3. Quality and recipes

3.4. The nutritional value of bread

Cereal grains are the principal crops which have made the continuation of mankind possible. Except for the rice-eating peoples, the principal products of cereal crops have been some form of bakery foods. The great contribution of the Egyptians to food development was in bread making - they produced at least 40 varieties. This variety came not only from using yeast, but also from blending various kinds of cereal grains to make breads differing in texture. Bread was so basic to most people's diets by Roman times that the word was a synonym for food. The role of bread in the maintenance of life and limb is recognized in the English description (1638) that "bread is the staff of life". One is tempted to speculate upon whether the decrease in the domestic consumption of the food we call the "staff of life" may somehow be associated with the increasing prevalence of obesity and possibly other diseases, and our decreasing national productivity. The image of bread as "starchy" or "fattening" is, ironically, contrary to the unique role of cereal grain foods in the history of man.

Governments all over the world have health campaigns. In these campaigns always advocates one of the following recommendations

1. To avoid overweight, consume only as much energy as is expended; if overweight, decrease energy intake and increase energy expenditure.
2. Increase the consumption of complex carbohydrates and "naturally occurring" sugars from about 28 percent of energy intake to about 48 percent of energy intake.
3. Reduce the consumption of refined and processed sugars by about 45 percent to account for about 10 percent of total energy intake.
4. Reduce over-all fat consumption from approximately 40 percent to about 30 percent of energy intake.
5. Reduce saturated fat consumption to account for about 10 percent of total energy intake; and balance that with poly-unsaturated and mono-unsaturated fats, which also should account for about 10 percent of energy intake for a total of 20 percent of calories from fats and oils.
6. Reduce cholesterol consumption to about 300 milligrams per day.
7. Limit the intake of sodium by reducing the intake of salt to about five grams per day.

As a result we should:

1. Increase the consumption of fruit, vegetables and whole grains.
2. Decrease the consumption of refined and other processed carbohydrates and foods high in simple carbohydrates.
3. Decrease the consumption of foods high in total fat, and partially replace saturated fats, whether obtained from animal or vegetable sources, with polyunsaturated d fats.
4. Decrease the consumption of animal fat and choose meat, poultry and fish which will reduce saturated fat intake.
5. Except for young children, substitute low-fat and nonfat milk for whole milk, and low-fat dairy products for high-fat dairy products.
6. Decrease the consumption of butterfat, eggs and other high cholesterol sources. Some consideration should be given to easing the cholesterol goal for pre-menopausal women, young women and the elderly in order to obtain the nutritional benefit of eggs in the diet.
7. Decrease the consumption of salt in foods and foods high in salt content.

Analysis of white flour and wholemeal flour

Before talking about the nutritional value of bread, let's have a look at chemical analysis of white flour and wholemeal flour. Analysis give the following average values:

The proteins in white flour are the gluten of course. With regards to the nutritional value, gluten are not very interesting because they contain little of no lysine, an essential amino acid for humans (70 % less then in eggs for instance). Gluten are also not rich in merdionine and valine, another two amino acid which are important for human beings. White flour also contains much less minerals and vitamins: just compare both analysis and it will be obvious(88 – 95 % extraction).

Brown bread has always been the favourite for nutritionists. The first 3 - 4 layers of the wheat kernel is an excellent source for all kind of vitamins, fibres and proteins. These layers do contain lysine and are rich in vitamin B and fytic acid that forms chelates with the minerals so these can be assimilated by the human body.

The underestimated importance of fibres

Do you like a bowl of muesli for breakfast ? Do you always eat wholemeal bread and do you like fruit and vegetables ? Nutritionists will love this. All these products are rich on nutritional fibres. Those are very important to our body but we are having too few of them. Especially our intestines (bowels) suffer from the lack of them.

Being healthy or not has a lot to do with our nutrition. A balanced nutrition contains all the needs for a good functioning. Vitamins, proteins, minerals, fats, carbohydrates (sugars, dextrins and starch). We know all these substances. Nutritional fibres are at least as important, but it is less known that they are of great importance to our body. And don't think that breakfast cereals are healthy: rice krispies or frosted flakes are full of sugars and fats. If you want to eat healthy have a slice or two of wholemeal bread in the morning. On top of that bread is much cheaper then all the breakfast cereals. Just calculate the price per kilogram and you will be surprised.

What is a nutritional fibre ? Most of us think it is as thready as the fibres of a piece of textile. This is not the case. Blackberries for instance contain a lot of nutritional fibres and they are not thready at all.

A nutritional fibre is that part of the plant we cannot digest. It is a general term for different substances which are located in the cell-wall of plants. Fibres provide firmness to the plant and damp absorption in the plant. More or less the same occurs in our body. Because fibres don't digest and retain fluid, they give volume to the content of the stomach and the intestines. They promote the bowel transit. For people who are having bowel problems, such as slow motion, haemorrhoids or constipation, fibre rich food is often sufficient to solve a large part of the problems.

Nutritious fibres are only found in plants. Eggs, cheese, milk, fish or chicken contain none. The most important sources of nutritious fibres are rye bread, wholemeal bread, vegetables, fruit, brown rice, nuts and white beans.

Nutritionists make a difference between 2 kinds of fibres. Fibres dissolving in water are mainly found in vegetables, fruit and leguminous plants. They have a laxative effect. They a positive effect on the cholesterol and glucose percentage in the blood and would therefore be useful for diabetics.

Non-dissolving fibres are mainly found in wholemeal products. They are a means against constipation because they are able to absorb water in the bowels.

Nutritional fibres are only found in unprocessed products. According to our nutritious habits, we get too little of them : wholemeal flour has become white flour, brown rice is white, apples are processed into transparent apple juice. And with the processes, fibres disappear from our daily diet. Besides nutritious fibres don't get destroyed during baking or cooking : they just become softer.

Nutritious fibres are considered to be an important element in the prevention of the typical prosperity diseases such as obesity, heart conditions and cancer of the bowels. A fibre shortage is not the cause of these diseases, but fibres will slow down the development of these diseases. Especially in the industrialized and well-developed countries, these prosperity diseases appear. Exactly in these places, the use of refined products such as white bread, white rice and white sugar is high.

In the study made by the National Council of Nutrition we learn that the average Belgian only gets 21 g of fibres every day while the recommended amount is 30 to 40 g per day.

The message is simple : eat more fibres. Therefore, systematically choose wholemeal bread or rye bread, both of which are rich in fibres. And if you choose for breakfast cereals, at least make an intelligent choice : choose the less sugared ones.

Nutritional value of bread

The consumer thinks that bread is fattening. NOT TRUE. The butter, the cheese, the jam or the processed meats are much more fattening then a slice of bread. Bread cannot be classified as fattening because it contains little or no fat. Daily bread has an energy value of about 250 kcl/100 g which is many times less then processed meats, cheese etc. Even products such as "Leerdammer Light" or "Milner Light" contain round about 15 % of fat, which is, I admit, much less then the normal cheese but it is still about 10 times as much as in bread.

Noël Haegens

info@classofodos.com

Home