The Best Breads in the Grocery Store

Look for whole-grain breads with the fewest ingredients possible.

Photo: sergeyryzhov/Getty Images
Photo: sergeyryzhov/Getty Images
TT
20

The Best Breads in the Grocery Store

Photo: sergeyryzhov/Getty Images
Photo: sergeyryzhov/Getty Images

It takes just four ingredients to create bread: flour, yeast, water, and salt. After a little kneading and some time in the oven, they transform into a hearty dietary staple that can add texture to your breakfast or structure to your sandwich. But the type of flour, plus additional ingredients, can make or break bread's nutritional value.

What makes bread healthy?
Healthy bread starts with flour that comes from whole grains, such as whole wheat, oats, brown rice, rye, or barley.

Whole grains are seeds. Each is made up of an outer shell (bran), a tiny embryo (germ) that can turn into a plant, and a starchy food supply (endosperm) for the embryo. Together, these three parts of the whole grain are typically loaded with B vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and fiber.

Eating whole grains is linked to better health. "There are good data to show that eating whole grains is associated with lower weight and reduced rates of heart disease and early death," says registered dietitian Kathy McManus, director of the Department of Nutrition at Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women's Hospital. She also points out that eating fiber may help lower cholesterol, control blood sugar, and improve digestion.

Iffy ingredients
Many ingredients can reduce the nutritional value of bread.

The main culprit is flour from refined grains, such as white flour. These grains have been processed to remove the bran and germ for finer, smoother flour that lasts longer on the shelf. But the body digests refined grains quickly, which can cause your blood sugar to spike. Frequent blood sugar spikes increase the risk for developing diabetes.

In addition to refined grains, many breads contain added sugars such as brown sugar, cane sugar, high-fructose corn syrup, honey, or molasses. Examples are raisin breads, sweet breads, or "honey wheat" breads. These breads may contain some healthy ingredients, but they also can add up to 6 grams of sugar and 25 grams of carbohydrate per slice.

Other ingredients deemed safe for consumption by the FDA may make you feel uncomfortable once you know they're in bread — like caramel coloring and preservatives to help bread rise higher, retain moisture, or last longer. Two additives — potassium bromate and azodicarbonamide — are associated with cancer in studies of lab animals, but the chemicals are still allowed and used in many bread products in the United States.

In search of healthy bread
You'll have to do some investigating to find bread that's on the healthier side.

Step 1: Don't pay attention to the marketing promises on the front of the package. "It could say 12 grains,' or multigrain,' or made with whole grains.' That doesn't mean it's a whole-grain product. It could still contain refined grains," McManus warns.

Step 2: Read the ingredients list. "If the words whole grain' aren't first on the ingredients list, then it's not whole-grain," McManus says.

Step 3: Avoid breads with lots of ingredients, especially breads with
- unbleached enriched wheat flour (refined grains that are fortified)
- anything that ends with "ose" (indicating sugar molecules such as dextrose, fructose, glucose, lactose, maltose, and sucrose)
- ingredients you may not recognize, such as monoglycerides and diglycerides (emulsifiers that help ingredients combine together) or butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA — a preservative associated with cancer in lab animals).

Slice guidelines
After reading the ingredients list, look at the Nutrition Facts label. The best breads in the grocery store have a particular nutrition profile per serving. For bread, one serving is one slice, which is about 1 ounce (28 grams). "Per slice, you want no more than 80 calories, less than 100 milligrams of sodium, at least 3 grams of fiber, less than 3 grams of sugar (and zero added sugar), and 15 grams of carbohydrates," McManus recommends. "Don't get any breads containing saturated fat."

Some examples of breads that fill the bill or come close: Ezekiel 4:9 Flax Sprouted Whole Grain Bread and Alvarado Street Bakery Sprouted 100% Whole Wheat Bread.

How many slices can you have? That depends on what else you eat. "The goal is four servings of whole grains per day. You could achieve that with two slices of whole-grain toast at breakfast and a nice whole-grain sandwich at lunch. Or you could have a couple of slices of bread at lunch and half a cup of cooked whole grains—like quinoa, farro, oats, or bulgur—at breakfast and dinner," McManus says. "The important thing is to find whole grains you enjoy that work for you and your family. The right bread is often an easy way to get the whole grains you need."

(Harvard Health Letter)



Bezos-backed Methane-tracking Satellite Lost in Space

US Amazon's founder Jeff Bezos and his wife Lauren Sanchez Bezos leave the Aman Hotel for lunch a day after their wedding in Venice on June 28, 2025. (Photo by ANDREA PATTARO / AFP)
US Amazon's founder Jeff Bezos and his wife Lauren Sanchez Bezos leave the Aman Hotel for lunch a day after their wedding in Venice on June 28, 2025. (Photo by ANDREA PATTARO / AFP)
TT
20

Bezos-backed Methane-tracking Satellite Lost in Space

US Amazon's founder Jeff Bezos and his wife Lauren Sanchez Bezos leave the Aman Hotel for lunch a day after their wedding in Venice on June 28, 2025. (Photo by ANDREA PATTARO / AFP)
US Amazon's founder Jeff Bezos and his wife Lauren Sanchez Bezos leave the Aman Hotel for lunch a day after their wedding in Venice on June 28, 2025. (Photo by ANDREA PATTARO / AFP)

A satellite backed by billionaire Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has been lost in space while carrying out an important climate change mission, New Zealand officials said Wednesday.

Designed to measure greenhouse gas emissions with "unprecedented resolution", the MethaneSAT space probe was also funded by Wellington and the US-based Environmental Defense Fund.

Plagued with technical problems, the satellite recently stopped responding to its Earth-bound controllers.

"Clearly, this is a disappointing development," said Andrew Johnson, a senior official at the New Zealand Space Agency.

"As those who work in the space sector know, space is inherently challenging, and every attempt -- successful or not -- pushes the boundaries of what we know and what we're capable of."

The Environmental Defense Fund, which led the project, said it was "difficult news" but would not be the end of its methane-tracking efforts.

MethaneSAT was designed to measure emissions of the potent greenhouse gas, which fuels climate change by trapping heat in the planet's atmosphere.

It has proven notoriously difficult to get accurate estimates of the methane emissions belched out by oil and gas projects around the globe.

"It was one of the most advanced methane tracking satellites in space, measuring methane emissions in oil and gas producing regions across the world," the MethaneSAT team said.

Project lead Steven Hamburg said initial data gleaned by the satellite was "remarkable".
"Recent measurements in the Permian Basin of Texas and New Mexico revealed emissions three to five times higher than estimated by the US Environmental Protection Agency, while emissions observed in the South Caspian region are over 10 times higher than reported," Hamburg wrote on LinkedIn.

MethaneSAT was launched into space in March 2024 on the back of a SpaceX rocket fired from California.

Controllers first lost contact with the satellite on June 20, the MethaneSAT team said in a statement.

They confirmed it had lost all power on Monday this week and was "likely not recoverable".

"The engineering team is conducting a thorough investigation into the loss of communication," MethaneSAT said, according to AFP.

"This is expected to take time. We will share what we learn."

Despite its shorter-than-expected lifespan, MethaneSAT hailed the mission as a "remarkable success in terms of scientific and technological accomplishment".

Amazon founder Bezos pumped more than US$100 million into the project through his philanthropic Earth Fund.

The satellite eventually succumbed after overcoming a string of technical glitches.
It repeatedly entered a sleep, or stand-by, mode without prompting -- forcing engineers to perform a lengthy reset each time.

One of its three thrusters also failed.