Since years, it has been a part of your daily morning breakfast, and continues to be so, even today. You have it with a generous spread of your favorite jams, jellies and butter, in the form of a toast or a sandwich or even plain and simple dipped into piping hot tea or coffee first thing in the morning and only can you call it a ‘start’!
Yes, we are rightly talking about the age-old, infamous, and ubiquitous, white bread that you relate to, by names such as, Wibs, Britannia, Quality, Bimbo, Modern or simply “Bread”!
Though White bread has become so much a part of our comfort and convenience, and remains the first choice for a quick bite, it provides us with the least nutrition and health. However, as far as it keeps us filled, we think that the white bread we eat, be it either Britannia, wibs or modern, is healthy for us. But this is a misconception!
Dr Shweta Iyengar, expert dietician, explains why white bread, is a bad food choice-
Processed:
Dr Shweta Iyengar explains, “White bread is processed, and anything that is processed, is not nutritional at all because all the nutrients, including the essential vitamins are lost in the process.
Less amount of fiber:
Fiber is actually a very essential nutrient necessary for a healthy digestive system and helps in absorbing the cholesterol and fats ensuring that the body doesn’t retain them. It also keeps you feeling full and makes it easier for you to control your weight.
But, in white bread, says Dr Iyengar, there is meager amount of fibre present and because white bread is low on fibre, there occur spikes in blood sugar which in turn lead to problems of weight gain, diabetes and may indirectly lead to problems with cholesterol.
Bad Carbohydrates:
White bread is low on nutrition as well, says Dr Iyengar, “All of us try to have foods that provide us with as much nutrition as possible in the minimum number of calories. But as white bread is processed, it has more number of calories clubbed with least nutrition and this is why it can be regarded as ‘Bad carbohydrates’.
The colour white
The flour used to make white bread is chemically bleached. So when you are eating white bread, you are also eating residual chemical bleach. Flour mills use different chemical bleaches, all of which are pretty bad. In the process of making flour white, half of the unsaturated fats (good fats) are lost in the milling process alone, and virtually all the vitamin E is lost with the removal of wheat germ and bran. As a result, the remaining flour in the white bread you buy, contains only poor quality proteins and fattening starch.
So, now you know that though the regular white bread may seem handy and a convenient option as it is easily available, but it is not nutritional and not recommended by health experts.
So, what is the healthier option to white bread?
“Whole wheat bread” says, Dr Iyengar, “as whole wheat bread is not processed and has lots of fibre content which makes” it much more nutritional and healthier in comparison to white bread”.
In fact, there are many more benefits attached to whole wheat bread-
Preparation: The way of processing speaks a lot on the nutritional value of the end product. Comparing whole wheat bread with white bread, while whole wheat bread uses all, the bran, wheat germ and endosperm of the wheat berry from which it is processed, white bread only uses the endosperm, making it inferior in nutritional value, and moreover, the bleaching process leaches even more nutrition from the bread. In other words, white bread is stripped of most of its nutrients as the wheat germ gets removed in the process.
Fullness: Besides being fibre – rich and nutritionally superior, whole wheat bread leaves you with a feeling of fullness, much faster than white bread. You will be more satisfied with an open-faced sandwich made with whole wheat than a two-slice sandwich of white. An this in turn can help you with your weight loss goals.
Keeps blood sugar normal: Whole grains are absorbed into the body more slowly and this helps in keeping the blood sugar levels from fluctuating to extremities, and prevents body insulin from becoming too high or too low.
Antioxidant and nutrient rich: Whole grains contain a good amount of proteins which keep you feeling energized and active for longer periods of time. Whole grain bread contains antioxidants, iron and zinc that help in transporting oxygen around the body and in the growth of cells and provides many more essential nutrients. Six slices of wholegrain bread provide 70% of the recommended daily intake of fibre.
While buying:
Be sure to read the label before you purchase whole-wheat bread. The label might indicate, "Wheat flour" or "enriched wheat flour" but, that does not mean that the bread is purely made of whole wheat. Many such breads are indeed white breads with a little bit of whole wheat added. To be sure, that the bread you are buying is genuinely whole wheat, check for the label to indicate "whole wheat" or “whole grain” as one of the first listed ingredients.
The other options include:
If you find that you just can't get used to eating whole wheat bread, try bread made from oat bran instead. Nachni bread, multi grain bread, seven grain bread, and others which are easily available in markets in India, are very healthy options to white bread. Whole wheat, rye, and grain breads made with whole wheat flour are very good for health.
Interesting steps taken against the consumption of white bread:
- Switzerland has placed a tax on the purchase of white bread. The tax money is given to bakers to reduce the price of whole wheat bread to encourage people to switch.
- The Canadian government passed a law prohibiting the “enrichment” of white bread with synthetic vitamins instead of the original vitamins found in whole grain.
So, which bread are you having?