What kind of tortillas are the healthiest? I wanted to get whole wheat tortillias, but it looked like they ?!
Question: What kind of tortillas are the healthiest.? I wanted to get whole wheat tortillias, but it looked like they .?
had about the same amount of fiber as the white ones. There was another brand that said it had 14 grams of fiber. The tortillias were brown and looked like the whole wheat tortillas, but I didn't see anything that said that they were whole wheat on the package. Do you think that the fiber is just put in, like with vitamins.? I try to always pick whole wheat over white when I am getting bread, but I don't know what the healthiest choice is with tortillias. What do you think.? Health Question & Answer
Answers:
There are many things to consider when you're trying to decide what's healthiest - calories, fat, fiber, ingredients... The amount of fiber doesn't necessarily indicate that they are the best.
When shopping for food, my first choice is whole grain. Look for tortillas that are dark in color, that's a first clue that they may be whole wheat. Any flour tortillas that are white will not be whole grain. (Of if they are, they have been bleached.)
Next, look at the actual ingredient list, not the things it says on the front of the package. The first ingredient should be "whole wheat flour." Whole wheat flour means it's made from 100% of the grain, and it isn't processed. If it says 'wheat flour' or 'enriched flour' it's not really whole wheat.
If you have more than one package that is whole wheat, then look at the fat and calories. Just make sure that the serving size is the same. One package may say that it's 40 calories for 1/2 a tortilla, and the other package says it's 75 calories for 1 tortilla. The first one tries to trick you into thinking it's healthier when it's not.
Finally, don't worry too much about fiber. There's not going to be a whole lot of fiber in a tortilla, no matter what kind you buy. And yes, they can add fiber to it, just like they add vitamins. It's basically the same stuff they put in fiber drinks and capsules. But it's not the best fiber for you, since it's highly processed. (It's not BAD for you, just not the best.) If you're looking to get more fiber, it's easier to do it with whole fruits and vegetables, whole grain breads (where they don't grind the grains down so much) or whole grains like oats, brown rice, or even fiber cereals.Health Question & Answer
When shopping for food, my first choice is whole grain. Look for tortillas that are dark in color, that's a first clue that they may be whole wheat. Any flour tortillas that are white will not be whole grain. (Of if they are, they have been bleached.)
Next, look at the actual ingredient list, not the things it says on the front of the package. The first ingredient should be "whole wheat flour." Whole wheat flour means it's made from 100% of the grain, and it isn't processed. If it says 'wheat flour' or 'enriched flour' it's not really whole wheat.
If you have more than one package that is whole wheat, then look at the fat and calories. Just make sure that the serving size is the same. One package may say that it's 40 calories for 1/2 a tortilla, and the other package says it's 75 calories for 1 tortilla. The first one tries to trick you into thinking it's healthier when it's not.
Finally, don't worry too much about fiber. There's not going to be a whole lot of fiber in a tortilla, no matter what kind you buy. And yes, they can add fiber to it, just like they add vitamins. It's basically the same stuff they put in fiber drinks and capsules. But it's not the best fiber for you, since it's highly processed. (It's not BAD for you, just not the best.) If you're looking to get more fiber, it's easier to do it with whole fruits and vegetables, whole grain breads (where they don't grind the grains down so much) or whole grains like oats, brown rice, or even fiber cereals.Health Question & Answer
you also need to look at how much insoluble fiber is in a food and subtract that from the carbs (b/c you just crap it out). Whole wheat has a greater amount of insoluble fiber. Another issue whole wheat doesn't always taste great so they add sugar (HFCS). South beach actually makes a decent tortilla. Health Question & Answer
Wheat is always better than white. White will say it has all the vitamins and stuff and that's because it's put in. But wheat is all-natural so it will break down better in your body.Health Question & Answer