NutritionDoc

I have several emails asking about "white" whole wheat bread. So I will attempt to answer all the questions with this:

These "whole grain white" breads, such as Sara Lee Soft & Smooth Whole grain White and Natural Oven Bakery Healthy Beginnings Whole grain White are indeed whole grain. There are also whole grain "white" bagels, English muffins and whole grain Goldfish crackers that retain the texture, nutrients and fiber of the original. BUT whether they provide the same health benefits is not known.

Traditionally, most whole wheat foods use flour that comes from a variety of wheat called red wheat. But most of these new "white" whole grain breads use a special variety called hard white wheat that produces flour with a lighter color and sweeter, milder taste that appeals to white bread lovers. This hard white wheat undergoes a unique processing that reduces the particle size of the whole wheat germ and bran to a size similar to that of refined flour, but still retains the fiber and nutrients in the whole grain.

The whole grain white flour used in the new products, as well as the production process itself, were developed by ConAgra, which sells the flour to food companies. Ultragrain flour is this years hot product.

Ounce for ounce, Ultragrain flour has the same amount of fiber, nutrients and phytonutrients as a traditional whole wheat flour, because the bran and the germ of the wheat remain intact. BUT, none of the new products are made with 100% Ultragrain flour; most contain only about 30% to 50% Ultragrain. The rest? . . . . plain old refined wheat (aka white) flour. Soooooooooooo read product labels carefully.  Sara Lee's Soft & Smooth Made with Whole grain White Bread, for example, contains 30% Ultragrain and 70% refined white flour.

While the new white whole wheat breads are certainly an improvement over traditional refined white breads, they are not as good as true whole grain products. The 100% whole grain breads are just that - 100% whole grain - so they should be your first choice. But if you are a die hard fan of white bread these new breads do kick it up a notch and contribute to your whole grain intake.