How much fiber should a piece of bread have?

[Momtofour]

I have been buying 100% whole wheat bread for my family. Most of the 100% whole wheat breads have 3 fiber carbs. If it is 100% whole wheat shouldn't it have more fiber than this? I'm just curious. I'm scared to eat any because I don't think the fiber count is high enough.

[not2late]

Re: How much fiber should a piece of bread have?

Nope. That's about the standard amount of fiber for 1 serving of grains. 1 slice of bread is typically 1 serving of grains. Oatmeal is slightly higher at 4 grams per serving (1/2 cup cooked), which is why it gets that "high fiber food" label. Where's the eye rolling smilie? Oh here it is :

The Nature's Own Brand has a "Double Fiber" bread that contains.....drumroll.......5 grams fiber per serving.

Grains as a source of fiber is generally overrated.

[sadie147]

Re: How much fiber should a piece of bread have?

I dabbled in south beach for a while, and one of the rules on there is to always make sure you are really getting a whole grain bread, which i think is a good rule. I always now watch for 'enriched wheat' flour as an ingredient, which isn't nearly as nutritious as whole grain or whole wheat flour, it's basically like white flour...

I love pumpernickle and rye breads, they seem to be more dense and filling to me and are whole grain.

I think the 'whole wheat' bread thing can be very decieving if you don't know how to read the labels.

[not2late]

Re: How much fiber should a piece of bread have?

That's very true, sadie. You have to be very careful when you read those products. Many times I've read labels for whole grain products that list "enriched flour" as the number 1 ingredient. I think they get away with the label because the product typically has grain components added in, like fiber and germ, etc.

[Momtofour]

Re: How much fiber should a piece of bread have?

I always now watch for 'enriched wheat' flour as an ingredient, which isn't nearly as nutritious as whole grain or whole wheat flour, it's basically like white flour...


I think the 'whole wheat' bread thing can be very decieving if you don't know how to read the labels.

Are you saying that even though the bread has a label on it that says 100% whole weat, it may not be?

I checked my bread and it does list the first ingredient as 100% whole weat, so I assume it is ok.

I am still scared to try bread. I guess I will try one piece this week and see how it goes.

Do we actually ever need to eat bread or rice? We can get more fiber from foods such as pumpkin so I don't see why we need to eat bread/rice/oatmeal for fiber. I like these foods but I can see myself having trouble handling portion size so I would rather ovoid them.

Thank you for answering my question. I have wondered about this for a long time.

[sadie147]

Re: How much fiber should a piece of bread have?

Are you saying that even though the bread has a label on it that says 100% whole weat, it may not be?

I checked my bread and it does list the first ingredient as 100% whole weat, so I assume it is ok.

I am still scared to try bread. I guess I will try one piece this week and see how it goes.

Do we actually ever need to eat bread or rice? We can get more fiber from foods such as pumpkin so I don't see why we need to eat bread/rice/oatmeal for fiber. I like these foods but I can see myself having trouble handling portion size so I would rather ovoid them.

Thank you for answering my question. I have wondered about this for a long time.

Yup if it says 'enriched wheat flour' stay away. If it does say just 'whole wheat flour' it is whole whole wheat bread. I think it's terrible that they get away with being able to list breads as whole wheat when they're basically just darker white bread. If you keep your eye on the ingredients you'll be amazed at how many breads have enriched whole wheat flour in them.

I don't think there's any reason you really have to eat bread, but i do think it's a good idea to at least try bread/grains to see how you react. That way you'll know how your body reacts if you do ever indulge.

I don't eat bread often at all, but it is nice to have it on occaision. we go to a local restaurant that has dark rye toast, I have it probably once a month..it's a nice treat and i don't have any issues with grains.

I also love steel cut oatmeal, and it does have health benefits besides fiber ie lowering cholesterol.

Here's a good article on whole grains:

When you start reading ingredient lists, you will notice another term on most bread products made in the United States. It is enriched wheat flour. This is not the same thing as whole grain. In the United States, we enrich -- or add some vitamins and one mineral back into refined grains. For example, if a whole grain of wheat is ground into flour, you retain the vitamins, minerals, and fiber from all three parts of the grain. But when the germ and bran are removed before making it into flour (refined flour), your food will contain only the starchy part of the grain. So, wheat flour in the United States adds back a few of the nutrients that are removed. You lose about 11 vitamins and minerals, and five are added back. The nutrients added back are iron, and four of the B vitamins -- Niacin, Riboflavin, Thiamin, and folic acid.

Enriched wheat flour is a refined grain. You also see enriched wheat flour listed as all-purpose flour, cake flour, bleached flour, and bread flour. You find it in breads as well as baked products like cake, cookies, muffins, and snack bars. Other refined grains are white rice and white pasta.

Often, products that used enriched wheat flour and have added sugar and fat are called processed foods. A good rule of thumb, especially for grains is that the further away a food is from its natural state, the less nutritious. For example brown rice con

When you start reading ingredient lists, you will notice another term on most bread products made in the United States. It is enriched wheat flour. This is not the same thing as whole grain. In the United States, we enrich -- or add some vitamins and one mineral back into refined grains. For example, if a whole grain of wheat is ground into flour, you retain the vitamins, minerals, and fiber from all three parts of the grain. But when the germ and bran are removed before making it into flour (refined flour), your food will contain only the starchy part of the grain. So, wheat flour in the United States adds back a few of the nutrients that are removed. You lose about 11 vitamins and minerals, and five are added back. The nutrients added back are iron, and four of the B vitamins -- Niacin, Riboflavin, Thiamin, and folic acid.

Enriched wheat flour is a refined grain. You also see enriched wheat flour listed as all-purpose flour, cake flour, bleached flour, and bread flour. You find it in breads as well as baked products like cake, cookies, muffins, and snack bars. Other refined grains are white rice and white pasta.

http://www.diabetes.org/nutrition-an...es-of-carb.jsp

[not2late]

Re: How much fiber should a piece of bread have?

There really isn't a real reason to add grains IF you eat enough vegetables and fruits to get the fiber. Veggies and fruits have more minerals and vitamins than grains, particularly the grains that are processed into flours or meals. If you eat whole grains, like porridges from soaking whole grains (oat groats, buckwheat groats), then you'll have the benefit of the vitamins and minerals that aren't completely stripped away during processing.

But as sadie said, during OWL, you get to try out different foods from the rungs and see how you react to them. You don't have to eat these higher rung foods daily. But it's always good to see what your body can tolerate so that you know what you can and cannot eat.

My only advice for any of the foods on the rungs is to eat the foods that give you the most nutrition (vitamins, minerals, fiber) for the number of carbs. For example, eating a whole grain cracker made from stone-ground whole grains with 3 grams fiber is much better than eating a piece of bread made with enriched white flour with 2 grams fiber.

[Momtofour]

Re: How much fiber should a piece of bread have?

Thanks for the gret info. I tried 1/2 serving of oatmeal today. It was good. It didn't seem to have any issues with it at all. 1/2 serving was 12 net carbs and that was all I thought I wanted to add. I will wait a week before I try another serving. I had the whole grain oatmeal not the quick cook kind.

[not2late]

Re: How much fiber should a piece of bread have?

ARe you doing OWL or Pre-Maintenance? OWL net carb servings are limited to 5 net carbs. Pre-Maintenance are limited to 10.

[Momtofour]

Re: How much fiber should a piece of bread have?

ARe you doing OWL or Pre-Maintenance? OWL net carb servings are limited to 5 net carbs. Pre-Maintenance are limited to 10.

Ooops! I forgot to keep it to 5 net carbs. I don't think it is even worth eating to only have 5 carbs of oatmeal. I guess I will wait.

I have been stalled since February so I am trying to make some changes to what I'm eating to see if it helps. The doctor also advised me to start doing weight lifting which I haven't been doing. He thinks this will get me past this stall.