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)
