The glycemic index (GI) of a food tells you how slowly or quickly a certain food will raise your blood sugar. What is not shown on either nutrition labels is the glycemic index, which is also important to consider. ![]() But, ‘added’ vitamins are not the same as eating real vitamins from a natural food source – they are not as effective for the body. Oftentimes white breads will have ‘added’ vitamins, which makes them appear more nutritious. You will see that the white, refined bread is higher in calories and total carbs, but lower in vitamin B than the whole wheat bread is. Take a closer look at the difference between whole wheat and white bread in the two nutrition labels below. Refined grains are simple carbohydrates that tend to raise blood sugar very quickly and have little nutrition to offer your body. The most common refined wheat product is white bread – the infamous “Wonderbread” being a prime example of a refined grain product. Refined wheat products often have added sugar in them to make them even more appealing. But, the refining process also removes most of the fiber, iron and B vitamins, making the product devoid of nutrients. ![]() This process creates a finer textured flour and gives the product a longer shelf life (great for product manufacturers). The refining process of wheat removes the germ and bran, leaving only the center (called the endosperm). Unlike brown whole grains, one thing most refined grains have in common is they are ‘white.’ Whole grains are complex carbohydrates that raise blood sugar levels a little slower than simple carbs do. And you’ll often see whole grain breads or cereals advertise their “healthiness” on the packaging. Whole grains are considered to be healthier than refined grains because they are more nutrient dense and they contain greater amounts of fiber. Therefore, it’s usually easy to spot whole grain breads, crackers and cereals because they tend to be darker in color (brown) than refined products (white). Just like the name suggests, these grains are “whole” because they have not had the germ and bran removed during processing. Like most grains, wheat can be broken down into two categories that you may already be familiar with: whole grain and refined grain.
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