When making a sandwich, most folks will usually end up opting to use white bread. Sourdough, brioche, sliced Hawaiian bread (which is my personal favorite)…styles like those are the most popular by a large margin. And that’s mainly because those kinds of breads are genuinely the most delicious in taste, texture, and flavor. They’re fluffy, with almost sweet creamy textures, and they’re genuinely the most pleasing palate pillow for your meats, cheeses, and other preferred toppings. But while white breads are usually considered the most delicious, society has long wanted us to believe that white breads are not the healthiest sandwich base option, with the title of “most beneficial bread option” usually going to “Whole Wheat Bread”. But is that really true?
The majority of us, for pretty much our entire lives, have all just assumed that whole wheat bread is better for you…right? It’s certainly been marketed that way…it very much looks that way…and it definitely tastes that way. Just one bite will force pretty much anyone to agree that whole wheat bread absolutely tastes “healthy” (with “healthy” actually being code for “bad”, or at least “not as delicious as white bread”). But is whole wheat really the healthiest bread option?
That’s actually a rhetorical question, mind you. Of course, whole wheat bread is the most nutritional bread option. Registered dieticians & other health professionals have been preaching it for a long time, they still preach it today, and there are plenty of good reasons that they’ve been trying to drill it into our heads (and stomachs). You see, making whole wheat bread requires using the entire wheat kernel: the bran, the germ, and the endosperm. And all of those elements being present together in the final product is what gives whole wheat bread its superior nutritional value. By comparison, white bread sadly doesn’t have any decent nutritional value, primarily because the wheat kernel’s bran & germ elements ultimately end up getting stripped out during wheat flour enrichment, leaving only the starchy endosperm as the lone remaining kernel element at the end of the process.
Now, you might’ve picked up on this already, but I’ve only been touting the benefits of whole wheat bread. And that’s because breads just labeled as “wheat bread” actually might still contain refined flour & ultimately lack the full nutritional profile that you could, would, and should get from whole grain varieties. Whole wheat bread’s super high fiber content is very helpful in maintaining optimal digestion, managing heart health, and regulating blood sugar. Plus, it also ends up leaving you feeling fuller after you’ve eaten it (versus white bread), which can help with healthy weight management.
So, go ahead & fire up that toaster! Just do your best to be sure it’s whole wheat bread you’re popping in there.
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