There is far more food value in whole wheat bread than in white bread, but you probably knew that didn't you? The reason is that white flour has been so heavily refined that the nutrients have been removed in the milling process. What is left is a mass of carbohydrates, in the form of starch.
If you see "enriched" on the packaging of white bread, you may be forgiven for thinking that it could be good for you. However, the refining process has removed the vitamins, B1 (thiamin), B2 (riboflavin) and B3 (niacin), the mineral iron and folic acid, and by law, these have to be added to bread after the refining process. Basically then what has been removed has to be put back, but the milling process removes around thirty nutrients and legally of these only five as listed, have to be put back. Some bread manufacturers put back more nutrients than they are legally required to but even so, wouldn't it be better to look for whole grain or whole wheat bread and have the full nutritional benefits?
According to research carried out at the University of Washington, and published in the Journal of the American Medical Association on April 2nd 2003, simply switching from white bread to whole wheat bread can reduce the risk of heart disease by 20 per cent. Earlier research, a ten year Harvard study completed in 1994, showed that both men and women who ate high fibre breads had fewer heart attacks than their counterparts who ate white bread, baguettes and bagels, which are made with heavily refined flour.
Whole wheat bread contains vitamin B1 (thiamin) which improves the appetite, aids the digestion process and maintains healthy nerves. B2, (riboflavin) helps growth and vision, while B3 (niacin) helps the body absorb and efficiently use protein. The minerals selenium, magnesium, zinc and chromium are also present in whole wheat flour and iron too. The wheat germ is the part that has the most antioxidant properties (antioxidants help keep cells healthy by fighting the free radicals which can damage healthy cells and cause cancer), so if the flour has been refined there is no trace of the germ left.
Whole wheat or whole grain bread is full of fibre which helps flush waste products through the body, preventing constipation and so decreasing the risk of colon cancer, and also or piles or haemorrhoids. Pumpernickel bread is particularly full of fibre, as it is the heaviest and densest of the whole grain breads. This is readily available in Europe as are whole grain rye and oat breads, as well as breads made from whole grain wheat flour with pumpkin seeds and other seeds added to the mixture. You have to eat eight slices of white bread to get the fibre content of one slice of whole wheat grain bread.
If you have the choice in your supermarket of whole grain or whole wheat bread or white bread, and you are concerned about staying healthy or becoming healthier, don't buy white bread. Choose the healthier option.
http://www.herbs-treatandtaste.blogspot.com If you liked this article why not visit this site to find out more about the food you eat? You might want to read the posts on oats, barley and rye, or one of the hundreds of others which inform you about the value and health benefits of the food you eat. There are recipes and information about medicinal plants from all parts of the world. Why not click on the link and see for yourself what this site has to offer you?