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I've read the question about Why is White flour unhealthy. It seems like raw/bleached/white flour is just the endosperm component, but that whole-wheat flour contains the endosperm along with the fibrous portions (germ and bran).

White flour gets knocked a lot for it being really close to sugar and being a super refined carbohydrate. But whole-wheat flour also has that endosperm component "loose" and readily digestible, there's just other fibrous stuff too. But those fibrous portions are mechanically separated from the endosperm, so the digestion and absorption should be nearly identical to white flour.

Is added fiber really the only benefit of wheat bread?

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    Are you sure about your assumptions? What has your research revealed?
    – Carey Gregory ♦
    Jan 25, 2019 at 3:07
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    My assumption about how wheat flour is made? Yes, pretty sure. My assumption about how endosperm mechanically separated from fiber will digest just as quick without the accompanying fiber? That's sort of the question.
    – Eric
    Jan 25, 2019 at 19:15
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    I had more in mind your assumption that ease of digestion translates to healthier.
    – Carey Gregory ♦
    Jan 25, 2019 at 20:05
  • thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(18)31809-9/…
    – Count Iblis
    Jan 27, 2019 at 22:10
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    I do not have the time to formulate a complete answer but you can look more into it in whole food plant based literature that discusses the ways in which whole grains/foods are superior to processed (refined) grains.
    – DoctorWhom
    Jan 28, 2019 at 5:39

1 Answer 1

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The bran (fiber) from whole-wheat flour slows down the movement of food from the stomach into the small intestine (gastric emptying), which results in slower glucose absorption. So, the glucose from whole-wheat flour (with fiber) is absorbed slower than the glucose from white flour (no fiber), which results in smaller blood glucose spikes after meals, which may be a preventative factor against diabetes type 2 (PubMed, 2018).

The fiber from whole-wheat bread can help maintain bowel regularity better than white bread. Whole-wheat bread also contains more minerals, such as potassium and magnesium (Foodmetrics.org)

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  • "May be a preventative factor"? As in, "May not be a preventative factor?" Also, if the argument is that it's important to consume fiber together with glucose to slow down glucose absorption, then it's not that white bread is detrimental in itself, but rather that it doesn't provide possible benefits in itself. Finally, your first link suggests that, for people who consume whole-grains habitually, several studies have found there is no association or increased risk of (Type-2) Diabetes.
    – einpoklum
    Apr 14, 2020 at 18:08

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