JOIN US'Whole'-y grain
With a plethora of modern diets vying for the attention of the health-conscious consumer today, people are turning to whole wheat bread as a healthy breakfast option and also as a healthy snack. High-fibre brown bread, atta bread and multigrain bread are the products which are now being recognised as healthy breads. These healthy breads are made from whole wheat flour containing high amounts of fibre.
Refined flour, out of which most white bread is made, leaves out the outer skin from wheat (called bran), and hence deprives consumers of crucial fibre required for good digestion. Fibre aids in digestion as well as the elimination of waste from the body. Bread contains Vitamins B1 & B2 which are essential for physical growth and in extracting energy from food.
Making the right choice while buying bread is important. The flour that goes into freshly baked bread should be completely unprocessed. When looking for whole grain bread, one needs to check whether it contains enough fibre, vitamins and minerals so as to obtain all the vital nutrients required for healthy digestion. Today, bread is fortified with iron, calcium and other essential minerals. These types of bread can easily fulfil the requirements of a total nutritious meal.
Bread has been man’s staple diet for over three millennia, and even ancient Egyptians consumed bread regularly. Bread has enabled man to survive harsh climatic changes, droughts, floods and long journeys. There is every reason to believe that bread has evolved as a category and plenty of advancements have been achieved over the years to make bread a healthy food option.
(The author is director, Bonn Group of Industries)