Whole wheat bread or whole grain bread?

Which is better? Whole wheat or whole grain?

Recently i've read on here that whole wheat is hard to digest so one shouldn't eat too much of it? How about whole grain bread? What is the difference btwn whole wheat and whole grain?

Whole Wheat is basically browned white bread, whole grain is unrefined =]] So whole grain is better.

Primadonna, wouldn't that be regular wheat?  Regular wheat I noticed has enriched wheat...so I thought it'd be the same as enriched white.

As such, I have been eating whole wheat as it does not list the wheat as enriched.  I have a hard time eating whole grain...too grainy and hard IMO.

Im with vklamorick on this one... whole wheat (from what Ive read) is not enriched.   I buy the Sara Lee Delightful Whole Wheat, and I love it!

Original Post by gomui:

Recently i've read on here that whole wheat is hard to digest so one shouldn't eat too much of it?

Isn't this exactly WHY you should eat whole wheat (and whole grain) bread? "Hard to digest" is a good thing. The fiber (which cannot be digested) in these breads adds to satiety and slows down stomach emptying. Fiber is good; one should aim for 25g of fiber daily.

Soluble fiber also binds some fat and bile (reducing your blood cholesterol level). Insoluble fiber promotes bowel movement and reduces the risk of colon cancer. 

I bake my own bread, and I always make it either whole wheat or rye. This is so much healthier! Oh, and CC gives my rye bread an A-. Not bad :)

Maha: Could you share your recipe?? :) I would love to bake my own bread too.

I'd say whole grain. But don't get me wrong, whole wheat can be very good too! It's just a lot of companies claim their bread is whole wheat but it is only dyed brown and is actually just plain old white bread. It's easier to tell when you have grains running all throughout it. :)

Original Post by whatisbeautiful:

I'd say whole grain. But don't get me wrong, whole wheat can be very good too! It's just a lot of companies claim their bread is whole wheat but it is only dyed brown and is actually just plain old white bread. It's easier to tell when you have grains running all throughout it. :)

If it says Whole wheat it is whole wheat. It's illegal to do otherwise. Check the first ingredient, if it says whole something then it's legit. If it says enriched anywhere then it's fake. It's multi-grain that you guys are thinking of that is trying to parlay the name grain into something good. It's the word "whole" you're looking for.

the first ingredient in your bread should be stone ground whole wheat for it to be considered real wheat bread. any wheat bread with unbleached enriched flour is a no no.

As long as the first ingredient says whole wheat/grain, then you're ok.

but more specifically, you should aim for the bread (or bread products) that say %100 whole wheat or whole grain. you know how companies switch up labeling these days...

ya, just whole wheat is fine. It doesn't have to be stone ground.

It has to say "100% whole"... if it doesn't, it can legally have 5% whole wheat/grain/whatever. The 100% is really the key word you want to look for here!

"Whole grain" may not necessarily be whole wheat. It can be any grain. So that is just a matter of preference. For example I like this bread that has seven different types of whole grains in it.

You also want to compare fiber amounts. Choose the bread that has the highest amount, and the least number of ingredients.

if you have problems digesting ,maybe its gluten in the wheat. In which case whole grain may be better since some grains have less gluten than wheat. Gluten fluffs up bread,so everything being equal, whole wheat may be a lighter texture you prefer. Some grains have slightly higher protein than whole wheat, but some have less.  Since both have relatively unprocessed grains both are "healthy" on that level.  Up to you, pros and cons on both.