Many Kiwis confused over their daily bread

Men just don't understand the road code of their stomachs - at least as far as bread is concerned.

A survey has found that just 12 per cent know a "serving" of bread is one slice, compared with 38 per cent of women.

After people were told the size of a serving, half said they ate three slices a day and that this was the recommended amount of breads and cereals.

Wrong. Dietitians and the Ministry of Health recommend that adults eat at least six servings a day of breads and cereals.

For preference they should be wholegrain varieties, another complication. Only 40 per cent in the survey of 400 people, commissioned by Quality Bakers, knew what a wholegrain was and only 4 per cent ate six wholegrain servings a day.

Wholegrains are healthier than refined grains such as white flour which have had the outer bran and "germ" layers removed.

Under food rules applying since September "wholegrain" can mean the intact grain or the milled up pieces - as long as all the bits remain in their original amounts.

"Wholegrains have been shown to lower the risk of heart disease, diabetes and some types of cancer," said Australian dietitian Catherine Saxelby. "Eating wholegrain based foods is also an important way to control weight, as they help people to feel full longer."

Quality Bakers, supported by the Nutrition Foundation, has launched a campaign to lift consumption of wholegrain breads. The company has launched a "light wholegrain" Molenberg loaf, with 29 per cent kibbled grains, up from 23 per cent.

The company says it is a "transition" bread, especially for children, on the way to loaves denser with more wholegrains.

Independent dietitians characterised Molenberg and other wholegrain-containing light loaves similarly, but diabetes specialist Professor Jim Mann of Otago University would not comment on it as a source of wholegrains. He often makes his own bread, out of stone-ground wholemeal flour.

"We have a wonderful market in Dunedin and that's where I tend to buy my bread.

"It's seriously heavy and seriously wholegrain," he said.

Auckland Regional Public Health dietitian Kate Sladden said breads such as Molenberg were a good choice and people might be eating more wholegrains at other meals, like porridge for breakfast.

"There will be breads with a higher fibre content and higher wholegrain content. You have to look at where the population is at at the moment and you have got to be realistic."

Christchurch dietitian Janice Bremer said it was hard to judge breads because of the labelling rules. She said to look for loaves labelled as wholegrain and which contained at least 5g of fibre per 100g of bread.

Kernel of health

* Eat at least six servings of bread/cereal a day, preferably wholegrain.

Some wholegrains

* Breakfast: Oat porridge.

* Lunch: "Light grain" or heavier breads.

* Dinner: Wholegrain rice or a cracked wheat tabouli salad.

* Snack: Popcorn.