Some mornings are busier than others and it is easier to place some veggies, cheese and meat between two slices of store-bought bread than manually cooking pancakes or waffles. It sounds simple enough: you buy bread, eggs, some cold meat and vegetables from the supermarket and you use them to make sandwiches. But the dilemma starts right there at the supermarket. White bread or whole wheat bread? Whole wheat bread or multi-grain bread? The problem extends to your choice of eggs and vegetables. Organic or not?
In a generation obsessed with health, we are told that white bread should be avoided because it increases the risk of cancer and contains the kind of carbohydrates that make us fat.
But what is white bread exactly and why has it become anathema to the health conscious?
A wheat grain has three layers. The outermost layer (bran) is fiber-rich. Then, there is the inner layer called the endosperm and the innermost layer, the germ, which contains the least nutrients. Bleached flour which gives white bread its soft texture is made from the wheat germ. Whole wheat bread is made from bran, the outermost layer. If you look at the ingredients in the bread packaging and it says “bleached flour”, you know what you’re getting in terms of nutrients. If you want the source of all that information, click here.
The minimal nutrients aside, why should white bread be associated with weight problems?
Researchers believe refined flour in white bread metabolizes faster in the body than whole grains. That causes a spike in insulin. The rush of insulin turns into fat more quickly — right on your waistline. [CBS News]
Meanwhile, our bodies take longer to metabolize whole grain bread and keeps us feeling full longer.
The wise person will stay away from white bread. But whole wheat bread and multi-grain bread is much more expensive than white bread. So then, health becomes a privilege for those that can afford it.
The question is why is whole wheat bread and flour more expensive? Because the supply is less low and the demand is high? Or is the supply enough but prices are artificially being raised because health today means big business? Health is a multi-billion dollar industry, for goodness’ sakes. From food to artificial sweeteners to vitamin supplements to gyms and fitness programs.
The second question is whether the white bread scare is being hyped up to favor manufacturers of whole wheat bread, multi-grain bread and whole wheat flour manufacturers and allies. The same question goes with regard to organic farm producers.
Consider the following from Article Alley:
THE FAULTS OF WHITE BREAD
1. White bread is nutrition less. Even fortifying it with vitamins can’t replace half of the nourishment that is lost through the bleaching and sifting process that is used on the flour which white bread is make out of.
2. White bread has a lot harmful chemicals and preservatives added to it to increase it’s shelf life, but they decrease your lifespan.
3. White bread is practically tasteless. This is a pro to some people but a con to a lot of others who enjoy tasty food.
THE FAULTS OF STORE BOUGHT WHOLE WHEAT BREAD
1. Store bought whole wheat bread would be extremely healthy and good for your body IF you could find a loaf made without fattening and nutrition less sweeteners like sugar (but no store that I know of sells any such thing).
2. Store bought whole wheat bread contains, unfortunately, the same chemicals and preservatives that white bread does, also to lengthen shelf life.
Then, the author recommends home-baked bread. But guess what? The author is selling an e-book on home baking. So, it is in her best interest to say that store-bought bread is inferior to home-caked bread.
Who would have thought that the simple act of making a sandwich can be actually very complicated. But, really, what are we consumers to believe?
whole grain bread for me..
we always buy gardenia wheat bread!