It's no good for you at the moment Dan, since you're off the gluten this month. However when (or if) you get back into it, then I figure if you're going to eat wheat, you might as well do it properly! There's a very interesting point about wholemeal which I hadn't realised before.
"When it comes to bread, Davie, and co-author, nutritionist Dr Joanna Mcmillan Price, have given five star ratings to pumpernickel, sourdough breads made with whole grain or rye and the heavier wholegrain breads made from wholewheat flour and added grain. Wholemeal, however, doesn't rate so highly - neither does multigrain bread, which Davie and McMillan Price say is made with white flour with a few grains added.
What's wrong with wholemeal? Strictly speaking, a bread made with wholemeal flour can be labelled whole grain because it does contain the whole grain - ie the wheat's bran and germ, the nutritious bits that are removed to make white flour - in the same proportion as found in whole grain bread. But because the fibre in wholemeal flour is ground so finely, it has a higher Glycemic Index than denser whole grain breads.
"Wholemeal bread might have more fibre than 100% white flour and more nutrients but, like white flour, it has a high GI and doesn't keep you feeling full for very long," says Davie. "Any bread made with wholewheat flour is more nutritious than white as it's the outer husk surrounding the wheat - stripped away to make white flour - that contains the majority of nutrients." This makes it nutritionally better than white bread, but not as a nutritious as a good whole grain bread - one that's brown in colour, heavy in weight and with the most visible grain kernels, say Davie and McMillan Price.
What's so good about pumpernickel, according to Star Foods , is that it's made from whole grain rye, is very high in fibre, and packed with nutrients including B vitamins and iron, is low GI - and again, hard to overeat, says Judy Davie.
Wholegrain sourdough and rye sourdough get a five star rating for combining both the nutrients and fibre from a whole grain with the GI lowering benefit that comes with making bread with an acidic sourdough starter (made from fermenting flour and water) rather than yeast.
My pick of the best breads? If I'm supermarket shopping it's Burgen rye or soy and linseed, but if I'm at the deli or health food shop or market I'll get breads from smaller bakeries like Common Ground, Sonoma, Bowen Island or La Tartine. I also love Pure Life's Sprouted Essene bread - a very moist heavy bread made with sprouted wheat or rye that's almost like cake. Lower in salt, but higher in protein than most breads, a single slice keeps you going for hours.
For more information about food and nutrition, check out Davie's website http://www.thefoodcoach.com.au/- as well as healthy recipes, it includes a database which lets you key in the name of just about any food you can think of to find out its nutrient value and tips for using it."
Link to the full article here.
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