Your Wheat Bread Might Be Lying To You. Here's How
A lot of us are trying to make healthier choices nowadays, from simple swaps of chickpea pasta for normal pasta to more committed ones, like making homemade ice cream using bananas instead of cream and sugar. Regardless of what type of healthy swaps you're making, you want to be sure it's actually a good choice and not just a scam, which is sadly more common than we realize.
A lot of foods marketed as a healthy option are actually bad for you, according to this article in Forbes. The list includes granola bars, fat-free yogurt, and wheat bread, much to our dismay. What's the point of trying to eat healthier if we aren't reaping any of the benefits? On "The Saturday Early Show," Dr. Mallika Marshall explained why wheat bread can be a wolf in sheep's clothing, and stresses the importance of reading labels before you buy a loaf of darker bread (via CBS News).
Wheat bread isn't always a healthy option
Marshall explains why wheat bread isn't always the superior choice (via CBS News). "It may simply have caramel coloring," she revealed. "What you want to see on the label is the term 'whole wheat' or 'whole grain,' and you want that to be the first or second ingredient on the list. Other words to look out for are 'whole mill,' 'whole barley,' or 'whole oats.'" Jennifer Cohen from Forbes backs this up. "If it isn't 100% whole wheat, bread can contain enriched flour, which gives you a sugar spike and crash without any nutritional value," she explained. And both stress the importance of reading the labels on your bread before grabbing any old wheat loaf off the shelf and feeling proud of your health-conscious decision.
Additionally, Tastemade recommends looking for "whole wheat bread which contains higher amounts of protein, fiber, vitamins B1, [and] B2" than its white counterparts, and checking to be sure caramel coloring isn't part of the ingredients list. Some companies make it easy: Ezekiel bread and Dave's Killer Bread are both options that nutritionists swear by due to their great ingredients list.