A toast to our daily bread!

There’s the Daily Bread that nourishes our soul and then there’s the daily bread to fill our tummy. But with all kinds of breads and all sorts of bread/bakeshops all over town today, how do we choose our daily bread?

Well, there are breads you might not propose to toast, according to vitamin and nutrition expert Earl Mindell in his book on safe eating. It seems our world has been enriched by the so-called enriched bread, which is aplenty in our supermarkets today. According to Mindell, like it or not, all breads on the market have been processed and thus depleted of nutrients that have been replaced by the so-called enrichment process.

Adds Mindell, "The standard of enrichment for white flour is replacing 22 natural nutrients with three B vitamins, vitamin D, calcium, and iron salts. That’s not what I’d call enrichment, particularly since there is no guarantee that your body can utilize all, or any, of those added nutrients."

Sadly, Mindell notes, our favorite white bread has been highly processed, milled, bleached and depleted of nutrients that not even enrichment can replace.

More minuses re white bread:

• It contains those glycerides (mono and diglycerides) that increase saturated fat intakes because they are unknowingly ingested regularly and frequently.

• Even when made with unbleached flour, it still lacks the two main constituents of the whole wheat kernel: Bran (the outermost, vitamin B-rich fiber layer) and germ (the sprouting section that contains polyunsaturated fats, vitamin E and other important nutrients).

• While it can claim not to contain preservatives, it still contains dough conditioners, such as potassium bromate (known to cause central nervous system disorders and kidney problems) and sodium stearoyl lactylate, as well as chemical yeast nutrients like calcium and ammonium sulfate (the former used in wall plaster and the latter in fireproofing fabrics), among others.

All this adds up to one thing: When you go out and buy your daily bread, try to minimize the minuses. Take a few tips:

• If you’re going to buy white bread, at least make sure it’s enriched.

• Choose breads with the lowest sodium and fat, the most added nutrients and no BHA.

• Choose breads made with unbleached flour over those made with white flour (listed in the ingredients as "flour") or wheat flour, which is the same as white flour.

• Avoid commercial packaged breads with added calcium or sodium propionate. A bread made with quality ingredients under proper conditions doesn’t need these added fresheners.

Or you can always go for those hard-crusted, enriched Italian or French breads, which are soft and white on the inside, generally use unbleached flour and have no sugar or animal fat. And oh, yes, pita bread is guaranteed not to send you to the pits.

From white, we step into the dark – dark breads, that is. Shedding light on dark breads, Mindell says that these breads are made from unrefined flour that contains the entire bran, germ and endosperm of grains, which are "matchless sources of natural, life-sustaining nutrients."

But then, not all dark breads are nutritious. Here’s how to separate the chaff from the grain, according to Mindell:

• Many brown breads have little, if any, whole grains and are essentially white breads that have been colored with molasses.

• Breads labeled "natural wheat" or "stone ground" may not be whole wheat products. Unless "whole wheat" is listed as the first ingredient, the bread isn’t.

• Note that wheat flour is not the same as whole wheat flour. Actually, the former is so different it’s like bleached white flour that’s low in nutrients and high in chemicals.

• Some whole-grain breads use caramel coloring, which is a suspected carcinogen.

• Dark breads are not inherently beneficial for all people. Breads made with whole wheat, rye, oats and barley can pose a health risk to people with celiac disease.

Again, how to minimize the negatives? Try these:

• Avoid breads made with hydrogenated shortening, dough conditioners, yeast nutrients, emulsifiers or fresheners.

• Choose breads made with whole wheat flour over others.

• Choose loaves made with vegetable oil and butter over those made with shortening. (Note: Shortening is usually animal fat or partially saturated vegetable fat, generally containing emulsifiers and other preservatives.)

Now, here’s a toast to our daily bread!

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Taxing times

Indeed, we live in such taxing times! A reader, Dr. Emilio Fragante Jr., asked us about the legality of municipal tax charged by a restaurant in Pasig where he once dined. We got this reply from Jaime Lasaro Olmos of the Office of the Mayor through the DTI:

"Under the DAO #4 series of 2002, (IRR of Art. 81 of the Consumer Act of the Philippines) price components include all taxes and legislated charges but exclude the service fees/charges chargeable by Local Government Units (LGUs) under the Local Government Code and flat rates of service charges mentioned by the Labor Code.

"The price should incorporate the nationally legislated tax such as the Value Added Tax. However, each LGU is vested or delegated with the power of taxation and to implement the same in its own jurisdiction. This is the nature of the local tax (municipal tax) being charged by the said restaurant. It is different from the VAT which is incorporable, meaning the fee is based on a certain percentage of the amount of food or drink ordered. The municipal tax mentioned is a flat rate which the law excludes from the coverage of price components.

"For further information, Dr. Fragante can directly coordinate with the office of Mayor Eusebio, LGU in Pasig City, with telephone nos. 641-1937 and 642-8891."