There are more and more options showing up in the bread aisle and the varieties can be confusing. Whole wheat, whole grain, ancient grain—it's difficult to separate the marketing spin from the actual health benefits of buying 'healthy' bread.
Buying nutritious bread will help avoid blood sugar spikes, leads to a healthy lifestyle by helpong build muscle and keeps you feeling full longer.
Here are 4 things to look out for where trying to make smarter decisions in the bread aisle:
Don't get pulled in by buzz words—there are varying degrees of enforcement when it comes to buzz words surrounding bread ingredients. Just because the packaging looks like a health conscious product, does not mean it actually is. Reading the ingredients and looking at the nutrition label are the ONLY way to know what's actually in the package. Words like light, multi-grain, or wheat germ are often used to confuse consumers and say nothing about the whole grain being included.
The first ingredient should be a whole grain. Not wheat flour, not wheat. If a whole grain is used it will list the grain. Whole rye, whole grain wheat flour, and whole oats are all good examples of what you are looking for. Having the whole grain means you are getting natural, unprocessed fibre.
Each slice of bread should have at least two grams of fibre.
Your bread should not contain any inulin or polydextrose. These two additives are often included to artificially boost fibre levels.
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