wholewheat / wholemeal bread

[Listlad]

I looked at the Hovis Low Carb today and compared with the Burgan loaf and the Burgan loaf was distinctly lower in carbs gram per 100g

 

[DavidGrahamJones]

. . . . . whole meal or wholewheat what do you guys use . . . . .

Hi Phil, welcome to the forum.

Personally I can't touch bread of any sort, the glycemic load is too much and my blood glucose will spike after eating. For me, glycemic index doesn't make any difference, it would be nice if it did.

Have you checked your BG after eating bread?

 

[Daphne917]

Hi everyone I have been type 2 for several years now but have finaly decided to adopt the low carb way the only real upset for me is bread i make and enjoy making bread I was reading that wholewheat bread is far better for you as it is much lower on the glycemic chart than white bread here is the problem whole meal or wholewheat what do you guys use finding it hard to get whole wheat some say it is the same but in my understanding wholewheat is exactly that where as wholemeal is any grains

@Phil17712 I have Tesco’s High Protein bread and it hardly affects my BS. I probably average about 5 slices per week either toasted or as a sandwich. I have tried others and have also been ok but prefer the Tesco one particularly toasted. I only generally have one slice either toasted with eggs or loaded with filling for a sandwich. However I did experiment the other day and had 2 slices toasted with marmalade and my overall rise was 1.5 but 2 slices is the exception (particularly with marmalade as it’s usually peanut butter or pate) not the norm! If you have a meter try it and see what result you get - we are a diverse bunch of individuals and what one of us can eat another may not be able to and vice versa so none of us know until we test.

 

[daisy1]

@Phil17712
Hello Phil and welcome to the Forum Here is the Basic Information we give to new members and I hope you will find it both interesting and helpful.

BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEW MEMBERS

Diabetes is the general term to describe people who have blood that is sweeter than normal. A number of different types of diabetes exist.

A diagnosis of diabetes tends to be a big shock for most of us. It’s far from the end of the world though and on this forum you'll find well over 235,000 people who are demonstrating this.

On the forum we have found that with the number of new people being diagnosed with diabetes each day, sometimes the NHS is not being able to give all the advice it would perhaps like to deliver - particularly with regards to people with type 2 diabetes.

The role of carbohydrate

Carbohydrates are a factor in diabetes because they ultimately break down into sugar (glucose) within our blood. We then need enough insulin to either convert the blood sugar into energy for our body, or to store the blood sugar as body fat.

If the amount of carbohydrate we take in is more than our body’s own (or injected) insulin can cope with, then our blood sugar will rise.

The bad news

Research indicates that raised blood sugar levels over a period of years can lead to organ damage, commonly referred to as diabetic complications.

The good news

People on the forum here have shown that there is plenty of opportunity to keep blood sugar levels from going too high. It’s a daily task but it’s within our reach and it’s well worth the effort.

Controlling your carbs

The info below is primarily aimed at people with type 2 diabetes, however, it may also be of benefit for other types of diabetes as well.

There are two approaches to controlling your carbs:

• Reduce your carbohydrate intake
• Choose ‘better’ carbohydrates

Reduce your carbohydrates

A large number of people on this forum have chosen to reduce the amount of carbohydrates they eat as they have found this to be an effective way of improving (lowering) their blood sugar levels.

The carbohydrates which tend to have the most pronounced effect on blood sugar levels tend to be starchy carbohydrates such as rice, pasta, bread, potatoes and similar root vegetables, flour based products (pastry, cakes, biscuits, battered food etc) and certain fruits.

Choosing better carbohydrates

The low glycaemic index diet is often favoured by healthcare professionals but some people with diabetes find that low GI does not help their blood sugar enough and may wish to cut out these foods altogether.

Read more on carbohydrates and diabetes.

Over 145,000 people have taken part in the Low Carb Program - a 10 week structured education course that is helping people lose weight and reduce medication dependency by explaining the science behind carbs, insulin and GI.

Eating what works for you

Different people respond differently to different types of food. What works for one person may not work so well for another. The best way to see which foods are working for you is to test your blood sugar with a glucose meter.

To be able to see what effect a particular type of food or meal has on your blood sugar is to do a test before the meal and then test after the meal. A test 2 hours after the meal gives a good idea of how your body has reacted to the meal.

The blood sugar ranges recommended by NICE are as follows:

Blood glucose ranges for type 2 diabetes

• Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
• 2 hours after meals: under 8.5 mmol/l

Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (adults)

• Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
• 2 hours after meals: under 9 mmol/l

Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (children)

• Before meals: 4 to 8 mmol/l
• 2 hours after meals: under 10 mmol/l

However, those that are able to, may wish to keep blood sugar levels below the NICE after meal targets.

Access to blood glucose test strips

The NICE guidelines suggest that people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes should be offered:

• structured education to every person and/or their carer at and around the time of diagnosis, with annual reinforcement and review
• self-monitoring of plasma glucose to a person newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes only as an integral part of his or her self-management education

Therefore both structured education and self-monitoring of blood glucose should be offered to people with type 2 diabetes. Read more on getting access to blood glucose testing supplies.

You may also be interested to read questions to ask at a diabetic clinic.

Note: This post has been edited from Sue/Ken's post to include up to date information.
Take part in Diabetes.co.uk digital education programs and improve your understanding. Most of these are free.

• Low Carb Program - it's made front-page news of the New Scientist and The Times. Developed with 20,000 people with type 2 diabetes; 96% of people who take part recommend it... find out why
  
  
• Hypo Program - improve your understanding of hypos. There's a version for people with diabetes, parents/guardians of children with type 1, children with type 1 diabetes, teachers and HCPs.
  

 

[Pinkorchid]

Bread is a personal choice and one that I respect, but if you’re wondering how much - or which type - you can get away with, then in my opinion you’re setting yourself up to fail a low-carb diet. Firstly I bet 10p that any grain-based bread in any worthwhile quantity will raise your blood glucose concentration undesirably. Secondly, and more importantly, you’ll remain hooked on carbohydrate, which is kind of counter productive on a low-carb diet.

But again, it’s a choice we’re all free to make. Just be aware that wholewheat brown/wholemeal/wholegrain etc. will all have a deleterious effect on your sugars. By how much, and whether or not you’ll be concerned, is another matter.

Plenty here do eat low carb bread and especially the Bergen Linseed and Soya bread and others find Ryvita crackers a good substitute. Many used to have the Lidl protein rolls until they stopped making them and there was an outcry here about the demise of them because so many here had them as the only bread they could eat. A lot of the members freezers were full of them

 

[Tophat1900]

Dr.Fung on the GI index

https://idmprogram.com/carbohydrates-faulty-gi-index-idm-2-2/

 

[lucylocket61]

I make my own bread using organic stoneground wholemeal flour. I am in the UK, so that mean the flour is using all of the grain. I can eat a couple of slices of this a day. I recommend getting a meter and testing before and after eating some, to see how it affects you. We are all different in our response to grains.

I cannot eat pasta, rice or more than a tiny bit of potato.

 

[lucylocket61]

I think you have that the wrong way round. Whole-wheat flour is all the grain milled, wholemeal is white flour with some bran added. It may mean different things in the US.

interesting Which article about shop bread and definitions of wholemeal:

https://www.which.co.uk/news/2018/04/the-whole-meal-truth-about-wholemeal-bread/

 

[Providence 62]

As you are a baker already why not try some of the low carb breads made with almond flour? I am not a baker but make the quick microwave bread and sometimes make the occasional loaf. It's very low carb and not bad at all.

 

[Mr_Pot]

interesting Which article about shop bread and definitions of wholemeal:

https://www.which.co.uk/news/2018/04/the-whole-meal-truth-about-wholemeal-bread/

I have looked into this some more and I seem to have been mistaken (hard to believe I know!). The references I had turned out not to apply to the UK. The last sentence of your link sums up the problem with a definition. I think "stoneground" is a better indication that flour contains the whole grain but I might be wrong about that as well.

 

[bulkbiker]

That's why bread is best avoided....no-one can be sure what's really in it...

 

[lucylocket61]

I have looked into this some more and I seem to have been mistaken (hard to believe I know!). The references I had turned out not to apply to the UK. The last sentence of your link sums up the problem with a definition. I think "stoneground" is a better indication that flour contains the whole grain but I might be wrong about that as well.

stoneground refers only to the method of grinding the wheat. Nearly all wheat is ground by steel rollers and it destroys much of the goodness in the germ. Stoneground uses real grinding stones and is slightly coarser, just a bit, and keeps the germ goodness and important B vitamins, among other things, as it it a cold process.

https://www.bakerybits.co.uk/resources/why-the-fuss-about-stoneground-flour-2/

this is an important bit from the link:

The other consideration when comparing the two flour types is that the carbohydrates in stoneground flour are assimilated by the body much more slowly than roller-milled. This is because, as mentioned, the particles of fibre are bigger in stoneground flour which in turn helps to slow down the blood-sugar absorption rate (this is even slower when the bread is naturally fermented using sourdough, and has been shown to slow down further when the flour has been sprouted). Slowing sugar absorption and avoiding peaks in blood sugar is important for our health.

this may explain why I can eat it, in moderation.