Lost 10kg by changing to wholemeal bread

Did anyone see this article on Today Tonight? I have weaned to multi-grain, then will try wholemeal! But I couldn't handle going from white to wholemeal straight away!

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The weight loss benefits of bread
REPORTER: Dr John D'Arcy
BROADCAST DATE: May 27, 2005

A woman who lost 10kg after switching to wholegrain bread and her nutritionist tell Dr John D'Arcy why your choice of bread is a health decision.

These days supermarkets offer at least a dozen types of bread, each offering different health benefits.

Irene was once a white bread devotee. But she made the switch to wholegrain bread six months ago and the weight fell off.

"I've dropped two dress sizes and I've lost ten kilos," Irene said.

Nutritionist Dr Kaye Foster-Powell said unprocessed grain was hard to beat.

"Bread that has the grain in its intact natural form is more slowly digested and that's where the benefit is," Dr Foster-Powell said.

"It means it takes longer for us to chew it, more signals to the brain that we are actually eating something."

At first Irene's children refused to join her in eating wholegrain bread.

"They wouldn't eat it, but I just kept persevering and every time I said 'Look, I've run out of white bread, this is it, you're getting it' and they ate it," she said.

Dr Foster-Powell said bread really mattered for health.

"Bread's the staff of life, it's really important to our health," she said. "It needs to be rich in nutrients, high in fibre, satisfying, full of wholegrains and low GI."

There used to be a saying that "if you're worried about your health, it ain't the bread, it's the spread". But there is more to consider about bread than its colour and the package it comes in.

Bread ratings
White bread: Low in fibre, low in fat but loaded with salt. Nutrition score: 2/10
Wholemeal bread: High in fibre, vitamins and minerals, but only if it is made from wholemeal flour. No guarantee: 5/10.
Multigrain bread: High in fibre, low in fat, the more seeds the better: 8/10.
Soy and Linseed bread: High in fibre and protein, high in fat (but good fat): 9/10.

Most breads don't show GI or glycaemic index levels, because they are so high. The exceptions are Bergen and Promax. The GI index is all about the level of sugar in your blood, along with the hormone insulin.
"We know now that high insulin levels are associated with most of our lifestyle diseases of today," Dr Foster-Powell said.

"Central adiposity, so that thickening of the waistband, that's associated with high insulin levels. Heart disease, even certain types of cancer."

"If you're eating foods that produce a large insulin response, you're going to put on weight. So we need the foods that are low in GI that don't produce such a high insulin response."

It worked for Irene. Kay's advice was simple: look for a bread that is full of grains and low GI.

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We always eat Bergen soy and linseed.......not really from a health perspective, it is just nice! But Olivia has been eating white.........might have to do a switch now she is old enough to handle all the bits! (Not that she needs to lose any weight, obviously, but just to get her into a good habit?)

I have eaten only Burgen Soy and Linseed for over a year now - it is delicious, it freezes extremely well and it is the lowest GI bread available (except for Promax, which IMHO is really horrible).

I am trying to do low GI for my whole pregnancy, seeing as I needed to take Metformin to conceive - I must have insulin resistance, which is a precursor to diabetes II. Hopefully I won't put on heaps of weight or get gestational diabetes...that is the plan!

Yep, I freeze it straight away 'cos I eat it toasted and it really does taste delicious! My DP was a bit concerned about how it was for women, he joked that he hope he wasn't going to grow boobs!!

My breakfast is always a single slice of toasted S&L with vegemite, mmmm yummmmmmmmyyyyyyy.

Well, a single slice (with marg and vege) and also a glass of warm milk flavoured with decaf coffee. Keeps me going until mid-morning, when I'll have a piece of fruit.

Seriously, I used to eat huge breakfasts (I could do 10 weetbix with loads of sugar and milk, no problem at all) but this low-GI thing works like a charm!

we've just switched to not buying white bread - been a huge struggle for both of us... we are also experimenting not having potatoes etc (carbs) at night - will see how that goes

AJ, if you just switch to low-GI carbs then you don't need to cut them out at all. Potatoes are VERY high GI, just like eating a bag of lollies in terms of sugars heading into the blood. Sweet potato is very low GI (and IMHO tastes MUCH nicer, so sweet!).

Oh, and another tip - just swithing to brown bread does not necessarily help you, it needs to be a really grainy bread, otherwise you might as well stick with white bread...a good compromise would be to go to white grainy bread??

I LOVE the Burgen Soy and Linseed. The dark rye is excellent too.

Jeff and I eat Helgas most of the time though. I make killer sandwiches for lunch at work and the Burgen isn't big enough unfortunately but I love the taste.

does anyone know if the wonder white fits into this category?

i have to have a lot of fibre, but love my white bread, so switched to wonder white cause it is still high fibre, but does anyone know how it goes for GI? or other health benefits?

maybe i will just have to bite the bullet and switch.

Linda

Me too, Linda. I love white bread but we have been trying to "make the switch" because we know it is healthier. Now I buy one loaf of wholemeal bread and one of wholegrain just until we get used to it then it is wholegrain all the way!
Losing 10kgs because of it would help... but i somehow think that changing the bread won't do it for me... cutting out the chocolate might help more ;)