White vs. Wheat

Thanks to our friend, vegan, and nutritionist Shannon for this contribution. You can see her latest work here on page 7.

Q. If you compare the label of white and wheat bread side-by-side, white bread almost looks better in terms of calories, fat, and vitamins. Why?

So, I guess to answer your question fully I would need to see which breads you were looking at... if the labels look similar, it could be in part because the 'wheat bread' is just caramel colored white bread. unless it says 100% whole wheat, which in case it would be just that. When you say that the white looks 'better' what do you mean? less calories?

One misleading thing about the nutritiousness of either is that whole wheat bread has all the nutrients in their 'natural' state, whereas white bread has been enriched with what was removed during processing (aka, added back in), and more of some vitamins are added to enriched foods (folic acid for example).

Since 100% whole wheat bread is denser, it can have a higher calorie count, but balance this against its nutritional advantages: more fiber and it has a lesser effect on your blood sugar, which in the end is going to be benefit your overall health. I compare white bread to enriched cake. Many (most) store-bought breads from the bread aisle--wheat, white or otherwise--contain high fructose corn syrup, making them all nutritionally poor. The best bet is to buy it fresh, or from the health food section of the market, or to make it yourself.

I think bread is one of those foods where you get what you pay for. Unfortunately cheap bread is most likely going to have a lot of additives to keep its shelf life long, whereas healthful breads you can buy fresh and freeze what you don't use.

--Shannon