As one of the staple foods of the Australian diet, bread can be found in nearly every household in the country. Such a versatile food can be used for an easy lunch as a chicken and salad sandwich, a quick protein snack as peanut butter toast, or as something to dip in a warm meal like soup or casserole. To make sure you are fuelling your body well with your bread, things you should look out for on the nutrition information panel include:
- Dietary fibre: great for your gut health and keeping you fuller for longer, try to choose bread with the highest dietary fibre. Multigrain and wholemeal options are higher in dietary fibre than white bread.
- Sugar: like other packaged foods, we do not want lots of added sugars in our bread. Compare the sugar content of different bread by looking at the ‘per 100g’ column and try to choose an option lower in sugar.
- Sodium: High sodium intake is associated with diseases such as heart disease, so watch out for breads that have high sodium content and try to choose those with a lower amount.
With high dietary fibre and low sugar and sodium content in mind, read below for some good bread options your may like to look for next time you are shopping. We have used two bread slices as one serve for all the nutrition information:
Multigrain bread
Tip Top 9 Grain Bread Original
| Energy (cals/serve) | 184 |
| Protein (g/serve) | 9 |
| Carbohydrate (g/serve) | 26 |
| Sugar (g/serve) | 1.6 |
| Sodium (mg/serve) | 296 |
| Dietary fibre (g/serve) | 4.8 |
Multigrain bread is a great way to help achieve your daily wholegrain intake target. Did you know Australian adults should aim to eat 48g wholegrain per day? Most of us don’t meet this recommendation, and yet wholegrains have been shown to have multiple health benefits (see our article on this here: Eat the Whole Grain – Embody Nutrition Consulting). This bread will help you towards that goal, as well as the benefits of being low in sugar and a source of fibre and protein.
Helga’s Barley Seed Grain Loaf
| Energy (cals/serve) | 182 |
| Protein (g/serve) | 8.7 |
| Carbohydrate (g/serve) | 25.9 |
| Sugar (g/serve) | 2.4 |
| Sodium (mg/serve) | 250 |
| Dietary fibre (g/serve) | 5.5 |
This bread from Helga’s has even more fibre than the last one, which is great for your gut health by feeding the microbes in your gut. These microbes assist in the digestion and absorption of nutrients in the foods we eat, so it is essential to include fibre in your diet to look after them. It’s good to aim for 25-30g dietary fibre each day but increase slowly while your body adapts if this isn’t your normal intake.
Wholemeal bread
Burgen Bread Wholemeal & Seeds
| Energy (cals/serve) | 183 |
| Protein (g/serve) | 11 |
| Carbohydrate (g/serve) | 19.3 |
| Sugar (g/serve) | 1.9 |
| Sodium (mg/serve) | 320 |
| Dietary fibre (g/serve) | 9.2 |
| Iron (mg/serve) | 2.1 |
This bread is my personal favourite – look at the nutrition information panel and you will know why! It is stacked full of goodness with 11g protein, 9.2g dietary fibre, and the added bonus of 2.1mg iron per serve. Having a sandwich with this bread will provide you with 65% of your 48g target for wholegrains for the day too!
Wonder White Bread Wholemeal Plus Iron
| Energy (cals/serve) | 175 |
| Protein (g/serve) | 7 |
| Carbohydrate (g/serve) | 28.7 |
| Sugar (g/serve) | 2.4 |
| Sodium (mg/serve) | 295 |
| Dietary fibre (g/serve) | 5.6 |
| Vitamin B1 (mg/serve) | 0.4 |
| Vitamin B3 (mg/serve) | 3.7 |
| Iron (mg/serve) | 4.4 |
If you are not a fan of the texture of multigrain bread but still keen for the health benefits of eating wholegrain, then this is the bread for you. Wholemeal bread is made from whole grains which are ground to a softer texture, meaning none of the goodness of the whole grain is stripped away. The beauty of this bread is that it also assists in providing some of your important micronutrients too. Vitamin B1 is important for growth, normal appetite, digestion, and healthy nerves and muscles, while vitamin B3 is involved in DNA repair and utilising energy to fuel your body.
White bread
Wonder White Bread Vitamins & Minerals Sandwich
| Energy (cals/serve) | 177 |
| Protein (g/serve) | 6.6 |
| Carbohydrate (g/serve) | 31.6 |
| Sugar (g/serve) | 2.6 |
| Sodium (mg/serve) | 300 |
| Dietary fibre (g/serve) | 5.6 |
| Vitamin B1 (mg/serve) | 0.8 |
| Vitamin B3 (mg/serve) | 3.7 |
| Vitamin E (mg/serve) | 3.7 |
| Iron (mg/serve) | 4.4 |
| Zinc (mg/serve) | 1.6 |
| Vitamin B6 (mg/serve) | 0.6 |
Worried you’ll miss out because you only like white bread? Whilst you will not get the benefits of whole grains, food manufacturers have made sure you don’t miss out on other key nutrients. This white bread is great because not only does it contain as much dietary fibre as many of the multigrain and wholemeal varieties, but it also has a bunch of vitamins and minerals included too!
Tip Top The One Sandwich Bread White
| Energy (cals/serve) | 172 |
| Protein (g/serve) | 5.9 |
| Carbohydrate (g/serve) | 31.1 |
| Sugar (g/serve) | 2.2 |
| Sodium (mg/serve) | 296 |
| Dietary fibre (g/serve) | 5.2 |
| Vitamin B1 (mg/serve) | 0.4 |
| Vitamin B3 (mg/serve) | 3.6 |
| Vitamin E (mg/serve) | 3.7 |
| Iron (mg/serve) | 4 |
| Zinc (mg/serve) | 2.3 |
| Vitamin B6 (mg/serve) | 0.5 |
As the name suggests, this bread is great for putting in the kid’s lunchbox or for having a sandwich on the go. Try adding a protein (e.g., ham, chicken, tinned fish) and some salad to your sandwich for a cheap and nutritious lunch. This bread is high in fibre and has a low GI meaning it will keep you feeling fuller for longer.
Gluten free bread
Abbott’s Bakery Gluten Free Soy & Linseed Bread
| Energy (cals/serve) | 226 |
| Carbohydrate (g/serve) | 35.7 |
| Sugar (g/serve) | 4.2 |
| Sodium (mg/serve) | 302 |
| Dietary fibre (g/serve) | 4.6 |
Hello gluten free friends! Surely you didn’t think we’d forget about you. Enjoy these soft, large bread slices that don’t fall apart in your hands. Even though it can be hard to get as much fibre in your diet being gluten free, one serve of this bread contains 4.6g to help you toward your daily target.
Helga’s Gluten Free 5 Seeds Bread
| Energy (cals/serve) | 238 |
| Carbohydrate (g/serve) | 31.1 |
| Sugar (g/serve) | 2.6 |
| Sodium (mg/serve) | 330 |
| Dietary fibre (g/serve) | 5 |
If you’d prefer a multi-grain texture to your bread, then look no further than this one. With 5g fibre per serve this is another great option for our gluten free friends.
If you would like some more help in choosing food options to best support your health and wellbeing, contact us today. We would love to hear from you!