There are dozens of different breads available, and Rosemary Stanton says they all pass basic nutrition levels. Bread is a good source of starchy carbohydrate, B vitamins and dietary fibre, as well as small quantities of minerals. Wholemeal and grain breads have the highest levels of vitamins, minerals and fibre, and the more grains there are, the better for your body.

Glycaemic effect

The starches in bread with whole pieces of grain take longer to digest and convert to blood glucose - that's called the glycaemic effect. If you're trying to lose weight or if you have diabetes you should probably choose a bread with a low glycaemic effect, because slowly digested foods are likely to be burned for energy rather than being converted to fat. If you make bread yourself or buy it from a baker who doesn't use additives to make bread rise fast, the bread will have a much lower glycaemic effect. Among the breads from major bakeries, wholegrain loaves and breads with soy and linseed have a low glycaemic effect. So does genuine sour dough bread (made using wild yeasts).

Is bread fattening?

Most breads are low in fat, with 2-3 grams in 100 grams of bread. Most Turkish and flat breads don't have much fat. Breads topped with cheese and bacon or onion usually have about 10g/100g of fat, but if you eat one roll plain or with salad the total fat content won't be much different to regular breads spread with margarine or butter. Some focaccia is low in fat; others have about 9g/100g. Soft hamburger buns used by fast food chains are high in fat.

Bread is not really fattening - often what you put on it does the damage. If you're trying to lose weight you can't eat unlimited amounts of anything, including bread, because it will give your body so many calories you won't burn any fat. A minimum of 4 and up to 8 slices a day is suitable for a weight loss diet. (Note: a slice of packaged bread weighs about 30g, but a slice of homemade bread from a breadmaker may weigh 2-4 times that much.)

What to do

When buying bread, check the label for fat content and additives. Bread is basically good food but if you want the best go for a sour dough, something with grains in it, or some homemade bread.

Copyright CTC Productions 2002