Wheat and "white wheat" bread - Are they comparable?

I love to help you become healthier! Reply with questions, and if I cannot answer them, I will find someone who can!

I have been very skeptical of the new "white wheat" bread. Honestly, I believed it was a scam. I was convinced that marketers were trying to make naive people buy something that had no more nutritional value than white bread. So, I have never purchased it. However, in a class I am currently enrolled in, the question came up: Is white wheat bread as nutritious as wheat bread? So, our professor did some research and this is what she found:

"After a little research on white wheat bread, I am pleasantly surprised by my findings. I am including resources that I found particularly helpful at the end of this post.

As we discussed in a previous post, white regular white bread is made with refined grains, which go through a rigorous process that strips out particular (healthful) parts of the grain. But, white whole-wheat bread, just like regular whole-wheat bread, is made with the whole grain.

The differences in the type of grain that is used. White whole-wheat bread is made with an "albino" variety of wheat, which is obviously lighter in color and has a sweeter flavor. Pretty cool, eh?! According to Katherine Zeratsky, an RD that answers questions on the Mayo Clinic website, when it comes to grocery shopping and reading those Nutrition Labels, look for bread products that list the "whole" grains as the first ingredient (whole wheat or white whole wheat). Zeratsky says, "If the label doesn't say "whole" first, it isn't a whole-grain product."

Also important, according to my reading from the Wheat Foods Council, regular whole wheat and white whole wheat are nutritionally equivalent! I think this is a great option for families with children who don't care for the taste of (red grain) whole wheat bread."

Happy grocery shopping, everyone. :-)

References:
Weise, E. USATODAY.com Website. 2005. Health and Behavior: "White Wheat: Best thing since..."
http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2005-03-16-white-wheat_x.htm.

Zeratsky, K. MayoClinic.com Website. 2008. Nutrition and Healthy Eating Q and A. "White whole-wheat bread: is it nutritious?" http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/whole-wheat-bread/AN01512.

"Grains of truth about white wheat." 2010. Wheat Foods Council. http://www.wheatfoods.org/Link.asp?IdS=00080B-8B7D4D0&Url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Ewheatfoods%2Eorg%2F%5FFileLibrary%2FProduct%2F43%2FWhite%2520Wheat%2Epdf.


Special reference to Professor Sara Police. Thank you to my Professor for her research, and clarifying this for us all!