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The Whole Truth about Whole Wheat

Posted By: Brian Hossink on 02/23/2011

As a reader of these Fit Tips you probably have a general interest in health and nutrition.  Therefore, I'm sure you are aware of the principle that we should eat more whole grains and less white/processed grains. Eating a diet rich in whole grains may even help reduce your chances of having a stroke, or developing diabetes or heart disease.  Whole grains are particularly wholesome sources of antioxidants, fiber, magnesium, selenium, and potassium.

So why is wheat bread a scam?

You think you make a healthy choice by choosing a "wheat bread", but even "white bread" is made from wheat, and therefore  is technically wheat bread.  Wheat bread is a meaningless marketing term.  Some manufacturers will even add carmel coloring to their whitish bread to make it look more like what we call "wheat bread". Even Subway's Wheat and 9-Grain breads sound healthy, but really should be classified as White bread.

If you want to take a significant step in eating better there are two things you can do to get your whole grains:

1. Look for "100% Whole Wheat".  This is a meaningful term which the government has defined. It is what it says, though you will find there is often price premium for treating your body well.

2. Read the ingredient labels.  The label is where you will find how wholesome the bread is. The list is in order of predominance, so look for the right stuff at the front. Avoid terms like bleached, unbleached, and enriched.   

Finding the Whole Truth takes a little more work, but you're worth it!