How to Choose a Healthy Bread
Choosing a healthy bread should be easy, but it’s not. In fact, knowing what healthy breads to eat is a real challenge.
Should I choose bread with seeds?
What about ‘cracked wheat?’ That sure sounds healthy!
And then there’s ‘whole grain‘ bread. But, is it really healthy bread?
The decision shouldn’t be all that difficult. But, the shelves are amass of cellophane-wrapped bewilderment!
And there’s definitely a lot of confusion with labelling claims these days. The more info they give us, the more confused we seem get!
But, if you really want to get to the heart of a product’s contents, forget all about the front of pack claims, and go straight to the small print on the back.
Now, herein is your challenge! You must be able to make sense of what that’s all about…
1. Whole wheat bread
In an effort to eat well, many health conscious shoppers have been duped into thinking that a product stating ‘whole wheat’ was the best option.
However, a ‘whole wheat’ label is no guarantee that the bread is made from whole grains. Often it’s simply white bread with a little extra whole wheat added.
Deceiving, right?
Try looking for bread stating, ’100% whole wheat’ - this should also be the first ingredient listed, and the only flour mentioned in the ingredients.
2. Whole grain bread
A whole grain has three components: the bran, germ, and endosperm. For a grain to be considered whole it must have all three parts present.
During the processing stages, the bran and germ get stripped away. This is a problem because most of the nutrients, fibre, essential fats, and disease-fighting compounds are found here.
A true whole grain bread will be high in fibre, containing at least 3 grams per slice.
Find out if your bread contains a majority of whole grains by looking at the ingredients list. ‘Whole grain’ should be the first ingredient listed.
These names indicate whole grain products, in accordance with the US government:
- Whole wheat bread
- Whole wheat rolls
- Whole wheat buns
- Whole wheat flour
- Cracked wheat
- Crushed wheat
- Graham flour
- Entire wheat flour
- Bromated whole wheat flour
- Whole durum flour
- Bulgur wheat
Is there a difference between whole grain and whole wheat bread?
Just to clarify – whole grain means that the grain flour used to prepare the product has not been refined, therefore nutrients are still intact.
Often when you see a product labelled ‘whole wheat,’ it means that the bread is 100% wheat flour, but not necessarily 100% whole grain flour.
3. Take care with multi grain and seeded breads
Breads containing mixed grains and seeds can appear to be a healthier option. While these are nutritious, adding to the nutritional value of the bread, many of them do fall short when compared to 100% whole wheat or whole grain bread.
This is mainly because they largely consist of white flour, with the grains and seeds making up only a small proportion.
4. Avoid white bread
This is an easy one. Simply put, it’s unhealthy! Your goal should be to get most of your carbohydrates from foods that are high in fibre, and as close to a whole food as possible.
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22 Comments
Lorie
11.14.2008
This was a great article. You’re right. Finding truly healthy bread is a challenge. I’m going to try to start baking my own bread.
Melanie
11.14.2008
Hey Lorie,
Nice to hear from you again. If you find a good recipe I’d love to hear about it!!
Family Nutritionist
11.14.2008
It depends on how the bread is made, too. A soft-and-fluffy wholemeal/ whole wheat bread made from finely-ground flour is going to get that starch digested into sugar much more quickly than a denser loaf made from coarsely-ground flour. And blood-sugar spikes lead to carb cravings later on.
I’ve been using a bread machine for years. I’m about to pop in a new pumpernickel recipe and hope for the best.
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Matt
11.15.2008
I usually go for WASA bread. It’s a whole grain bread with lot’s of fiber.
Eric Hamm
11.15.2008
Hey Mel, thanks so much for sharing this incredibly helpful/useful content with us. I’ve definitely been duped in the past with phrases like ‘wheat flour’ and ‘wheat bread’. But more recently we’ve been keeping our eyes out for ‘whole wheat’ and higher fiber contents.
I’ll have to send a link of this list to my wife so she’ll have an even better understanding of what things to look for. She’ll greatly appreciate it, I’m sure.
Eric.
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Melanie
11.17.2008
Hey Family nutritionist,
Hope the pumpernickel bread turned out well!!
Hi Matt,
Is WASA the brand of bread? I don’t think we get it here.
Hey Eric,
You’re more than welcome! I’m glad it was useful info, I also know how confusing it can get sometimes!
James Hubbard, M.D., M.P.H.
11.19.2008
Great information. So many people still don’t know these facts.
Most type 2 diabetes thing all bread is bad, but not so. The whole grains are a healthy addition.
Thanks
James Hubbard, M.D., M.P.H.’s last blog post..Holiday gifts that give back
Family Nutritionist
11.19.2008
The problem with pumpernickel is it doesn’t rise the same as other breads. The dough is gooier. So I don’t have the water/yeast thing straight just yet. I’m getting closer. But I only make the bread once a week, so it takes a while.
Family Nutritionist’s last blog post..Melamine is still in our foods
Melanie
11.19.2008
Hi James,
Yes, you’re right – in actual fact people in general believe bread is bad, it’s difficult to undo all the misinformation about carbs, it’s treated as fact that they are the enemy!! But, it’s more about moderation, isn’t it?
Hey Family nutritionist,
I hope you can get the recipe perfected!!! I’d love to try it out if you do
Leo
11.19.2008
Great info, Melanie! While I’ve been avoiding bread altogether the last couple of weeks, when I do eat bread I prefer Ezekiel sprouted grain breads — they seem denser and even healthier than regular whole grain bread. What are your thoughts on sprouted grain breads?
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Melanie
11.20.2008
Hey Leo,
I’m certainly not against bread, but I have been cutting back myself lately, it just so difficult to find the right product.
I think the sprouted grain breads are wonderful, but I haven’t had the opportunity to try Ezekiel bread, since they don’t stock it in Australia.
Anyhow, if you’re going to eat bread at all, I think this is a great choice in terms of whole grains. The other thing I like about Ezekiel bread is the short ingredients list – a list as long as your arm is not a good sign!
I’m wondering why there are only 3 grams of fibre per slice – still good – but I did think there would be more.
Do you find one slice of this bread is as filling as 2 slices of ‘normal’ bread?
Brandon
10.17.2009
I have been buying Big Sky Bread recently. It has 5 ingredients, “FIVE”. And nothing I can’t pronounce, or sounds like it comes from the periodic table. The cinnamon raisin bread is incredible, but it does contain some honey- but that doesn’t bother me personally. As a side note, they also make an incredible granola, not in a box in the packaged section, in the bakery section bagged. However, all of their stuff has a shorter shelf life than preservative laden goods, so only buy as much as you will eat before your next grocery trip. If anyone can say if there is anything wrong with Big Sky Bread, please let me know.
Nadine
12.30.2009
Hello Melanie,
this is a great article, so beneficial as am always lost when it come to bread! BUt still have a question: What is the difference of whole wheat and whole grain! you’ve mentioned it in the article but still unclear to me:”Often when you see a product labelled ‘whole wheat,’ it means that the bread is 100% wheat flour, but not necessarily 100% whole grain flour”. What are the grain in a bread other than the wheat? and which one is better the whole grain or whole wheat?
-Do i have to buy the 100% whole wheat (grain) bread ONLY?
or its ok if 100% is not there?
Thank you
Nadine
12.30.2009
What about the HONEY in the bread? why its considered among the NASTIES?
Lennie Lefler
03.07.2010
Hi Nadine–I’m sure you’ve got this by now—but Honey is barely better than sugar—UNLESS–it’s RAW honey—which is a great–Health food!! BYE…
Heather
01.13.2010
Is Natures Own a Healthy brand 100% whole grain? Can anyone recommend some actual bread brands?
Arjun Pokhrel
10.02.2010
Hi Melanie,
I am gald to get that article from you which i am looking for long to find out which bread is healthy option.
I am going to use this information form next shopping.
Many thanks for article.
Melanie
10.04.2010
Hey Arjun,
I’m glad you found this article. I hope it helps. Let me know if you’ve any further queries.
JK
12.27.2010
“–product has not been refined, therefore nutrients are still in tack.”
Did you mean intact ?
Melanie
12.31.2010
JK,
Yes, I did. Thank you for pointing that out. I’ve update it now with the correct spelling
suellyn
05.19.2011
Can you list some brand names please? Thanks for the information.
Melanie
05.25.2011
Hi Suellyn,
Are you living in the US? It’s difficult to list brand names to suit everyone, but perhaps I can list a few.
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