Stay away from the "wheat" bread
We've all heard it before, "Stay away from white flour." Do we really know what "they" mean though. Why are we supposed to eat whole-grain breads anyway? The answer really has to do with how the grains are processed.
White flours are processed by stripping down the wheat kernel to get the good "white stuff" in the middle of the wheat kernel. The only problem with this is all that stripping away of the rest of the kernel means all the "good stuff" is gone. 
If you ever look at the back of the ingredients label of white bread, you most likely will see the first ingredient as something like "enriched white flour" or "bleached flour". What does that mean? It means it's not whole wheat flour.
Unlike whole wheat flour, however, white flour, unbleached flour, etc. have to be enriched with the nutrients that were taken away during the milling process. The problem with this is the quality of the added nutrients isn't as good as whole wheat flour. In actuality, people would need to eat several slices of enriched bread to get the same benefits of a slice of whole wheat bread. Also, even though breads can be enriched, some of the original nutrients of the wheat kernel, such as fiber, aren't put back in. Overall, whole wheat flour has a lot more nutrients in it.
I know it's also been said that white bread has a higher glycemic index than whole wheat bread. In other words, white bread spikes your blood sugar more. In reality, they really are about the same. Whole wheat and white have about the same effect on blood sugar. The biggest reason to eat whole wheat bread really is because of the nutrients.
So why do companies still make white bread? Good question. One reason is because white bread doesn't taste all that bad, and companies know it. People like the softer, less grainy taste of white bread. White bread is also better for grocers because it can stay on the shelf longer without going bad. This means they won't lose money by throwing away old bread.
No here's the kicker to the whole thing. You know that whole wheat bread is the best option, but did you know that wheat bread is not whole wheat bread. Go to your local grocery store and check out the bread shelf...this is what I do when I'm bored. See how many bread packages you can find that say wheat bread; they're everywhere! Now take one of those packages and look at the ingredients. What do you see?
Can you believe it! We're being ripped off I tell ya! Well maybe not, but anyway...
The first ingredient in wheat bread is..."enriched wheat flour". What's that all about?
Don't be fooled. Wheat bread is not WHOLE WHEAT BREAD. All those benefits I was just talking about...yeah, you don't get any of those with wheat bread; it's just like eating white bread. In fact, it is white bread. White bread is wheat flour that has been bleached to give it that whiteness.
So next time you go to buy bread, make sure you check the ingredients label and look for nothing but whole wheat flour as the first ingredient.
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