Before CLAIRIFY, a turkey sandwich seemed to be a wholesome healthy lunch to me.
It was my fall back on what to eat or pack for lunch when I was pressed for time and still wanted to eat something “healthy.” I ate them at least 2 - 3 times a week. I wasn’t hitting the drive through for a burger, I was eating a wholesome sandwich for goodness sake.
During my research for the cleanse, I found out some interesting information about this seemingly innocuous sandwich. Over the next few days, I will be discussing different ingredients in my sandwich and better choices that I could have made.
My sandwich typically consisted of:
- Two slices of white bread
- A few slices of turkey breast (usually Sara Lee brand bought at the grocery store)
- Mayo
- Honey mustard
- Lettuce
- Sliced Tomato
I would usually have an apple and some of the kids goldfish or baked chips as a side of this meal.
Wholesome. What could be better. Right?
Wrong.
For that amount of calories, I could have done so much better on the nutritional scale while still having a delicious and satisfying meal in the same amount of time.
First - Lets look at white bread. I grew up on it. My father had a loaf of it on the dinner table every night no matter what we were having and used it to sop up whatever gravy was left on his plate. I likely ate it every day of my childhood in one form or another. I craved it as an adult. I always had at least on plastic sleeve of it sitting in my fridge at all times in my adult life. After my reasearch, I was shocked. White bread is packed, and I mean PACKED with sugar. White bread is highly refined and processed - and one of the most addictive substances in the United States.
To understand the nature of sugar in white bread and its affect on health, it helps to know the fundamentals of digestion. In essence, some foods digest faster than others and consequently release sugar more rapidly into the bloodstream. This is called the glycemic index of foods.
The more refined and processed a food is, the higher its glycemic index and the faster sugars present in those foods are absorbed. When the blood sugar level is too high, the body reacts by pumping insulin from the pancreas into the system, which leads to a lower energy level after the initial sugar high. For many people who feel fatigue, this is the cause. Over time, it can overstress the pancreas and lead to Type II diabetes.
With white bread, the portions of the wheat grain that would slow digestion--the nutritious, fiber-rich bran and germ--are removed in processing, causing the starchy, sugary part to get absorbed most quickly. The much better alternative is 100% whole grain bread, which also contains full portions of native nutrients that are diminished or removed from white bread: calcium, phosphorus, iron, magnesium, manganese, potassium, copper, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, pantothenic acid and pyridoxine.
For years, people eating "wheat bread" were misled into thinking that they were getting something nutritionally superior to white bread. In fact, those breads were processed flour missing the bran and germ but enhanced with brown food coloring. The words "100% whole grain" should appear on the product package.
In addition to a favorable glycemic factor, whole grain breads, pastas and other baked goods provide benefits to diabetics and anyone interested in generally good health and weight management. The dietary fiber creates a feeling of fullness that is non-caloric, something referred to as energy density. Eating foods with lower density (whole grain foods, as well as fiber-rich fruits and vegetables) digest more slowly so the urge to eat again happens later rather than sooner.
And here is the part that just amazes me. An Australian study found that people who ate the most white bread (average: 17 slices per week) had the highest risk of diabetes. Tellingly, people who still had high sugar consumption via fruit had a lower risk. A study done by Harvard in 2003 found that simply changing from white bread to a whole grain wheat bread would lower your risk of heart disease by 20%!
Such a simple and easy change to your eating habits, that can go such a long way in your overall health benefits.
Coming tomorrow: deconstructing the turkey sandwich continues.
Sprouted grain bread and whole wheat bread are both whole grain foods, made from entire wheat kernels. Unlike white breads and other refined grains, which lose the bran and germ parts of the wheat grain in the milling process, whole grain breads are good sources of fiber and other nutrients. There are some slight differences between sprouted grain and whole wheat breads because of the different ways they are processed, although both types of bread have a similar nutritional value.
