Helpful Bread Info....

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Registered: 03-21-2003
Helpful Bread Info....
Tue, 12-23-2003 - 10:00am

http://www.cspinet.org/new/bread.htm



Consumer Group Offers Bread-Buying Guide
CSPI Names 22 Breads as "Best Bites"

Not all breads are created equal. Some are made from 100 percent whole grains, with all the vitamins, minerals, fiber, and phytochemicals intact. They're the ones that may help cut your risk of heart disease, cancer, and diabetes. The rest are all or largely refined white flour -- which has been stripped of most of its nutrients.


The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) published a guide for bread buyers in the September issue of its Nutrition Action Healthletter.

The article compares 88 mostly major brands of bread. Twenty-two earned "Best Bite" citations because they contain whole wheat or another whole-grain flour as the first ingredient and have no more than 350 milligrams of sodium in two slices.

"Don't get us wrong," said CSPI senior nutritionist Jayne Hurley. "Refined-flour breads aren't bad for you. They're low in fat, have no cholesterol, and supply some fiber, iron, and B-vitamins. However, if a bread doesn't have whole wheat, oats, or some other whole grain as the first ingredient, much of its vitamin-and-mineral-rich germ and bran have been milled away, along with most of its fiber."

Among the article's other findings:



  • Breads with "Stone Ground Wheat," "Cracked Wheat," "Wheat Berry," or "Multi-Grain" in their names may or may not be whole-grain. Wonder Fat Free Multi-Grain bread, for example, is mostly refined white flour. There's more yeast than any of the other grains. Pepperidge Farm Light Style 7 Grain has more corn syrup than six of its seven grains. The grain present in greatest amount is refined white flour.



  • If you're a fan of multi-grain breads, look for whole-wheat flour or some other whole grain as the first or second flour listed. If you're too busy to squint at the tiny print, look at the name. Any bread, roll, or bun with "whole wheat" as part of its name must be made with only whole-wheat flour.



  • Don't forget to check the serving size. For most people a serving of bread is two slices, yet many labels give calories, sodium, fiber, and other nutrition information for one slice.



  • "Light" breads have fewer calories (and less sodium) than regular breads, at least in part, because they're sliced thinner. And some companies boost the fiber numbers and cut the calories in their "light" breads by adding highly processed fiber. But nothing replaces the lost vitamin E, B-6, magnesium, manganese, zinc, potassium, copper, pantothenic acid, and phytochemicals. Starting next January, however, all enriched breads will be fortified with the B-vitamin folic acid. That should reduce the risk of babies' being born with neural tube birth defects like spina bifida.



  • No oat bread made the "Best Bite" cut.

For those who do not want to hunt through ingredients, cross-checking serving sizes and the thickness of individual slices, here are Nutrition Action's "Best Bite" winners (ranked within each category from most to least fiber):






Bread (weight of 2 slices in ounces)
Calories
Sodium (mg)
Fiber (g)


100% Whole Wheat




Rubschlager 100% Stone Ground Honey Whole Wheat (2)


140
270
5


Oroweat Light 100% Whole Wheat (1.5)


80
230
5


Arnold Stoneground 100% Whole Wheat (2)


120
230
4


Schmidt's Old Tyme 100% Whole Wheat (2)


120
260
4


Mrs. Wright's 100% Whole Wheat (2)


120
280
4


Grant's Farm 100% Whole Wheat (2)


140
300
4


Pepperidge Farm Natural Whole Grain 100% Stoneground Whole Wheat (2.5)


180
320
4


Earth Grains 100% Whole Wheat (1.5)


90
240
3


Wonder 100% Whole Wheat (1.5)


110
280
3


Pepperidge Farm 100% Whole Wheat Thin Sliced (2)


120
240
2


Wheat




Brownberry Bran'nola Hearty Wheat (2.5)


180
270
6


Oroweat Original Honey Wheat Berry (2.5)


120
340
4


Pepperidge Farm Very Thin Sliced Wheat (1)


70
150
3


Arnold Country Wheat (2.5)


180
340
2


Mixed Grain




Rubschlager European Style Whole Grain (2)


140
270
6


Rubschlager Sunflower Multi-Grain (2)


140
240
4


Pepperidge Farm Natural Whole Grain Crunchy Grains (2.5)


180
260
4


Nature's Cupboard Natural 10-Grain (2.5)


160
340
4


Pepperidge Farm Natural Whole Grain Nine Grain (2.5)


180
340
4


Brownberry Health Nut (2)


140
300
2


Pumpernickel & Rye




Rubschlager Danish Style Pumpernickel (2)


140
270
4


Rubschlager Westphalian Style Pumpernickel (2)


140
270
4





The breads compared were mostly from major brands available in large supermarkets. Many delicious whole-grain breads that are sold in natural food stores would probably qualify -- including breads from Alvarado St. Bakery, The Baker, Food for Life, French Meadow, Natural Ovens, Nature's Path, and Shiloh Farms. If your favorite bread isn't among the "Best Bites," use Nutrition Action's criteria to see how it stacks up.

CSPI, a nonprofit health-advocacy organization, was founded in 1971. CSPI accepts no government or industry funding. It is supported largely by the 800,000 subscribers to its Nutrition Action Healthletter. The organization is well known for obtaining nutrition labeling on all packaged foods and for its nutritional studies of restaurant foods.

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