Choose some healthy bread

Bread has been given such a bad rap.  So many people are avoiding “bread” when many should actually be adding bread to their day.  But you want to add healthier options for bread that can add important nutrients and fiber to your day.  So many times, I go to a restaurant and they don’t even offer a bread basket anymore.  Why?  Because so many people are “avoiding carbs”.  They should avoid carbs like the added sugar in sodas/pop and other sugary beverages, but not bread.  I love bread and enjoy some type of bread at every meal.  Recently I was eating out with relatives and friends and they served a salad with a roll.  A relative asked me if I ate bread and were surprised to hear I not only eat bread but I love bread.  What bread is healthy and what bread is not so healthy and why?

Consumer Reports has an excellent article discussing bread and ranking different breads for nutritional quality, Bread That’s Really Good for You.   In this article they bust some bread myths and inform the reader how to choose a healthier loaf of bread.

Carb Bread Myths and Truths:

1. There is too much sugar in bread.  Actually, most breads are low in sugar.  I avoid any bread that has the added sugar, high fructose corn syrup. 
2. Sodium – each slice of bread is not really high in sodium but when you eat a few slices a day and the sodium can add up. 
3. Fiber – fiber in bread is a good thing but some companies add fiber to make the fiber grams look good.  In fact, some add “processed fiber” made from sugar canes which is not as good for your health as the fiber found in the whole grain. 
4. Multigrain – many people think “multigrain” on the label means the bread is whole grain.  Not true.  The bread may not have any whole grain but be made with different refined grains.  Some multigrain breads are made with mostly white flour and then a small amount of whole grain flour.
5. Wheat bread – many people think this is whole grain.  But white bread is made with wheat flour and is “wheat bread”.  You want whole wheat bread, not just wheat bread. 

Choose a multi-grain bread with whole grains as the first ingredient.

What to look for in bread:

• Sugar – look for breads with 2 grams or less of added sugar per slice.  Sugar has 4 calories a gram so 2 grams is only 8 calories from sugar.  Even breads with 4 grams of sugar per slice have only 16 calories from sugar.  Compare that to a 12-ounce Coke that has 140 calories of added sugar per 12 ounce can. 
• Sodium – look for 150 grams of sodium or less per slice.
• Nuts and seeds – many brands of bread add some nuts and/or seeds.  Seeds are healthy so this addition is a good thing.  But you want to choose whole grain breads with the added seeds or nuts and not a refined grain bread.
• Look for the word “whole” listed first on the ingredient label.  If the first word is “enriched” it is not a whole grain bread.  Look for “whole wheat” “whole rye” “whole corn”.  Or it may say, “sprouted wheat”. 

Why are breads made from refined flour or enriched flour not so good for your health?

When they refine flour, they use the part of the grain that is mostly starch, the endosperm, and remove the two healthiest parts of the grain, the bran containing fiber, some B vitamins and some minerals, and the germ that contains many vitamins and minerals and those healthy phytochemicals and antioxidants.  Since the starch part of the grain has few nutrients, they add back some vitamins (B-1, B-2, niacin and folate) and one mineral (iron) but they do NOT add back all the vitamins, minerals and fiber that they removed.  They remove many minerals such as chromium, selenium, copper, magnesium.  One reason magnesium is of concern in American diets is that so many Americans are eating diets short on whole grains. 

The healthy antioxidants, phytochemicals, and minerals magnesium, selenium and copper found in whole grains may protect against some cancers. 

Some people refer to whole grains as the “complete package” and refined grains like flour in white bread as an “incomplete package”.  You want to choose breads made with whole grains to get the “complete package” of nutrients.

Whole grains contain all 3 parts of the grain.

WebMD notes that eating whole grains is a way to make “your diet healthier”. 

• Whole grains are packed with nutrients including protein, fiber, B vitamins, antioxidants, and trace minerals (iron, zinc, copper, and magnesium). 
• A diet rich in whole grains has been shown to reduce the risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, obesity, and some forms of cancer. 

How much bread a day?

The Dietary Guidelines recommends adults eat about 6 servings of grains a day and half of these should be whole grain.  I eat whole grain toast for breakfast, some whole grain crackers for lunch and for dinner I may have some white bread such as ciabatta or other Italian bread.

Which whole grain breads are highly ranked by Consumer Reports:

• Food for Life – sprouted grain Ezekiel
• 365 Whole Food Market – Ancient Grains
• Dave’s Killer Bread
• Trader Joe’s Sprout Wheat Multigrain
• Nature’s Own 100% Whole Grain
• Nature’s Own 100% Whole Wheat with Honey
• Wonder 100% Whole Wheat
• Arnold/Brownberry/Orrowheat Whole Grains, 100% Whole Wheat 
• Pepperidge Farm Whole Grain 15 Grain

This week read some labels on the bread you are eating.  If you are not eating bread, try adding some whole grain bread to your day.  Find a bread you like.  I tried Ezekiel bread but didn’t like the taste.  I like Dave’s Killer Bread but my husband prefers Nature’s Own.  If you don’t yet like the taste of whole grain bread, then find a multigrain bread that contains at least some whole grain.  

Look for “100% Whole Grain” or “100% Whole Wheat” on the label.

Sources: Bread That’s Really Good for You , refine flour , cancers , WebMD , Dietary Guidelines   Image Sources:  Whole grain , Multi-grain bread  , whole wheat