What is the Healthiest Bread? Find Out How to Pick the Best Bread for Your Family

Carbohydrates & Blood Sugar Levels

Did you know that whole wheat breads consist of mostly white flour? Even though we think we are making the healthy choice by choosing whole wheat bread, in fact, the reverse may be true, especially if keeping a stable blood sugar level is important to you.

Research conducted by Professor Terry Graham, and published in the British Journal of Nutrition, showed that actually whole wheat bread was the least effective at keeping blood sugar levels steady, and even white bread is considered healthier in this instance.

So, what is the healthiest bread for retaining a balanced blood sugar? The top scorer in the healthiest bread stakes when it comes to blood sugar is, in fact, sourdough bread. Something that occurs in the fermentation process of sourdough makes it a more sensible choice, whereas it was shown that whole wheat bread caused spikes in blood sugar levels throughout the day.

Remember though, that whole wheat and whole grain are two entirely different creatures in the world of bread. Whole grain (discussed below) should be clearly labeled as such, whereas whole wheat bread is made from white flour with a partial amount of wheat germ and bran put back into it.

Dietary Fiber Versus Calories

Of course, both dietary fiber and calories should be important to all of us, but if you are on a diet it can sometimes be a confusing choice when it comes to the best bread. In general, whole wheat bread (sometimes called wholemeal) tends to have the same amount of calories as white bread, so your choice between these two is a matter of personal choice. They both contain around 70 calories per slice depending on the size of slice and brand.

What about whole grain breads? While whole grain breads are clearly much higher in fiber than either white or whole wheat bread, they do have more calories, too. Whole grain scores 90 calories per slice.

However, we shouldn’t just be looking at calories here because dietary fiber plays an important role in our diets. It’s difficult to say how

much fiber is present in whole grain breads as it varies on just how many grains are in there and that can vary massively from one bakery to another, but it is usually at least 3g per slice. Whole wheat bread, however, does score a little higher on the fiber charts than white at 2g per slice compared to just 1/2g of fiber per slice for white. So even though they both have the same calorie score, a whole wheat bread is still a healthier choice when it comes to fiber.

In the fiber versus calorie bread war, it’s important to remember that the majority of calories in white bread come from a refined flour, so the calories are absorbed much more quickly than with whole grain and whole wheat breads. While whole grain bread is higher in calories than white bread, the calories are absorbed much slower, so it will keep you feeling fuller for longer thanks to its high fiber levels.

What Is the Healthiest Bread?

So, what is the healthiest bread overall? Of course, some dietary elements may be more important to you than others for either health reasons like diabetes, heart conditions, or if you are just dieting to lose weight. So what’s the healthiest for you may not be the healthiest for someone else.

As the report on how eating bread affects blood sugar levels discussed earlier didn’t examine the effects of whole grain breads, overall the healthiest bread has to be whole grain. It is not a great deal higher in calories than other options, provides fiber for the diet, and makes you feel fuller than other varieties due to the calories being absorbed more slowly.

When shopping, look for “whole grain” on the label, and make sure it is one of the first ingredients on the list. Ideally, you are looking at a minimum of 3g fiber per slice.

So, there you have it, what the healthiest bread is, and how to identify it in the store.

References

Six Wise, https://www.sixwise.com/newsletters/2008/July/24/Which-Type-of-Bread-is-Healthiest.htm

Prof. Terry Graham, University of Guelph

Binkley, James & Golub, Alla, “Household Food Choice in Four Food Categories: Healthy or Unhealthy”, https://ageconsearch.umn.edu/bitstream/58418/2/10-2.pdf

Positive Health, https://www.positivehealthsteps.com/calories/breads.shtml

Wheat Foods Council, https://www.wheatfoods.org/AboutWheat-bread-nutrition/Index.htm

Mayo Clinic, “Whole grains: Hearty options for a healthy diet”, https://www.mayoclinic.com/health/whole-grains/NU00204

White Bread Image credit: Wikimedia Commons/Elinor D

Brown Bread Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons/Javier Lastras

Sough Dough image credit: Wikimedia Commons/Fir0002