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Original poster

white or brown bread

26 replies

ijewels · 22/07/2004 13:34

ds(27mths) is veggie, eats lots fruit, veg, some dairy. He has always had "toddler bowel" ie never had a hard poo, just 1 or 2 v soft ones a day. I have been giving him white bread as i thought he'd had enough roughage to deal with, but have recently heard that white bread is really bad for us and that there was a programme on tv recently showing this. Can anyone give me some advice?

OP posts:

Tommy · 22/07/2004 13:38

My DSs are veggie too and I always try to give them white bread - for the same reason as you. I don't think white bread is bad for you - just less good than wholemeal! You could always try making your own (in bread machine ) if you don't trust the shop stuff. Mine love the French baguettes.

elliott · 22/07/2004 13:51

Why not just give wholemeal - it is better for them after all and might not make any difference to his poos. Ds1 isn't veggie and has always had frequent soft poos - more like 3 or 4 a day than 1 or 2! Less of an issue now he's potty trained (he's 32 months). I have to say it had never occurred to me to stop him eating healthy stuff on account of it!

muddaofsuburbia · 22/07/2004 13:54

On a bit of a tangent, ds is 22 mths and if he eats "healthily" then his poo is soft, but if he has any kind of junk food with rubbish in it, then his poo becomes hard and pellety - just an observation.

We make half and half white/wholemeal bread in the bread maker and it's delicious.

prettycandles · 22/07/2004 14:47

Wholemeal bread is best, but too much roughage is bad for children as it reduces absorption of other nutrients and fills them up too quickly. So white bread is fine in moderation. It is also fortified with calcium and some brands also add vitamins and other minerals.

When ds suffered constipation at less than 1y, everyone was saying 'give him more roughage' but my gut instinct was that he was getting too much roughage and that was making his poos too bulky to be passed easily. So I actually substituted white bread for his wholemeal bread and the constipation eased off immediately. Dd, on the other hand, has 'toddler-bowl' (yuck) and white bread firms it up a little. So in general they get wholemeal bread, but bagels, scones, cakes etc are 'white'.

Twinkie · 22/07/2004 14:55

Brown/wholemeal bread has a lot of fat in don't you know too!!

elliott · 22/07/2004 15:17

Maybe this explains why ds1 is so skinny! - perhaps I'd better stock up on the nuggets and burgers
PC yes you're completely right about the 'high fibre low fat' diet nto being appropriate for kids. But I sometimes feel its impossible to follow all the advice all the time - like, how are we ever going to get to sharing family meals (which are officially A Good Thing) without me and dh turning to lardarses? Actually that's the main reason ds1 has brown bread - its what we have...

muminlondon · 22/07/2004 16:18

dd (16.5 months) gets wholemeal and has very soft poo too... although she doesn't usually have more than one slice a day. I'm not sure it's as significant as, say, the amount of fruit she eats, in terms of a poo consistency analysis. Unless weetabix is also high in roughage?

lydialemon · 22/07/2004 16:54

Does anyone know the 'official' stance on the mixed bread, Hovis best of both and the kingsmill ones? I tend to buy these as DH and DSs refuse to eat brown bread. Are they actually any good, or is it a big marketing ploy aimed at mums feeling guilty?

sis · 22/07/2004 20:04

Have you tried Warburton's seeded bread? it is not stodgy (as some wholemeal bread is) but I give to ds (aged five) for his sandwiches at school because of all the seeds as they are a good source of protein and , I think, omega3 oils?, which are supposed to be very good and something that a lot of veggie diets lack, especially if you don't eat fish. Go on, try it, I love it too!

Tinker · 22/07/2004 20:10

Oh, seeded bread is lovely. I think a lot of cheap 'brown' bread is just dyed white bread.

lemonice · 23/07/2004 10:48

Did you see there was a report last week saying that there was more added fat in Warburton's seeded bread than any other! I've "discovered" it about 6 weeks ago and thought it was nice and omega 3 etc but now I'm not sure....Normally traditional bread shouldn't have added fat but it is put in now as a filler and to keep it palatable longer.

mummysurfer · 23/07/2004 10:52

i use that bread all the time. i love the fact that the seeds are soft, my teeth can't cope with crusty seeds! hadn't heard that about the fat. will check packet

neetsmassi · 23/07/2004 10:57

lemonice - I saw that article - we used to buy the Warburtons seeded batch (it is delicious)but the report has prompted me to buy a breadmaker so that I know what goes in the bread. I am not saying that we won't have the seeded bread again or we won't ever buy plastic white bread again - all things in moderation methinks. DH had always wanted a breadmaker but I had resisted thinking it was just a gadget. This report made me read up on them (including recommendations on Mumsnet as you are the wisest people around)and it has just been delivered today. Unfortunately we are out for the rest of the day and tomorrow so it will be sunday before I get a chance to read the manuals and Monday before I bake bread but I am looking forward to it.

fimbles · 23/07/2004 13:30

Hi all, I saw that programme, "You are What You Eat", it stated that white bread was like glue in yr intetines, full of flour improvers and they put double the amount of yeast that was required. "Processed muck" is what white bread was referred to. However, the Dr didn't comment on brown bread and whether that was any better for you. I've just looked at the ingredients on Warburtons wholemeal bread and a warburtons white toastie and they are practically the same apart from using wholemeal flour and the other using wheatflour. They both have vegetable fat in them. We used to eat the seeded batch loaf but just stopped. Does anyone know how much more fat that bread has in it than the two breads I just mentioned?

iota · 23/07/2004 13:55

From my larder:-

Hovis Organic wholemeal - 3.1g of fat (incl 0.9g saturated fat) per 100g

Tescos white - 1.5g of fat(incl 0.4 saturated fat) per 100g

Interesting?

iota · 23/07/2004 13:56

IIRC Warburtons seeded batch was about 9% fat, but surely lots of that would be oil in the seeds?

fimbles · 23/07/2004 15:03

Yes iota, alot of the fat in the seeded bread would be from the seeds, I imagine.

On my currents loaves of bread, the brown does have more fat. I suppose one has to weigh it up which bread would be better. Maybe abit of both?, butafter watching the programme, it just put us all of white bread, glue...urgh!.

Not sure what to do now, any other opinions?

iota · 23/07/2004 15:10

I can't see why anything with less than 4% fat should be a cause of obesity anyway - isn't there some rule that if you stick to food containig less than 4% fat, you will lose weight?

I thought the article in the ST seemed a little scare-mongering

sis · 23/07/2004 17:01

La,la,la I'm not listening la,la,la... Noooo! don't say we can't eat Warburtons seeded because of extra fat - it is the good sort of fat isn't it?

Hulababy · 23/07/2004 17:03

Oh no; we have only just discovered that seeded bread and it is so nice. I thought I was being all healthy too

lemonice · 24/07/2004 10:08

I looked on the packet and it doesn't make it very clear where the fat comes from I'd have thought if it was the seeds they would have promoted the fact. I'm going to try and look on their website now my curiosity is aroused.

WideWebWitch · 24/07/2004 10:16

I'd have thought the fat comes from the seeds and that's good fat so take your fingers out of your ears Ms Sis! My baby vegetarian book says IIRC that it's better to give white bread since wholemeal/brown fills them up too quickly before they've got enough nutriets or something like that. I'm interested in the answer to this question too.

WideWebWitch · 24/07/2004 10:25

Here we are, from Carol Timperley's baby and vegetarian child recipes: "provided your child eats plenty of fruit, there is absolutely nothing wrong in allowing meals to include white bread and pasta rather than wholemeal versions (there may even be certain advantages)...As children get older some wholemeal foods, such as brown bread, pasta, rice...should be eaten to avoid constipation." she also says "while avoiding refined sugars...do bear in mind that high fibre diets can conflict with the intense nutritional requirements of growing infants, filling them up before they have obtained sufficient nutrients for healthy growth and development." I take that to mean make sure they get plenty of fruit and veg before they have bread ideally and that white bread is OK but brown is better as they get a bit older.

fimbles · 24/07/2004 10:54

But how do we feel now knowing what white bread does to yr intestines, causes bloatedness and excess wind, like glue in yr intestines. Apparently it has no nutritional value at all, even though it has slightly less fat than brown bread. It's been called processed muck!!

Is it time to consider making yr own white bread?Are those bread making machines any good and are they time consuming?

Original poster

ijewels · 24/07/2004 20:19

Here i am two (long) days away from mn and just wondering if i would get any response at all to a small problem of white vs brown........
thanx all

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