!

Nelski

What about whole wheat flour that you buy from the store, is that still the same as the wheat they use in the bread and such not good for you?? I bake muffins, bread and pizza with it, I thought it was the good stuff.

I think this could depend on brand, just make sure you read lables.

karmasBFF

What about whole wheat flour that you buy from the store, is that still the same as the wheat they use in the bread and such not good for you?? I bake muffins, bread and pizza with it, I thought it was the good stuff.

I do the same. I think the key is to make sure that it is not enriched...which is essentially the same as white...with the addition of a miniscule amount of nutrients. I will be checking my whole wheat flour when I get home as I too use it for baking and especially variety pancakes in the morning!

LittleSpy

Stay away from MULTI GRAIN! Its just more calories and isnt that great for you. I saw it on oprah lol

This only counts if it's not multi WHOLE grain. If it's multi WHOLE grain, it's good. But, no, "multigrain" by itself doesn't mean anything, really. Just that they used processed flours from more than one grain in the dough.

[Oprah. :grumble: ]

Nelski

I agree that the whole grains are better for you. Not all of them are higher in calories. I eat Ezekiel 4:9 Sprouted Whole Grain Bread, and it's only got 80 calories per slice, plus, being sprouted grains your body will process the nutrients better. There are no sugars whatsoever in it, and it tastes good. Here's the link if you want to check it out; [/url]http://www.foodforlife.com/procart_catalog/index.cfm?ProductID=33&do=detail[url]
[/url]

WOW!!! This entire line of products seems great! Although the double the calories of the Pepperidge Farm brand, it is not enriched! And its available at sooooo many places near my house! Will definitely be trying this one also!!!!

This is a great healthy product, but if you are used to soft white breads it will seem very different to you. It's very dense and not as soft. For me it's a great bread to toast or make a grilled sandwich with.

Nelski

Stay away from MULTI GRAIN! Its just more calories and isnt that great for you. I saw it on oprah lol

This only counts if it's not multi WHOLE grain. If it's multi WHOLE grain, it's good. But, no, "multigrain" by itself doesn't mean anything, really. Just that they used processed flours from more than one grain in the dough.

[Oprah. :grumble: ]

Yes, don't believe everything OPRAH says. There can be 100% whole grain multi grain breads that are healthy.

prudychick

I did some searching when I was buying my last loaf of bread. I've always just gone with the cheapest 100% whole wheat. I found this: Orowheat - Whole Grain - 100% Whole Wheat Bread. It's 90 calories per slice. Everything else I looked at was 100+ calories for 100% whole wheat. It's a bit more expensive but I'm saving at least 10 calories which is better for my waistline.

annastasia76

well there's only one ingredient on the flour, 100% premium whole wheat flour from hard red spring wheat

In the description it says chemical free, gmo free(what ever that means), nothing added, nothing removed, all natural, it is bronze chief brand, it was actually the cheapest flour I could find in the store (walmart)

karmasBFF

I believe that is the brand I bought! Sounds good to me!

MFP, any idea on this?

stormieweather

I eat Nature's Own 100% Whole Grain Wheat No Sugar Added bread. It is fantastic and beats ALL the other breads, hands down.

http://www.naturesownbread.com/NAT_Varieties/Variety.cfm?CategoryID=100&ProductID=17

No Preservatives or flavors or colors
No HFCS
Zero sugar per slice
50 calories per slice
1 g fat per slice
11 carbs per slice

(To whomever suggested Pepperidge Farms, check the ingredients. I used to eat their products but nearly all have HFCS, so no more for me).

(To whomever mentioned GMO - it stands for Genetically Modified Organism. There are serious reservations about the safety of such things - http://www.relfe.com/GMOs.html)

karmasBFF

I eat Nature's Own 100% Whole Grain Wheat No Sugar Added bread. It is fantastic and beats ALL the other breads, hands down.

http://www.naturesownbread.com/NAT_Varieties/Variety.cfm?CategoryID=100&ProductID=17

No Preservatives or flavors or colors
No HFCS
Zero sugar per slice
50 calories per slice
1 g fat per slice
11 carbs per slice

(To whomever suggested Pepperidge Farms, check the ingredients. I used to eat their products but nearly all have HFCS, so no more for me).

(To whomever mentioned GMO - it stands for Genetically Modified Organism. There are serious reservations about the safety of such things - http://www.relfe.com/GMOs.html)

WOW! Another great product!!! Thanks for sharing! I now have multiple brands to look out for depending on the store I'm in!! THANKS SO MUCH!!!

Nelski

Arnold has some tasty breads that are whole grain and without HFCS, but check the labels because not all of them do. If you have a Trader Joe's they have a whole grain white bread that people who are used to the soft white breads whould probably like.

LittleSpy

Arnold has some tasty breads that are whole grain and without HFCS, but check the labels because not all of them do. If you have a Trader Joe's they have a whole grain white bread that people who are used to the soft white breads whould probably like.

I'm on a loaf of Arnold 12 grain (does contain whole grains) right now and it doesn't contain HFCS. It's pretty tasty stuff, 110 calories per slice, but the slices weigh as much or more than 2 slices of "light" bread. It was on sale for $1.99/loaf so it came home with me. One slice makes a decent sized sandwich (cut it in half or fold it over).

I also enjoy Earth Grains Wheat Berry. Another one without HFCS, is widely available in my area at regular grocery stores, and is pretty reasonably priced. I just can't pay $5.00 for a loaf of bread.

karmasBFF

Arnold has some tasty breads that are whole grain and without HFCS, but check the labels because not all of them do. If you have a Trader Joe's they have a whole grain white bread that people who are used to the soft white breads whould probably like.

Arnold is actually the one I was eating until I found the less calorie alternative...but before you all reminded me of the ingredient list! Til this point, I was concerned with the calories...never thought about the fact that they weigh more than regular white bread slices!

LittleSpy

Arnold is actually the one I was eating until I found the less calorie alternative...but before you all reminded me of the ingredient list! Til this point, I was concerned with the calories...never thought about the fact that they weigh more than regular white bread slices!

Yeah, I've been very calorie focused before, several years ago, to lose weight (instead of getting healthy) & then blew it (now I realize I wasn't going about it correctly!). I'm of the school of thought that the *quality* of the calories is very important. Meaning, I can eat 80 calories of worthless overly processed light bread, or I can eat 110 or 120 calories of bread containing lots of protein,fiber, and whole grains packed with nutrients. I can eat a "100 calorie pack" of thin crispy wafers for 100 calories or I can eat an apple and a tbs of peanut butter for 150. And so on. One is worthless, the other is nutritious. At the end of the day, you're going to be a lot more satisfied by the nutritious foods.
I've been a lot happier (and healthier) as well as a lot more successful this go 'round.

But not all Arnold breads are going to be good. Just read your labels.

AmyDarina

GMO is genetically modified organisms. I try to stay away from anything that has been gmo'd. It's one of the reasons organic is healthier for you, it hasn't had it's genes messed with!

Most potatoes have been modified to keep the bugs out and corn has been modified from day one!

If you think about it most people are buying foods that have had there genes messed with. Cows being feed steroids to make more meat or milk is modified. It's kinds gross thinking of all the foods that I've eaten in the past and what type of chemicals and modifications have gone into my body. It's no wonder people are living to older ages we've all be preserved by the food we eat!!