Bread has been a staple of the human diet since the beginning of recorded history. As early as 3,000 B.C., ancient Egyptians made leavened bread with yeast that was naturally present in the air, according to www.cyberspaceag.com, a Web site sponsored by Kansas Women Involved in Farm Economics (WIFE).U.S. Dietary Guidelines recommend adults eat 6 to 11 servings of bread and grain per day. However, bread lovers are torn between two choices: white or wheat.White bread – light on nutritionWhite bread is the most popular type of bread in America. USA Today reported that 45 percent of the total amount of bread purchased is white. It might be the favorite, but it’s the least nutritious.White flour is made with heavily processed wheat. The bran and germ of the grain, which contain most of the vitamins and minerals, are removed, leaving only the endosperm, the fleshy in-between part of the grain. The remaining product is then chemically bleached, and nutrients and preservatives are added.A Vegetarian Times article stated that 30 nutrients are lost in the refining process and by law only five need to be added back in the enriching process. Fiber is another issue: “There’s so little fiber left after processing that you’d have to eat eight pieces of white bread to get the fiber in just one piece of whole wheat bread.”Why is white bread so popular? Because the bran is removed from the grain, the bread is softer and doesn’t have the bitter taste of the bran. Because the wheat germ is removed, white bread lasts longer on the shelf and doesn’t mold as quickly as whole grain bread. Because the flour is bleached chemically rather than naturally over time, the bread can be made faster, keeping the cost to produce it lower than whole grain bread.But the reasons Americans love white bread are the reasons it’s not good for us. Dr. Sherry Dell, a certified nutritionist in Colorado Springs, said, “When the nutrients are taken out of the grain, all that’s left are the calories. That’s why you can be overweight and still be nutritionally deprived.” Because of the way the flour is processed, the bread is mostly just gluten, air and water, just like the paste kindergarteners make from flour and water, Dell said. And white bread, like paste ingested, can cause constipation and bowel problems.Elmer M. Cranton, M.D., believes in addition to constipation white bread also contributes to tooth decay and more serious problems. On his Web site, www.drcranton.com, he wrote, “Scientific evidence implicates a low-fiber diet of refined flour as one cause of bowel cancer. Without bran, transit time through the digestive tract is greatly lengthened. Constipation results, causing hemorrhoids, diverticulitis and increased risk of colon and rectal cancer.”A study done in Australia, and reported in “Diabetes Care,” found a link between white bread and Type 2 diabetes. White bread has a high glycemic index (GI), the measure of a food’s impact on blood sugar. Eating a large amount of high GI foods can cause weight gain and insulin resistance, both increasing the risk of diabetes. (A. Hodge, Diabetes Care, November 2004)Whole grain bread is bestDell said the more whole-grain wheat in a loaf of bread the better it is nutritionally.Look for bread labels that say “whole grain wheat.” Even though the bread aisle at the grocery store is packed with “whole wheat” choices, many of the breads are not truly made with whole grains. Many that tout “whole wheat bread” are made from enriched white flour using burnt sugar, which is listed as “caramel color,” or the bread makers use molasses to make the bread darker. Dell said whole grain breads will be heavier and denser than the counterfeits.Joanne Larsen, a registered dietician and contributor to the Web site www.dietician.com, recommended consumers look for labels that have the first ingredient listed as “whole wheat flour” with no “white flour” listed.Good news for white bread loversFarmer Direct Foods, Inc., a farming cooperative that includes farmers in Colorado, is growing and promoting a product called Naturals’ Wheat Hard White Wheat that, when used as a whole grain, will still produce a soft, white bread. According to information on the Web site: “White wheat has a mild flavor and does not have the sharp, strong compounds found in red wheat; the latter is commonly used today. As a result, white wheat is naturally sweeter to the taste, while containing the same level of natural sugar as other wheats.”ConAgra Foods has developed a product called Ultragrain that is milled using special equipment that doesn’t destroy the natural nutrients of the grain. ConAgra reports that Ultragrain contains four to five times the nutrients of white bread and 350 percent more fiber. The company is currently working to increase production of Ultragrain.Whether to buy white or wheat is a choice, and any way you slice it, according to Dell, whole wheat is a healthier choice.
