Healthy Bread: A Focus On Whole Wheat and Whole Grain
Bread is a fantastic fuel for the body – whole grain breads in particular provide a combination of complex carbohydrates, fibre, starch and protein alone.
Whilst whole grain is not the only option when it comes to healthy bread it sure does offer a great deal of vitamins that help us in our quest of leading a healthy lifestyle.
First, let’s look at what bread can offer us as a whole…
Healthy Bread: The Low Down
Bread, in particular the wholemeal variety, is a fantastic source of dietary fibre.
An adult’s daily requirement of fibre is 24g and with selected wholemeal breads, just three slices provides one third of that.
But why is fibre so important? Well, it helps to keep our digestive systems healthy and helps control our blood sugar and cholesterol levels. It also makes us feel fuller for longer meaning you’ll be less likely to snack in between meals. (See more below.)
There is a small level of fat in bread because without it, it would go stale very quickly and it’s texture and taste would not be very nice. (Do make sure that the bread you’re choosing uses vegetable oils instead of hydrogenated fat.)
If you’re looking to avoid sugar (which most of us should be) you’ll be pleased to know that on the most part, bread contains very little – in turn it does contain many different vitamins to keep us going.
Thiamine, niacin and folic acid release energy slowly as well as promoting healthy skin, eyes and nails whilst iron aids energy and concentration, as well as a healthy immune system and healthy blood.
Focus on: Whole wheat and whole grain
One of the most versatile of dark flours, whole wheat is also referred to as ‘wholemeal’ and in turn, it is also often confused with ‘whole grain’.
The main difference between whole wheat and whole grain is the process used to prepare the grain flour.
With whole wheat flour, the grain has gone through a refining process that has removed some of the nutritional value from the end product.
On the other hand, whole grain flour does not go through this refining process, and therefore maintains the natural level of nutrients.
Whole grain recipes often incorporate a portion or all whole wheat flour to provide both nutrition and flavour.
Whole grain flour is made from the entire wheat kernel making the bread high in fibre. High fibre consumption is said to reduce heart disease, lowering your cholesterol, decreasing risk of certain cancers, aiding weight control and digestive health among other things.
About the Author: Emily Amelia Inglis is a writer and fan of healthy bread.
Processing your request, Please wait....
