So, whenever you grab a sandwich, you would make sure to get one that uses brown bread because it is "healthy".
But, why is brown bread better? Is white bread that bad that you should avoid it completely?
Brown Bread or Whole Wheat
You would think that brown bread and whole wheat bread are one and the same. Is there any difference?
Nutritionist Dr. Zamrud Patel says that brown bread is made of bran. Also, some manufacturers add caramel colour to the dough to make the bread brown.
So, the next time you buy a pack of brown bread, remember, it could be brown just because of some colour added to it. So specify that you want "whole wheat bread". Also, check the ingredients at the back of the pack.
Pure Whole Wheat
If you read about the list of ingredients at the back of a whole-wheat bread pack, you will find that the manufacturers use whole-wheat flour as well as wheat flour.
Wheat flour is actually maida, and this is a normal practice. So, don’t think the manufacturers have cheated you because all whole wheat bread is usually made with some amount of wheat bread.
Also you may find the colour of the bread changes according to brand. This is because some brands use a little "caramel colouring" to give the bread a dark shade of brown.
Nutritional Values
According to Lisa Sarah John, Chief Nutritionist of Calorie Care, here is a comparison of the nutritional content of white bread with whole wheat bread.
| Nutritional Content per 100 grams | Whole Wheat Bread | White Bread |
| Calories | 250 cals | 250 cals i.e 50 cal per slice |
| Carbohydrates | 50 grams | 52 grams |
| Protein | 8.8 grams | 8 grams |
| B Vitamin - Thiamin | 0.21 mg | 0.07 mg |
| B Vitamin - Niacin | 2.5 mg | 0.7 mg |
| Iron | 2.2 mg | 1 mg |
| Fat | 1.5 grams | 1 grams |
| Calcium | 18 mg | 11 mg |
According to the above chart, whole-wheat bread has a higher iron, vitamin and calcium content than white bread. This is what makes it a healthier alternative.
Why Is Fibre Good?
Brown bread is made from ground wheat grains. White bread, on the other hand, is made of polished wheat (maida).
When a grain is polished, it loses its covering which has most of the nutrition and fibre. But why is fibre good for you?
"When you include fibre in your food, the body works harder to digest it. This raises your body’s metabolism, which helps in weight control," says Lisa.
When you eat grains that haven’t been polished, the fibre, minerals and vitamins of the grain remains intact. This improves the nutritional content of the food, which contributes to better health.
Nutritionist and food consultant Naini Setalwad says that fibre reduces the cholesterol and blood sugar levels in your body.
Fibre in the diet helps produce good cholesterol - HDL in the body, which protects your heart from heart attacks and other diseases.
Is White Bread Harmful?
If you don’t have a supermarket close by and your local bakery doesn’t stock whole wheat bread, what do you do? Is it okay to still eat those two slices of toasted white bread with butter? How much of white bread is okay to eat?
If your usual breakfast includes two slices of bread and a glass of milk, and if you don’t have whole wheat bread at home, there is no harm in having white bread.
In fact, if you skip the bread and have only the milk, you are doing more harm than good to your body. Your body needs carbohydrates giving your body the required energy. So depriving your body of carbohydrates is a bad idea. Even though whole wheat bread is nutritionally better, so don’t skip the white bread if you don’t have a choice.
Just Like My Chapathi
Yes, making the atta dough and chapathi can be a tedious, time consuming job. But chapathis are made out of whole-wheat flour just like whole wheat bread. So is it okay for you to substitute it for whole-wheat bread?
"Yes," says Lisa, "you can replace chapathis with brown bread. Two slices of whole wheat bread is equivalent to two small phulkas."
Lisa tells her clients to buy whole wheat bread and freeze it. Frozen whole wheat bread can be stored for almost 10 days.
So instead of coming home after work and slaving over making perfectly round phulkas, just defrost your bread and heat it up!
How Much is Too Much
According to Lisa, eating six-eight slices of whole wheat bread a day is perfectly normal. That means that you can have two slices per meal. If you have a job that makes you burn a lot of calories, you can eat even nine slices of bread everyday.
Diets That Cut Out Bread…
"Want to drop weight real fast? Just cut off the carbs." This is a common statement among health freaks.
This just means, you have to stop having bread too. But, is it a good idea?
"Any diet that recommends you to stop eating carbohydrates is scientifically, nutritionally and medically wrong. You need to include complex carbohydrates in every meal, in the form of bread, roti or rice," says Lisa.
According to Lisa, if you don’t eat carbohydrates you will have no energy in your body get through the day.
Sweetness Factor
Whole-wheat bread is not sweeter than white bread. In fact, most bread contains a little sugar to help the yeast rise.
Multigrain Bread
Multigrain bread has grains like ragi (nachni, elucine coracana), jowar (Sorghum), bajra (Pearl millet) and oats in it. If you choose to buy this, make sure the ingredients say whole-wheat flour. If not then it is just white bread with a few other grains on it.
"If you compare wheat to other grains, you will find that it has the most amounts of minerals and calcium in it. Also, it is good for diabetic patients and the fibre helps in weight reduction," says Lisa.
So don’t fret if you can’t find multigrain bread in your market, whole-wheat bread is good enough.
Popular Brands
Some good whole wheat bread brands available in Mumbai are Quality Bread, St. Michaels Bread, Anjali Mukerjee’s Nutri Choice.
Daily Bread, Koshys, Nilgiris are some of the good whole wheat bread brands in Bangalore .
In Delhi, look out for Arctic bread, Britannia or Modern’s whole wheat breads.
Other than these, most local bakeries also make whole wheat bread these days.
Remember, whole wheat bread is the better alternative, if you have no choice but to eat white bread, it’s not bad for your health either.
Technorati Tags: Whole Wheat Bread for Health
Del.Icio.Us Tags: Whole Wheat Bread for Health
