With so many options available to us in stores these days, it can be difficult to choose even the most staple foods – like bread. White, wheat, whole grain, sprouted… the list goes on and on! We’ve got a list of some of the most common bread brands found in stores today, ranked from unhealthiest to healthiest. See where your favorite bread falls on the list!
White Bread
It’s probably no surprise that white bread comes in at the unhealthiest bread available today. The top ingredient is bleached flour, which basically means that they’ve stripped the whole grain of all of its nutrients. The nutrients are added back in, but they are the manmade versions, which means they are pretty much all chemicals. White bread will spike your blood sugar, and then leave you hungry thirty minutes later. So, not only is this product devoid of nutrients, but it doesn’t even satisfy your hunger!
Sara Lee Wheat
Most “wheat” bread is a marketing gimmick, pure and simple. Words like cracked wheat, multi-grain, and all-natural wheat don’t actually mean anything. Most of the time the top ingredient is cracked wheat, which may sound good, but is just another name for bleached flour. Wheat bread is in fact just as bad as white bread!
Pepperidge Farm
Most Pepperidge Farm bread is again, made with bleached flour, which we’ve already said is not good for you. Their bread also contains GMO soybean oil, which is heavily processed and very hard for your body to digest. Perhaps the most notable thing about Pepperidge Farm products is that they contain monoglycerides, which is a dough conditioner. This chemical is added to help the bread bake faster.
Best Grains & Natural Ovens
Let’s move in the direction of slightly healthier bread, like Best Grains and Natural Ovens. These brands hit much closer to the healthy target than any of the previous bread on this list. They do contain whole wheat flour, which is what we’re aiming for, as opposed to the bleached or enriched white flour, but they still have soybean oil. It’s important to take a look at the sugar, fiber, and protein levels as well. You don’t want to get bread that has more than 2 grams of sugar, or less than 2 grams of protein and fiber. Both of these brands are at the 2-gram mark for sugar, but they fall short of the desired protein levels.
Ezekiel Bread
Ezekiel Bread is definitely a winner when it comes to raw, unprocessed ingredients. Taking a look at the ingredient list, it’s wonderfully simple without any additives or difficuly to pronounce words. That’s key!
Dave’s Killer Bread
Another excellent choice for bread is Dave’s Killer Bread. This brand has gained quite a bit of popularity in recent years. This one also has the unprocessed ingredients, as well as the protein and fiber. Plus, this bread don’t contain added sugar, which is a total win-win!
Silver Hills Sprouted Power
What is sprouted bread? It’s made from soaking grains in water until a little sprouted tail forms. Not only is this easy for your body to digest, but the sprouted grain actually contains a ton more nutrients than even the whole grain.