Welcome back. For years we've been told to avoid white bread it's full of sugar
can make you fat and has little nutrition but that's all about to change.
Should we be getting white, brown, wholemeal, whole-grain, there is a lot to decide.
For years we've been led to believe that brown bread is best
and white isn't worth touching. There are a lot of people to be very skeptical about the
health benefits of white bread well turns out that's just a loaf of lies
white bread might be the best option for you. For some instances white bread could be a better option the
difference between white and wholemeal isn't huge. There are still benefits from eating white bread.
key things we do want to look at with breads is the glycemic index if you can
feed your family on an 85 cent load and it's good for you that is great
Do bakers dye their bread to make it appear healthier there is a little bit
of adding things like molasses to brown breads which does enhance that
brown flavor and whose claims stack up is often just white bread died that's
what they do they diet then they had access to it some multi grain breads can
be white breads with a few seeds and to me that's not the best type of
multigrain multigrain whole grain low GI high fiber white rye never have we had
more options and more confusion bread is an absolute staple nearly every
household in Australia will be buying a loaf every few days
that's the decision could be improved you could be getting healthier options
you could be getting better value options and that doesn't mean avoiding
white bread according to choice consumer expert
Aaron Turner Beacon misconceptions of that white bread are really that it's always
unhealthy I think that we're very blessed in Australia and that companies
have now been able to make a lot of improvements to white breads where
they're able to add in a lot of nutrients and particularly a lot of
fiber which was originally the reason why we chose wholemeal over white. Dietitian
Melanie McGrice claims that white breads are now lower in salt and preservatives
plus all commercial breads have added folate and iodine so Melanie you've
compared like our biggest brands wholemeal versus white rose what did you
find well some people might be surprised to
find that the white bread actually was lower in kilojoules lower in salt and
lower in fat than the wholemeal bread but the wholemeal bread had more fiber
so because it had more fiber it would also have more micronutrients breads are
created equal nowadays there are plenty of brands that add fiber come some of
them have more than a standard wholemeal bread so how do they rate when it comes
to placing the index the ranking of carbs according to their effect on blood
glucose levels dr. Joanna McMillan says the lower the GI the fuller
you'll feel for longer often a wholemeal breads have just as equally high G eyes
as white bread and that's because the fiber is so ground down that it actually
doesn't make a difference to the attack and the speed of the attack of our
digestive enzymes so for a lower GI bread you've either got to look for one
that tells you it's low GI on the packs or your best option are actually
whole-grain where you can still see bits of the grain intact and bread cheap
doesn't always mean nasty and expensive doesn't automatically mean healthy often
when you look at the breads and it looks like it's going to be a whole-grain CD
bread read the ingredients list and you'll find
first ingredient is still wheat flour and that sort of find white flour that they're
then adding some grains and whole grains into they're not the only tales we've
been fed over the years how about the one that white bread flour is bleached
well in Australia that stopped years ago or have you ever been told that
manufacturers color their brown bread to make it appear healthier molasses has
been added to some brown bread it is used for a couple of different reasons
but it does help to add some darker color to breads and look I don't think
it's a bad thing I'm not overly concerned about it because the amounts
are very very small it goes to show one brand can be very different to the next
this dietitian has served up her top picks. For multigrain it's Burgen whole
meal and seeds with a whopping 9 grams of fiber per serve with lots of different
grains and seeds plus a low GI brown bread Helga's traditional wholemeal with
65% wholemeal flour and the basic white tip top the one low in kilojoules with
5.6 grams of fiber per serve you don't have to fell guilty about eating white bread
even white bread is better than going and having a chocolate or
take away the protein content it is nutritious it's the staff of life we've
been eating white bread for ever and ever.
Sasha Lewis from bakery believes there's nothing wrong with white bread
but you've got to be careful for what you put on it and don't go overboard the
first thing you look for is a really nice brown crisp crust you're looking
for taste you're looking for the fact that it's actually made locally I think
that's quite important I know where your flour comes from though that it's
actually well made if you like it but in moderation the experts agree on one
thing the healthiest option of all is a whole grain bread chock full of seeds
and grains it's whole grains that are associated with a reduced risk of
chronic diseases like heart disease and tight
to diabetes I'd be recommending that you're looking for a range of different
types of grains so that you're getting that variety as opposed to just one type
of grain and looking for something with as much fiber as possible and if you're
on a diet watch those portion sizes there is a
tendency for thicker sliced breads and for bigger loafs and so it's very easy
to suddenly find yourself making a sandwich with enormous slices of bread
and of course that's what's going to up your kilojoules. A star ratings are there
to help you find the best option within a category and we're starting to see the
ratings roll out onto bread rather than just going for wholemeal bread and
thinking that that's going to be good I'd really advise families to think
about what your family needs and look at the label to find a bread that's really
going to suit your family's individual needs