Healthy Bread: What’s The Difference Between Whole Grain & Whole Wheat?
Finding both tasty and healthy bread can be a stru,ggle.
The market is saturated with not only products but also opinions and statistics making it hard to know which bread truly is good for you.
Gone are the days of simply white or brown, now we have the ‘luxury’ of choice; granary, seeded batch, soda, cracked wheat, whole grain, whole wheat – we even have ‘best of both’. Very non-committal.
The best and most reliable route to take is by ignoring the hard sell to the front of the packet, and looking at the cold hard facts on the back.
Whole Wheat
The previously mentioned ‘hard sell’, often sees manufacturers labelling their bread as ‘Whole Wheat’, which has positive connotations for the consumer.
However, whole wheat is often confused or in the least, partnered with ‘whole grain’. Yet, they are not the same thing.
Whole wheat is simply white bread with a small addition of extra whole wheat flour added to the mix.
To avoid such mishaps, keep an eye out for labelling which says ‘100% Whole Wheat’ – it should also be the first ingredient listed in the small print with only flour mentioned in the additional ingredients.
Whole Grain
Now we’ve cleared that up, let’s focus on whole grain.
For a grain to be considered ‘whole’, it must be made up of three components; bran, germ and endosperm.
True whole grain bread will be high in fibre – great for digestion – and should contain at least 3 grams per slice.
The problem here is that during the processing stages, the bran and germ are stripped away, which means a major reduction in key nutrients, fibre, essential fats and disease-fighting compounds.
Once again, ignore the oversized print to the front of the packet, and look to the small print at the back. At the top of the ingredients list, it should state ‘Whole Grain’.
About the Author: Emily Amelia Inglis is a fan of healthy bread
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