100% Whole Grain VS. 100% Wholewheat

[Cloud]

see above. cool word.

[Drax]

Originally Posted by Cloud

sorry, but just what do you think brand names are, hon, if not marketing phrases?

Something like "Now with half the fat!" babe.

[DanaC]

*nods*

Okay, I was perhaps a bit harsh earlier Drax. When I suggested you read the ingredients, I was offering that as genuine advice. My point being that the brand names and cute marketing phrases are designed to obscure, not illuminate the product. Terminology is used to give the impression that what you are buying is healthy when in fact it is far from it. The healthier the bread, the harder it is to keep fresh and freight long distances. Manufacturers utilise ingredients and manufacturing methods which prioritise its saleability and longevity over its healthfulness and then have to hide that fact from us by calling it 'Nature's Own' or 'Wonder Wholegrain White'.

As Cloud points out, the ingredient list is the indicator, but you still have to be careful. They've used 'whole grain' flour and that means they can market it as wholegrain bread...but the wholegrain flour is often a secondary, or even token ingredient, whilst the majority of the flour is heavily refined and nutritionally lacking white flour.

Look at the ingredients. Look fr the stuff you want to find in there (whole grain flour) and look for the stuff you don't want to find in there (hydrogenated vegetable oil, or high fructose corn syrup). BUt also take into account how far up the list an ingredient is, the higher up the list, the greater the quantity of that ingredient.

[DanaC]

Something like "Now with half the fat!" babe.

No Drax. That is a marketing phrase....but so is the brand name.

[Drax]

Originally Posted by DanaC

On a more serious note, I'd be inclined to avoid the 'High fructose corn syrup'. If it's the stuff I'm thinking of it's seriously bad for you.

Oh please. Overconsumption of any sugary substance will do that.

[DanaC]

No. It's different to other sugary substances.

It's been implicated in liver disease, bone decalcification, obesity and heart problems.

The body metabolises ordinary fructose differently, breaking it down; with high fructose corn syrup the body doesn't break it down, it is delivered straight to the liver. There's a lot of evidence to suggest that this is causing the liver to become fatty (so the liver ends up resembling that of a force fed pate de fois gras goose). Also, because of the way the high fructose syrup is derived from the original corn starch, it has unbound molecules, rather than the normal bound molecules that one would find in naturally occurring fructose.

[jinx]

mmmmmm foie gras..... wayyyy better than bread.

[Drax]

Originally Posted by DanaC

liver disease, bone decalcification...and heart problems.

Ok, I'll take your word for it on those...for now(cuz you don't provide a source), and you forgot Diabetes an sugar comas.

But as for obesity:

Furthermore, the article targets high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) as a key contributor to obesity rates. Yet, England and other countries have obesity rates growing similar to the United States and don’t use HFCS in beverages or food products. In addition, the Chairman of the Harvard School of Public Health, Dr. Walter Willett, was recently quoted in the New York Times stating, “There is no substantial evidence to support the idea that high-fructose corn syrup is somehow responsible for obesity.”

The theory that an individual gains 15 additional pounds each year from drinking soft drinks defies common sense, as does blaming one specific product or ingredient as the root cause of obesity. We know that many different factors can contribute to obesity. Common sense tells us that if you fail to balance calories consumed with calories burned through physical activity, you will gain weight, regardless of where those calories come from. For more facts on this issue, please visit the American Beverage Association’s Web site at www.ameribev.org.

Sincerely,

Kevin Keane
Senior Vice President
American Beverage Association
Washington, DC

Source: http://juliahavey.typepad.com/my_web...la_to_sel.html

[Drax]

BTW Dana McHottie, what's yer word on this one?

[monster]

Drax, if you really want good bread, you need to avoid the supermarket pre-packaged, pre-sliced stuff. Go to somewhere like Panera or Great Harvest or your local equivalent and ask them what's in it. (Or Whole Foods or Trader Joes) Tell them the diet you're trying to follow and ask their advice.

But if you want to buy the mass produced pre-packaged stuff, Dana's advice is spot on. Compare the labels. She's also spot on about the high-fructose-corn-syrup crap. But she's in the UK. She may not realise how hard it is to avoid that shit over here without paying top dollar.

The list of breads you cite are all crap, frankly. But then I suspect we have different tastes in bread, so it's hard for me to recomend an alternative -European bread is much less sweet than American bread and does not have HFCS in it. We prefer white bread and buy Italian or Vienna bread from the bakery at our local grocery store. Their whole wheat is good too. But it's nowhere near as sweet as the brands you list. If you want to be certain that your bread is good for your needs, buy it from somewhere that bakes it themselves and ask them.

And re the original question -well that was nailed in post 2. Wheat is not the only grain. If it's whole grain, it's whole grain. It can be whole wheat grain, or it can be other grains, or a combination.

[monster]

Originally Posted by Drax

BTW Dana McHottie, what's yer word on this one?

My word is ugh.

[Cloud]

Originally Posted by Drax

BTW Dana McHottie, what's yer word on this one?

I'm not Dana, but the ingredient list shows stoneground whole wheat flour as the first ingredient, so yes, it's whole wheat bread.

[Aliantha]

Why not simply bake your own bread? That way you can be sure to be getting exactly what you want in your diet if it means that much to you.

[Drax]

Originally Posted by Cloud

I'm not Dana

There wuz no reason to say that. The only reason I directed my post to Dana wuz that she seemed the most helpful at first, but thanks for your input.

[Drax]

Originally Posted by Aliantha

Why not simply bake your own bread?

Two reasons:

1. Left hand
2. Right Hand