Know your Breads

Key Points Wholemeal bread must contain 90-100% wholemeal flour, made from whole wheat grain, including bran and wheatgerm; can be blended with 10% white flour. Is wholegrain bread better than wholemeal? YES Wholegrain bread is usually wholemeal flour plus bits of wheat grains; it has more fibre, nutrients, phytochemicals and a lower Glycaemic index. Very grainy bread (e.g Taylors) is good for alleviating constipation. Sometimes wholegrain bread is made with white flour and has grains/seeds added to it (it is preferable to have wholemeal + grains). Are fibre-enriched white breads the same as wholemeal? NO added vegetable fibre/resistant starch; lacking phytochemicals e.g phytoestrogens What about white bread with fish oil? 7 slides Hi-Q bread = 80g tuna = 200mg omega 3 fatty acids Multigrain is made from white and/or wholemeal flour mixed with wheat/rye or other grains and sometimes seeds; it is better than white and wholemeal bread. Multigrain wholemeal bread with a variety of seeds and grains is an ideal bread (better than wholegrain which usually has only one grain). What about Rye bread? Is bread high in salt? YES FOUR slices of most breads provides about ONE QUARTER of the recommended intake of salt. Yeast-free breads can be very high in salt, because sodium bicarbonate is added as a raising agent. Pritikin, Country life, soy linseed, Burgen and some fruit breads have low salt content. Do any breads have added nutrients? Iron: Tip Top White stuff, Uncle Tobys Energy white Vitamin E: Tip Top White stuff, Tip Top Holsoms wholemeal Should I worry about the Glycaemic index of bread? YES breads with low GI: Burgen soy-linseed or honey & oat; Taylors/wholegrain breads View a table of low GI foods What about SOY-LINSEED bread with phytoestrogens? Isn't this bread high in fat? YES, but its good fat Eat a variety of breads across the week - prefer grainy/seedy So what type of bread is recommended? It is best to vary your intake of bread across the week; it is OK to have some white bread but try to include reduced salt wholegrain/multigrain/seedy breads through the week to ensure you get the phytochemicals that the white breads are missing. Read an on-line pamphlet on fibre and bread by Dr. Rosemary Stanton. Read and online article on bread by Choice magazine.

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Audio Transcripts

Are fibre-increased white breads the same as wholemeal/grain?

Fibre increased white bread may be a good option for children who won't eat wholemeal/grain bread. The fibre, however, is derived from vegetable fibre (lupins, pea hulls). There is no evidence that bread made with vegetable fibre has similar beneficial properties to wholemeal/ grain bread which contains the wheat bran and wheat germ. For example, Buttercup Wonder white contains Hi- maize (a resistant starch) which does not have same laxative effect as wheat fibre. When the outer layers or bran of the wheat grain are removed to make white flour many nutrients and antioxidant phytochemicals (e.g phytoestrogen lignans and other phenolic acids) are also removed which are not replaced when vegetable fibre or resistant starch are added to white bread. It would be almost impossible to add back the cocktail of phytochemicals that have been removed during the milling process to make white flour, mainly because many of them have not yet been properly identified.

What about white bread with fish oil?

There is evidence that omega 3 fatty acids found in fish may protect against heart disease and other diseases. For these reasons, some non-fish foods have been fortified with fish oil such as
the Hi-Q bread, in order to cater for people who dislike or who do not eat much fish.
However, one would have to eat 7 slices of Hi-Q bread to get the recommended amount of omega 3 fatty acids (200mg) which can be found in as little as 80g of tuna. Hi-Q bread is also a white bread with added resistant starch ( hi-maize), therefore it is probably lower in other nutrients and antioxidant phytochemicals.

What about Rye Bread?
Rye bread contains at least 30% rye flour mixed with wholemeal and/or white wheat flour (light rye). Traditional rye bread (dark rye) contains much more rye flour and is usually higher in fibre. Some rye breads look as though they contain a high percentage of rye flour because of their dark colour, but this can be achieved by added malt - look at ingredients list. A recent study from Finland (Leinonen et al. J of Nutr 2000; 130: 164-70) demonstrated that 8 slices of whole rye bread or whole rye crispbread daily may help lower cholesterol in men with slightly elevated blood cholesterol levels (against a background diet of a moderate intake of fat (31-33% energy)).

Do any breads have added nutrients?

Folate is added to many breads and one slice can provide as much as 25-50% of the recommended amount of folate. Read the label. Iron is added to some breads (Tip Top White stuff, Uncle Tobys Energy white); vit E is added to Tip Top Holsoms wholemeal and Tip Top white stuff. By law, thiamin must be added to all bread. Thiamin is used to treat Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome (a disease often found in people with alcohol dependency), and the theory is that bread is widely consumed so it is a good food to add it to in order to reach these people.

Should I worry about the Glycaemic index of bread?
The glycaemic index is a useful concept because it measures how rapidly dietary carbohydrates are absorbed and result in blood glucose and insulin elevations . The GI is not related to whether the carbohydrate is in the form of starch or sugars. The GI measures the rise in blood sugar levels caused by a measured quantity of a particular food. High GI foods are rapidly absorbed and cause a large rise in blood sugar levels which has been linked with an increased risk of diabetes and obesity and heart disease. Low GI foods are recommended for everyone, especially people with diabetes, heart disease and those trying to lose weight. It is recommended to have at least ONE low GI food at each meal/snack and if possible to consume bread with a low GI. Burgen Honey and Oat Bread, Burgen Soy Linseed, Pumpernickel (rye bread) and Taylors bread have low glycaemic indices (GI).

To find out more about the glycaemic index click here.

What about SOY-LINSEED bread with phytoestrogens? Isn't this bread high in fat? Who is it recommended for?

Phytoestrogens are similar to estrogen naturally produced in your body, but they are much weaker (one-hundredth to one-thousandth as potent as human estrogen). They have estrogen-like effects on some tissues and processes in the body, and anti-estrogen effects on other tissues and body processes. They actually may lower the level of natural estrogen your own body produces. Although they are weak estrogens, researchers are finding that they can help offset the drop in estrogen that occurs naturally at menopause. Isoflavones act like hormone replacement therapy (HRT), easing hot flushes.

A study at Monash University by Professor Mark Wahlqvist and Dr Fabien Dalais found that consuming 4-6 slices of soy-linseed bread may help reduce hot flushes, vaginal cell changes and increase bone density in postmenopausal women. It may also help lower blood cholesterol levels and it also has a very low glycaemic index . Long-term well-controlled studies, however, are needed to substantiate the effects reported in the Monash study. Interestingly, even though the bread was high in fat (10% fat) the study subjects did not gain weight. The fat was naturally occurring as 'unrefined' polyunsaturated fat (especially high in omega 3 linolenic acid) from linseed and soygrits which is very good for one's health and there is emerging evidence that omega 3 fats are not as 'fattening' as other types of fats, especially the saturated animal fats.

Most breads on the market contain <3% fat, which tends to be derived from added animal fats which are high in saturated fat or from added vegetable fats which are high in trans fatty acids, both of which have undesirable effects on blood cholesterol.

Dozens of soy linseed breads have come onto the market since this study, however these may not contain the levels of soy and linseed found in the bread used in the Monash study (Burgen Soy Linseed). It is not known whether other brands of soy linseed breads with lower amounts of linseed/soy or which are 'reduced in fat' by removing the 'unrefined' good fat can reduce cholesterol or hot flushes. Read the labels carefully to find out if the manufacturers tell you how many slices of their bread you should eat to get a significant amount of phytoestrogens. We are currently in the process of getting mandatory percentage ingredient labelling in Australia, so bread labels may not currently state the percentage of soy or linseed in the ingredients list. Also, soy linseed bread can taste a bit 'fishy' after 4-5 days because the linseed oil (in the linseed) becomes oxidised very easily. Consuming oxidised fats may have adverse health effects and may increase the oxidation of blood cholesterol (Staprans et al., Diabetes Care 1999 Feb;22(2):300-6). Store bread in the freezer. Don't store any bread in the fridge because it may speed up the changes involved in the staling process.

To summarise, the Burgen soy linseed bread is therefore good for people trying to lose weight, or trying to lower their cholesterol level or trying to control menopausal symptoms or even trying to improve their bone mineral density or trying to control their blood glucose levels.

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