Brown bread Vs White bread

Einhard

It's pretty well known these days that white bread is the devil's own food, and will quickly lead one into total physical decline, whilst brown bread is the food of the angels, and brimming with all sorts of dietary goodness. Or so I'm lead to believe!;)

Seriously, that might be a slight exaggeration, but one always hears about how white bread is a poor choice, that it's processed, and thus not at all ideal as part of a healthy lifestyle. Brown bread, on the other hand, is always extolled as an excellent choice, and an excellent substitute.

Yet, when I read the nutritional info on various packets of both, I find very little difference. Indeed, wholemeal bread generally has significantly more calories per gram, than it's white counterpart.

So, what gives? Is this just another example of certain types of food being foisted upon us as healthy (or healthier), without much to back it up? Or is wholemeal bread really that much better than whire bread?

Zamboni

Einhard wrote: »

Is this just another example of certain types of food being foisted upon us as healthy (or healthier), without much to back it up?

This.

pconn062

Brown bread is generally regarded as being better as it contains wholegrain as opposed to white bread which doesn't. Also there is normally more bleaching agents and such in white bread.

Einhard

pconn062 wrote: »

Brown bread is generally regarded as being better as it contains wholegrain as opposed to white bread which doesn't. Also there is normally more bleaching agents and such in white bread.

Water doesn't contain wholegrain either. Must be bad for us too so...

Seriously, not being flippant, but one can't just say that it's good for us because it contains wholegrain, and leave it at that. What's so good about wholegrain? And if the latter statement is true, then surely it's not white bread that's at fault per se, but rather that white bread that contains bleaching agents etc?

opr

I am not sure when you say brown bread if you mean the packaged stuff in super markets that looks like white but is brown ? I doubt this is much healthier for you. When people talk in health terms they are talking about 100% whole-grain bread. I pretty much always buy this from a bakery.

Quick googled answer which explains much better than I ever could why its healthier.

Whole-grain breads aren’t necessarily that much better for you than white bread — unless you’re eating 100 percent whole-grain bread. A 100 percent whole grain means that the grain hasn’t been altered in any way. So it’s still got three key components for health: the outer shell (or bran) that contains fiber and B vitamins; germ, which contains phytochemicals and B vitamins; and the endosperm, which has carbs and protein. White bread, meanwhile, is made from wheat grain that has been stripped of the outer shell and germ. Why is this a bad thing? When you eat breads and pastas made from this type of wheat — also called enriched, bleached, unbleached, semolina or durum flour — or rice flour, your body quickly converts this carbohydrate to sugar in your bloodstream. Your brain likes the feel-good rush of the sugar and sends out the message, more, more, more! Your arteries — not so much. Essentially, regularly raising your blood sugar can damage proteins called glycosylates. One of that protein’s jobs is to hold your cells and arteries together. When the arteries aren’t held together properly, your body tries to plaster the holes with LDL (bad) cholesterol. The result: atherosclerosis, which means your arteries are hardening and thickening, thanks to the fatty deposits, putting you at a high risk of heart attack and stroke. One-hundred percent whole grains, meanwhile, take longer to convert to sugar, are much less addictive than white flour/bread, and they also stay in your intestines longer, which means you stay fuller longer. That’s pretty fantastic, don’t you think?

Opr

pconn062

Einhard wrote: »

Water doesn't contain wholegrain either. Must be bad for us too so...

Seriously, not being flippant, but one can't just say that it's good for us because it contains wholegrain, and leave it at that. What's so good about wholegrain? And if the latter statement is true, then surely it's not white bread that's at fault per se, but rather that white bread that contains bleaching agents etc?

I'm not saying wholegrain is good or bad for you, I'm just saying this is why most people regard brown bread as being better for you than white bread, because it contains wholegrain.

unreggd

http://www.earnestholistichealth.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/whole-grain.jpg

Basically, white bread is brown bread with most of the good bits taken out

I think they do it so it lasts longer, hence the price of white bread being so cheap in comparison

itsallaboutheL

Lower GI, more fibre?

Blatter

itsallaboutheL wrote: »

Lower GI, more fibre?

Yeah it definitely does, but there's not a significant difference as is perceived.

I just tend to avoid bread altogether. And when I do eat it, I'm not bothered whether it's white or brown.

Scuba Ste

Zamboni wrote: »

This.

Nope.

There's more fibre in brown bread and it has more micronutrients than white. White bread pretty much just has calories. There's no food agenda around brown bread, it just is healthier if you associate healthy with more fibrous, more nutritional food. Does that mean you should only eat 'brown' foods, not necessarily but if you don't eat enough fibre, it's probably a good idea along with more fruit and veg.

SOCCER4LIFE wrote:

Yeah it definitely does, but there's not a significant difference as is perceived.

Can be twice as much fibre in brown as in white. Significant enough.

I'd eat plenty of both, brown and white, just baked white bread is delicious.

whiteonion

If you want to lose weight and/or control your blood sugar brown bread is not much better than white bread. Grains should be avoided so my advice would be to eat NO bread.