The Best Bread: Tips for Buying Breads
How to decipher labels and choose the healthiest bread.
Every time you eat bread -- be it a bagel, an English muffin, or part of a sandwich -- you've got an opportunity to improve your diet. For most Americans, choosing whole-wheat bread products most of the time is the easiest way to eat more super-healthy whole grains. But when you're standing in front of the bread array in the supermarket, reading the various label claims, just how do you know which is the best bread to buy?
Choosing the best bread can be confusing. Here are three bread myths that help make it that way:
Bread Myth No. 1: If it looks brown and has the word "wheat" in the name, it has lots of fiber and whole grain.
The Truth: The first ingredient listed on the ingredient label tells the story. If it's "wheat flour" or "enriched bleached flour" (or similar), that tells you white flour was mostly used, not "whole-wheat flour."
Bread Myth No. 2: Breads with healthy sounding names like "seven-grain" or "100% natural" are the best choices.
The Truth: Just because the name of the bread on the package sounds super-healthy, it doesn’t mean the bread actually is. Oroweat’s seven-grain and 12-grain breads, for example, list "unbleached enriched flour" as their first ingredient. Nature’s Pride 100% Natural Honey Wheat bread, likewise, is mainly made with "wheat flour," not whole wheat.
Bread Myth: Rye bread is a 100% whole-grain, high-fiber choice.
The Truth: The first ingredient listed on the label of most brand brands of rye bread, from Russian Rye or Jewish Rye to Dark Rye or Extra Sour Rye, is none other than unbleached enriched flour. The second ingredient is usually water, and the third, rye flour. That explains why most rye breads have only 1 gram of fiber per slice (one dark rye in my supermarket has less than that). So, rye bread isn't usually 100% whole grain (although there might be some enlightened brands out there I haven't seen yet). I wouldn't call them high in fiber, either.
How to Buy the Best Bread
Best Bread Tip No. 1: Go for 100%
The Best Bread: Tips for Buying Breads
Best Bread Choices in Chain Supermarkets
All of the following bread products have:
- 4 grams of fiber per 2-slice serving (or similar).
- 100% whole wheat flour as the first ingredient on the label.
- Less than 401 mg sodium per 2-slice serving,
- 1 gram saturated fat or less per 2-slice serving (most have zero saturated fat).
English Muffins (1 whole) Calories Fiber Sodium Carbs Protein
Oroweat Whole Grain & Flax (64 g) 150 5 160 29 5
(contributes 14 mg heart-healthy omega-3s)
Oroweat 100% Whole Wheat (59 g) 130 4 240 25 5
Bagel and Buns (1 whole) Calories Fiber Sodium Carbs Protein
Oroweat Whole Grain 100% Whole
Wheat Hamburger Bun (71 g) 180 6 350 31 8
Oroweat Whole Grain 100% Whole
Wheat Hotdog Bun (56 g) 160 6 320 28 8
Thomas Hearty Grains 100% Whole
Wheat Bagels (95 g) 240 7 400 49 10
Pita Pockets (1 whole) Calories Fiber Sodium Carbs Protein
Thomas Sahara Pita Pockets
100% Whole Wheat (57 g) 140 4 320 28 6
Toufayan Multi-grain Pita (69 g) 173 4 288 35 8
Sliced Bread (2 slices) Calories Fiber Sodium Carbs Protein
Milton’s Whole Grain Plus
Bread (76 g) 180 10 250 32 8
Oroweat Country 100% Whole
Wheat (76 g) 200 6 360 36 8
Oroweat Protein Health (86 g) 200 6 360 36 12
Sara Lee Hearty & Delicious 100%
Multi-Grain (86 g) 240 6 400 42 10
Nature’s Pride 100% Whole
Wheat (56 g) 140 4 300 26 6
(Elaine Magee, MPH, RD, is the "Recipe Doctor" for WebMD and the author of numerous books on nutrition and health. Her opinions and conclusions are her own.)
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