Is it true that wheat bagels have LESS carbs than regular, white flour bagels?
Only technically. On any level where it matters regarding human nutrition, no. I direct you to the USDA:
If you select the “per 100 grams”, you’ll see that both types of flour have nearly the same number of carbs–roughly 72.5g per 100g (though whole-grain wheat flour has more fiber).
Of course, YMMV depending on who your baker is. It’s POSSIBLE that they could be using some major whole grain flour that adds a lot more fiber to the dough (and therefore displaces some ordinary carbs). But, in general, don’t count on any major reduction in carbs. (esp. if you’re on a low-carb diet…)
Rats. Make that
Why wheat over white? Fiber. Carbs isn’t the issue, and calories neither. Wheat offers more fiber.
OK. Color me stupid. It would seem that, BY VOLUME (AKA by the cup) Wheat flour does, indeed, have fewer carbs (those carbs are replaced by fiber).
BUT…
YMM still V by local bagelry. Are we talking about true “whole wheat” bagels here (whole grain wheat only) or just “wheat” bagels? Often, “wheat” breads, etc., are virtually identical to white breads as regards carbs/fiber.
I’ll shut up now.
toadspittle, I guess I was just refering to the normal, everyday, run-o-the-mill wheat bagels. I couldn’t tell you what brand or anything like that - it’s just whatever kind they have at my work.
I figured if I’m going to eat a bagel in the morning, and I have a choice between a wheat or a white flower onion bagel, I’d like to chose the one with less carbs and more fiber.
I’m not on the Atkins diet or anything, but I do try to watch my carb intake. Plus I’ve heard that white flour might be one of the worst things you can eat. If that is true, do you (or does anyone) know why white flour is so bad?
Speaking as someone who followed a strict diet for five months due to gestational diabetes, I monitored every gram of carbohydrates that passed my lips. The only real way to determine how many carbs a particular brand of bagel has over any other particular brand is to check the labels. Seriously, there can be such wide variance in the ingredients used in any particular recipe that you can’t just assume that the wheat bagels will have fewer carbs than the white bagels, or whatever. Read the labels. They’ll tell you the total grams of carbohydrates in a bagel. (Incidentally, my dietician told me that when figuring carb intake, you can subtract off dietary fiber. For example, if one bagel has 26g of carbs and 5g of dietary fiber, you count it as having 21g of carbs, because the fiber isn’t digestible.)
Just so you know, the vast majority of wheat products – wheat breads, wheat bagels, etc. – are still mostly ordinary white flour with perhaps some small amount of wheat flour added. If you really want to avoid white flour, you need to look for whole wheat products. I’m not sure you’re going to easily find whole wheat bagels in an ordinary bagel shop, though.
Well, you heard wrong. White flour is not “so bad.” However, it’s not so great either. The bran and wheat gern have been removed in white flour. These contain a lot of nutrients, especially vitamin E. Whole wheat flour is just so much better, not that bleached flour is bad.
White flour digests much faster than a multigrain type flour.
When you eat items with white flour, your blood sugar soars and then drops much faster than in a more fiberous type snack. (Longer digestion time = slower release of sugars).
It’s healthy to try to avoid huge peaks and valleys in your blood sugar - it will help control your weight, as well as reduce the risk of Type II diabetes.
Al.
As Alice in Wonderland has said, wheat is lower on the glycemic index than regular white flour. Therefore, even though they may have the same amount of carbs, the wheat bagel will take longer to digest.
Well, provided that it’s a multi-grain type snack.
Just plain old wheat (60% or whatever) won’t make much of a difference - you need the particularly nutty and twiggy type bagles to slow down the digestion enough to make an appreciable difference.
OK, I pretty much know very, very little on this subject (and the few things I thought I knew are wrong), so please, everyone - educate me!..
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Slow digesting foods are good for you? Can you give me examples of slow digesting foods?
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Having your blood sugar spike is bad? Why is this bad? How can one avoid this?
If it’s not too much trouble, can any of you analyze my diet?..
morning - occasionally, I’ll have a wheat bagel and a cup of O.J.
early afternoon - tuna wrap - tuna made with egg-less, carb-less and low-fat mayo. Steamed veggies (broccoli, asparagus, cauliflower, squash, zucchini) and raw spinach wrapped up in a low-carb tortilla.
snack - a Balance bar or a MetRex bar
That’s it. I eat this almost everyday. I know it’s very wrong to eat only one large meal a day, but I’ve been doing this for years, I’ve never had any health problems and I never get sick. Occasionally I’ll stray, but for the most part, this is what I eat. The only meat I eat is seafood, chicken and turkey. I don’t eat two hours before I go to sleep. I’m 6’-0", 180lbs. I’m not really looking to lose weight, but more maintain the shape I’m in. I also lift weights 2 or 3 times a week and play about 4 hours of full-court basketball per week. Of course, the days I’m not working out or playing hoops, I just sit around and don’t do much.