What Are The Advantages Of Whole-grain Sprouted Bread?

Find sprouted-grain breads in health food stores and the freezer section of some major supermarkets. Sprouted-grain bread manufacturers claim their products are easier to digest and provide more nutrients than breads made with traditional flours. Sprouted grain breads do provide fiber and a number of vitamins and minerals. Some even serve as a high-quality source of protein, making them a valuable addition to your diet.

Features

Grains are really the seeds of cereal grasses or other plants. As such, grains sprout under the right moisture and temperature conditions. Sprouted grain breads contain grains that are sprouted, or made ready to start the growth cycle. Wheat, millet, quinoa, rice, oats, barley and buckwheat are just a few of the grains that may be included in sprouted grain breads. Some sprouted-grain breads contain lentil and soy. Because the sprouted grains are not ground before being baked into bread, they are referred to as flourless.

Whole Grains

Sprouted-grain breads contain the entire grain kernel, making them a whole-grain product. Whole grains are healthier than refined grains because they offer more fiber and naturally-occurring calcium, iron and niacin. The U.S. Department of Agriculture recommends you consume at least half of your daily grain servings from whole grain sources.

Digestion

Seeds contain growth-inhibitors that keep them dormant until the conditions are right for successful growth. Sprouting rids the seeds of these growth inhibitors and releases an easily-digested starch for the plant embryo. People may also find these starches easier to digest. One study, published in the September 1989 issue of "Plant Foods for Human Nutrition" found that rats were better able to digest the nutrients in sprouted barley.

Nutrients

Sprouted-grain breads that contain soy or lentils provide a complete protein, meaning they contain all the amino acids that your body cannot produce on its own. Regular wheat breads may contain protein, but it is incomplete. Even sprouted-grain breads made from wheat alone may provide slightly more protein than flour-based breads because sprouting reduces the carbohydrate content of the grain, notes Lloyd Rooney, a professor at Texas A&M University in College Station, in an October 2009 issue of the "Los Angeles Times." Sprouted grain breads may also be higher in trace minerals, including zinc, than other breads.

Considerations

Sprouted-grain breads still contain gluten, a protein that causes digestive distress and serious symptoms in people with celiac disease. Refined white breads may appear to have more of certain nutrients, including iron and B vitamins because manufacturers add these nutrients back in during the production process. Sprouted-grain breads naturally contain vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and protein.