Thread: what's the best bread?

100 percent whole wheat

How much should you eat for lunch? Seriously?

Originally Posted by Emma-Leigh

Whole wheat is crappy bread (I don't know what people think it is so good??! ).

10 grain is a little better, as long as it is made on whole-grain flour and doesn't have a lot of other ingredients added.

If you want a good bread your best ones are sprouted breads or breads with whole kernels in them - so look for essene bread, sprouted bread or wholegrain pumpernickel.

.

is whole-grain the same as wholemeal?

I believe whole meal is milled wheat

" “The structure of the grain is important to the glycemic response to food,” says Venn. For example, the milling of wheat efficiently separates the bran, germ, and endosperm to produce finely ground flour. Once those separate parts are reconstituted, whole meal flour is produced. “Bread made from finely ground whole meal flour has a glycemic index [GI] of 71 +/- 2, no different than that of white bread,” emphasizes Venn. (GI of 100 is equivalent to raw sugar.) In contrast, bread made from whole or cracked wheat has a GI 20% to 30% lower than white bread, thus indicating that grain structure affects the metabolism of the carbohydrate content possibly by influencing the slowing rate of digestion and absorption."

http://www.todaysdietitian.com/archi..._0205p28.shtml

Hope that helps

In English please!

I eat whole wheat when I eat bread, which is rare.

Wholemeal is when you grind the wheat up into flour (meal)....whole grain uses just that, the grain (complete and with all it's parts).

The more processed a grain is...the higher you raise the GI (glycaemic index...how fast the body will turn that to sugar) of a product (not sure on the GL (glycaemic load, how much of a particular carb is in that item...ie Watermellon has a high GI....but because it is mostly water there isn't much carb in it so you'd have to eat a boatload of watermellon to get an appreciable insulin response from your body), sometimes GI and GL go hand in hand, but not always). The higher the GI, the greater your insulin release will be to convert that food from glucose to energy.
You do not want insulin surges all day especially if your muscles or brain ain't really looking for an energy source at the moment. So the body will take excess and store as fat for later use.

The lower and more constant you can keep your blood sugar, the better it is for you.

however emma,

whole wheat is better than white? correct?

in most cases no

it is just colouring

Originally Posted by IainDaniel

in most cases no

it is just colouring

Not if 100% whole is stated

If it says that then by law it is

Originally Posted by Gordo

Wholemeal is when you grind the wheat up into flour (meal)....whole grain uses just that, the grain (complete and with all it's parts).

The more processed a grain is...the higher you raise the GI (glycaemic index...how fast the body will turn that to sugar) of a product (not sure on the GL (glycaemic load, how much of a particular carb is in that item...ie Watermellon has a high GI....but because it is mostly water there isn't much carb in it so you'd have to eat a boatload of watermellon to get an appreciable insulin response from your body), sometimes GI and GL go hand in hand, but not always). The higher the GI, the greater your insulin release will be to convert that food from glucose to energy.
You do not want insulin surges all day especially if your muscles or brain ain't really looking for an energy source at the moment. So the body will take excess and store as fat for later use.

The lower and more constant you can keep your blood sugar, the better it is for you.

So basically nevermind GI and focus on GL?

If thats the case why do we continue discussing GI?

100% whole ground down to nothing means nothing. be at the same level as white bread. Over processed.

In the end, are you on a competition diet? if not then enjoy some bread every so often, just make sure if fits in to you Cals. and if you don't like the progress, make some changes,..... IE the bread

I have 3 slice of ezekial bread every day, and I'm 7% body fat

Originally Posted by njc

So basically nevermind GI and focus on GL?

If thats the case why do we continue discussing GI?

Because they are related.

What about whole wheat bagels? I have been eating them for a carb at breakfast a lot lately?

more then likely overprocessed and full of garbage.

But again, if the results you are achieving are where you want to be, then why change it?

Once a day isn't going to kill you, nor be detrimental to your health.

Try to find the least processed, and like what I quote from Emma "sprouted or whole Kernal"

peanut butter and crack sandwich on wheat bread

i think "sprouted grain" is the best diet wise.... correct me if im wrong

Originally Posted by Vieope

Because they are related.

Whats their relation matter if GI is really the important one?

Originally Posted by IainDaniel

in most cases no

it is just colouring

wholemeal bread is a lot better for you than white, white is even more processed and has had all the nutrients removed, whilst wholemeal is rich in fibre and thus has a lower GI

i'm not saying wholemeal bread is good, IMO if you are dieting you should avoid bread altogether, and if lean bulking try to stick to only a few slices a day

Has anyone tried Sara Lee 100% whole multi grain bread? No trans fat. I think diabetics can eat this stuff. What is the best bread that can be bought at a normal grocery store? I love my p&j sandwiches, don't tell me I have to do away with this too.

I eat 2 peanut butter and banana sandwiches every day! I love it.

But I just get the whole wheat stuff. It says "1 gram of fat per slice" on the bag/package.

Originally Posted by njc

Whats their relation matter if GI is really the important one?

Because GI is the one that everyone knows, it's the one that the media and websites play up. Both numbers are important and present a more rounded picture of a food. However, you can't base everything on GI/GL either because in different combinations of GI's and adding fats, for example, to the meal you can effectively alter the GI of an item. It's only a number , but it isn't the whole picture. Sometimes too much emphasis is placed on GI.

what has higher GI, some 7 grain whole wheat bread or cheerios? I know neither are ideal but please answer if you could

GI is of limited benefit.. As I have said before - it is tested under artificial situations. Starving uni students eat exact amounts of foods, weighed to the 0.00g, containing either 25 or 50g of carbohydrate. They eat this first thing in the morning (empty stomach) and then sit in a room for 2 hrs whilst they get their blood sampled every 15 minutes. They are then given a free breakfast where they all stuff themselves stupid because:
1. they have had to wait until ~9-10 am for real food
2. they have had their blood sugar completely sent haywire because of the food they ate (sometimes this is just glucose syrup)
3. they are starving uni students and some of them rely on this meal only to get them through the day

Then then stuff their pockets with the free food samples (or any of the breakfast foods they want) and do the whole thing again the next day.


Anyway - it does not reflect the real world. In the real world you have to take into account the other food in the meal (which will imact on the glycaemic index, such as fats, fibre, protein), the other food in the intestinal tract (you usually have food form the previous meal in the tract) or the serving size you have (rarely will you have 0.00g of an exact food)...

Also - GI is not always a reflection of the health of a product. To give you an example snickers bars are low GI. This is because they have a LOT of fat in them, which will slow digestion. But think of the ingredients - sugar, fat, a little more sugar and a good deal more fat!! On the other hand, a plain white potato may have a very high GI - but it, in reality, does not offer you anything seriously harmful. It does not have saturated fats, trans-fats or high fructose corn syrup... It is just a starchy carb. Same goes for water melon... It has a high GI, but it is WATER MELON!!!

Yes - USUALLY healthier foods are lower GI... but not all the time... And USUALLY lower GI foods have higher fibre and more nutrients (eg: vegetables, whole grains, legumes, fruits, dairy, nuts and seeds) but the rules 'break down' when you start to talk about more processed foods...


Anyway - GL is only slightly better... At least this takes into account the likely serving size of the food... So, it basically indicates that, although something may have a high GI, you get such a little dose of glucose from that food that it does not really matter (in this sense it 'saves' things like watermelon)... But it can also show you that something can have a relatively low GI - but the GL is high because you get a REALLY high dose of carbs in each serve (eg: wholemeal pasta)...

But, once again, this is of limited value too... As soon as you add other things to the meal (and food reminance/fibre to your intestinal tract) the GL is of less importance. So all you have to do is add some vegetables and the glycaemic load of the meal plummits. Same with if you add some protein or some nuts...


And... then you come to think of their hormonal reactions in the body and neither of these things are necessarily a reflection of the INSULIN response (the insulin index - II)... Sure, the more glucose you eat and the faster it is released USUALLY means you get a high and fast rise in blood insulin levels - but not necessarily... Infact, some things are completely different! eg:
whey protein - GI = 0 (it has no glucose in it) but it has a high II
milk products - low GI but high II
some grains/their products - low GI, high II

II is good if you want to know what will happen to your insulin levels... BUT, again, it is only an isolated look at that particular product in a particular amount eaten by itself on an empty stomach. Add in the other variables and it falls apart too...



So what do you do?? Basically:
Stay away from as many processed foods as you can
Make sure you get enough lean protein and healthy fats
Eat a metric butt-load of vegetables
Enjoy a few serves of fruits each day
Eat some nuts and seeds
Eat most of your carbs in the source of legumes and the odd whole grain
Enjoy some skim dairy


If you are going to eat processed foods then get things that:
1/ are the least processed possible
2/ have the least ingredients possible
3/ do not have ingredients sounding like "methoxyprespenidonmalate" in them
4/ do not have lots of ingredients with a series of numbers after them
5/ have lots of fibre in them
6/ do not have high fructose corn syrup or trans fats in them
7/ are relatively healthy

Or make sure they are offering you a particular benefit that you require (eg: whey protein, recovery carb source for workouts etc etc) and can not get elsewhere.

Originally Posted by njc

Whats their relation matter if GI is really the important one?

Because GI is not the 'important one'.

GI makes watermelon "evil"... GL makes watermelon "good".... Add some vegetables and some salmon and both become useless...

There is no 'black and white' when it comes to these things - you need to use them as a guide... but then use your own judgement to make the call on if you should eat it or not.

Originally Posted by ST240

i think "sprouted grain" is the best diet wise.... correct me if im wrong

Well, in my opinion anyway... Anything that has very few ingredients and is as un-processed as possible is the best in terms of providing you with the most nutrients, the most fibre, the most water, the most satiety and the least 'unfriendly' ingredients.

Thanks Emma