Whole Wheat VS. Whole Grain

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-15-2003
Whole Wheat VS. Whole Grain
14
Fri, 01-09-2004 - 2:38pm
Ok, guys, this post is to clear up any confusion about Whole Wheat and Whole Grain as this has been a discussion on this board many many times. I work at a small flour mill in Texas and have checked my information with the President of our company and the Research and Development Department to make sure that the info I am sharing is in fact correct. So, here goes:

Whole Wheat is the same as Whole Grain. For something to be labeled as Whole Wheat or to list Whole Wheat in the ingredients they must grind the entire wheat kernel without adding to or taking away from the original kernel. Whole grain is the same thing, only it applies to different kinds of grain. This is a federal regulation. Whole Wheat is not the same as Wheat Bread or Wheat flour. It must have the word "Whole" in it for it to mean what we want. I even go so far as to make sure it says "100% Whole Wheat" for my bread purchases.

So, we have:

White bread: made with white flour - bad

Wheat bread: usually made with half white and half whole wheat flour - still bad

Whole Wheat bread: made with Whole Wheat flour that is ground from the entire Wheat Kernel - Good

Whole Grain bread: made with a flour that consists of some kind of whole grain be it Wheat, Rye, etc. - good

Sprouted Grain Bread: made with Wheat kernels that have been soaked in water until sprouting occurs, we must still make sure this says Whole Wheat or Whole Grain on the package - good

I hope this helps clear things up, and I hope it doesn't sound preachy. I just figured I should take the time to explain what I know. :-)


Michelle

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iVillage Member
Registered: 07-17-1999
Sat, 01-10-2004 - 4:05pm

Just thought I'd post a link to the thread started by Maggie about info from the book here to make it more "accessible."


http://messageboards.ivillage.com/n/mb/message.asp?webtag=iv-fbsouthbeach&msg=3011.1


 

winter 2010 siggy

iVillage Member
Registered: 07-17-1999
Mon, 01-12-2004 - 1:07am

Bumping this up for chellynae to see.


 

winter 2010 siggy

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2003
Mon, 01-12-2004 - 9:28am
Just a thought --- whole grains no matter what type, add more fiber to a bread. The book originally states to look for breads that have 5 grams of fiber or more, which was then reduced (I read somewhere) to 3 grams or more. Fiber is what makes a food have less of an effect on the whole insulin/glucose thing.

When I buy a whole grain/whole wheat bread --- I look for the most fiber, because then you are probably getting closer to the "true" whole grain.

Example --- there is a bread around where I live made from a company called "when pigs fly". Their whole grain bread is 5 grams of fiber and is very heavy versus regular brands with 3 grams of fiber and have a lot lighter consistancy.

Ellen

 

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-15-2003
Mon, 01-12-2004 - 10:36am
Sorry, I don't get to a computer much on the weekends.

Wheat berries are fine. It's just another name for the entire wheat kernel.

Wheat bran is the outer shell of the kernel. It is fiber, and it should be fine, however I would wonder why they were putting it in the ingredients of bread because if they were using Whole Wheat flour it would already be in the bread. I would think that they were doing this if they are using processed flour and want to up the fiber content.


Gluten is the protein present in flour and is obtained by soaking it until all the starch is extracted and only the protein is left. Gluten is responsible for the elasticity and stickiness of dough. If a company is adding gluten to their bread it is because they have started out with the "wrong" kind of wheat for bread making and are adding it to make a higher quality bread. (I could go into a whole spill on the types of wheat used for different types of flour but I think that is another discussion and not relevant here)OR they are making a low carb bread and are using only the gluten because the starches have been stripped from it. So, yes gluten is processed, BUT it is all protein, so each person must make their own decisions as to whether this is allowed in their own diet. I think that it is the lesser of evils, but if we are sticking to all natural and whole foods I would stay away.

In my opinion the least amount of ingredients in a bread...the better. I am always very careful that it says 100% Whole Wheat in the ingredients, and that no other unnecessary ingredients are used.

Does this help?? I like answering these questions. It makes me think that all of my wheat and flour knowledge is not useless!! :-)


Michelle

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