White vs. Brown bread: Which one should you eat? | The Times of India (2024)

Bread is a common breakfast item. It promotes satiety and also allows people to experiment with different recipes. You toast it and put some butter on it or make a sandwich. Bread makes for a filling breakfast, which is needed to energise and kick start your day, especially when you are in a hurry.

There are several kinds of bread available in the market. Out of all, white bread is the traditional and most commonly consumed variety of bread. But worldover people are shifting from white to brown, citing health benefits of the brown variant. It is because brown rice, brown sugar are considered healthier than their white processed versions. This makes many people wonder, which is actually the healthier alternative between the two.

Brown bread is made using whole wheat, with their outer covering intact. This makes brown bread more nutritious and rich in fiber as compared to white bread. Brown bread contains more vitamin B-6 and E, magnesium, folic acid, zinc copper and manganese. For making white bread, wheat flour is bleached using chemicals like benzoyl peroxide, chlorine dioxide and potassium bromate to make the flour appear more white. Refined starch is added on top of the flour. But these chemicals are used in a small amount and are not that hazardous to health. White bread is low in fiber and other nutrients but contains more calcium than brown bread.

White bread contains more calories than brown bread. But the difference in the calorie count is not wide. A slice of white bread contains 77 calories, while a slice of brown bread contains 75 calories. Besides, brown bread has a low glycemic index as compared to white bread.

In terms of calories content, there is not much difference between the two types of bread. When it comes to nutrients, brown bread definitely has more nutrients than white bread. But not all brown breads available in the market are healthy. The manufacturers at times add colour in white bread to make it appear brown. Even the multigrain bread that you pick from the aisle considering healthy is not exactly healthy.

If you choose to eat brown bread then look for the word caramel in the list of the ingredients. This indicates that colour is added in the bread. If the term ‘whole wheat’ is mentioned in the list, it means it contains the germ and bran of the wheat grain.