Healthy Living

Nutritional Information

The Eatwell Plate

The Eatwell Plate is a great tool for helping you to get a balanced diet.

It makes healthy eating easier by showing the types and proportions of food groups we need to have to maintain a nutritious and balanced diet.

Bread and the majority of products that contain flour make up a large part of your diet, so eating these starchy foods is important - choose wholegrain varieties whenever you can. For more details on the eat well plate and what you should be eating log on to www.eatwell.gov.uk

Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates have many important functions as a nutrient.

Most people believe that carbohydrates and more importantly bread, can be fattening with many people undertaking a low-carb diet, but these starch carbs contain less than half the calories of fat. For us to remain healthy we need to have the right balance of carbohydrates, fat and protein to remain healthy (www.nutrition.org.uk)

Bread is a Starch Carbohydrate which is vital for providing a great source of energy. The Foods Standards Agency (FSA) suggest that at least a third of your energy intake should come from this food group, wholemeal bread is an ideal example and you should aim to include at least one food from this group in each meal.

By having a balanced diet and eating the recommended daily allowance you can help to reduce the risks of developing colonary heart disease, lowering obesity and other medical conditions.

Vitamins

The human body cannot organically make the vitamins it needs and, therefore, vitamins must be sourced from foods on a daily basis. Flour and bread can provide an important range of some of the vitamins we need to stay healthy:

Vitamin B1: Thiamin

Thiamin allows the body to release and use energy from carbohydrates. It also plays a role in neurological and cardiological functions. The average adult should consume 1.4mg per day. A good source of vitamin B1 is the germ of cereals.

Vitamin B2: Riboflavin

Riboflavin helps the body to release energy from protein, fat and carbohydrates and is essential to keep the membranes of our eyes, mouth and intestines healthy. Riboflavin also contributes to the transportation and metabolism of iron in the body.

Vitamin B3: Niacin

Niacin contributes to the oxidative release of energy from foods. It protects our skin and mucous membranes, as well as supporting normal neurological function.

Vitamin B6:

Vitamin B6 assists protein metabolism and the transport and metabolism of iron via the blood. It also helps maintain normal blood levels of homocysteine; an amino acid believed to be important in heart disease. A good source of vitamin B6 is wheat germ.

Vitamin Bc: Folic Acid

Folic acid is also one of the B group of vitamins. It assists in the formation of new cells and is therefore essential for the growth and development of foetus. It also contributes to the maintenance of normal blood homocysteine levels.

Anti-oxidants

Anti-oxidants are present naturally in many foods, such as fruit and vegetables, and are also found in bread and flour. For example, phenolic acids are present in wheat flour and have been shown experimentally to have properties that suppress tumour growth and modulate enzymes. Evidence suggests that anti-oxidants may help to protect against heart disease and some cancers. Some antioxidants are particular to cereal foods and deprivation should therefore be avoided as each anti-oxidant shields a different part of the body from oxidative attack.

Protein

Proteins, as we all know, are good for the growth, maintenance and repair of the body and are in most all of the body's biological processes such as immune protection, structural support, nerve impulse transmission and muscle contraction. 10-12% of wheat flour is protein and is low in fat unlike many animal proteins.

Iron

Iron can be found in cereal foods including bread. It is an essential part of haemoglobin and helps transport oxygen around the body. It plays a vital role in the body's metabolic reactions and is necessary for the normal function of our immune system. Iron is essential for the normal neurological development of embryos.

Fibre

All breads contain a significant amount of dietary fibre. Wholemeal bread in particular is a rich source of fibre - providing three times more than white bread. Fibre not only maintains a vigorous digestive system but may help to guard us against certain cancers and diabetes. There is ample evidence to suggest that people who have a healthy heart tend to consume wholegrain cereal foods. Based on the officially approved method of analysis, it is recommended that adults consume around 25g of fibre per day.

The FSA suggest that the following types of bread contain fibre and are good to eat;

• Wholemeal
• Granary
• Brown
• Seedy
• Chapatti's
• Pitta Breads

Calcium

Don't forget bread as a source of calcium - for strong, healthy bones and teeth. Calcium is necessary for normal nerve and muscle function, as well as normal clotting of the blood. We all need calcium and intake requirements vary according to age. In particular, the following groups are particularly vulnerable to calcium deficiencies: babies and children, pregnant women and those breastfeeding and people over 45. The Flour Advisory bureau claim that six slices of white bread every day will provide around 20% of the recommended daily allowance of calcium intake.

Bread Stats

Bread Statistics: based on 100g of average bread

(Source: McCance & Widdowson)