Staple foods don’t get much simpler than bread. And finding the healthiest bread for your dietary preferences ensures that you’re getting as much fiber and other nutrients in your bread as possible.
But carb-heavy foods like bread have been unfairly maligned in recent years. While you may want to track or limit the carbohydrates you’re eating depending on your health goals, you should not cut them out entirely, experts tell TODAY.com.
“I joke all the time that I’m a carb crusader — and I’m a huge fan of bread,” says Caroline Susie, a registered dietitian based in Dallas.
Carbohydrates are one of the three macronutrients the body needs and a major source of energy. And, while individual needs can vary, healthy adults should aim to get around half of their daily calories from carbs, Theresa Gentile, a registered dietitian in New York City and a spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, tells TODAY.com.
Bread can be a great source of fiber, protein and essential vitamins and minerals, says Susie, who is also a spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. A single serving of bread, which is usually just one slice, can contain 3 grams of fiber or more, she says.
And bread “can be a vehicle for so many other foods,” Susie says. Gentile agrees: “There are so many nutritious foods that people probably wouldn’t eat if (they didn’t) put it on bread,” she says.
Think about meeting your protein goals with hummus, peanut butter or tuna salad on a piece of toast. Or maybe you pile a ton of roasted veggies into a sandwich at lunchtime.
“But you still want to put on your nutrition hat and be smart about what you’re searching for,” Susie says.
What to look for in a healthy bread
In general, the experts recommend looking for whole-grain bread, which is made with flour containing the entire wheat kernel.
There are three parts of the kernel: the bran, germ and endosperm, the U.S. Department of Agriculture explains. Whole-grain bread contains all three and…
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