White Bread vs. Wheat Bread vs. Rye Bread: Which one is better for you?

[dkwojt]

I haven't used white bread in a long time. I switch off between wheat, whether it is a seven grain or cracked, and rye. But is there really any difference between the breads?

[Gxp23]

A difference how? I am sure there will be slight calorific differences yes, but if you are avoiding white bread because you think its bad for you, I have some bad news that may shock you, please take a seat.

[Vegmaster]

A difference how? I am sure there will be slight calorific differences yes, but if you are avoiding white bread because you think its bad for you, I have some bad news that may shock you, please take a seat.

Lol, I just knew you would be here!

[Gxp23]

Lol, I just knew you would be here!

lol, need to spread the word!

[WonderPug]

Viewing individual foods, sans content and dose, as "good" or "bad" is not particularly logical.

To start learning the basics about nutrition, please read the relevant stickies at the top of the nutrition forum.

[CroatiaBrah]

White all the way and cheaper better...

[Vegmaster]

White all the way and cheaper better...

Plus, lends itself better to pb

I do have wholemeal aswell, for extra fibre but sandwiches always taste better on white.

[loganhart]

Which ever has the mustard covered animal parts between them!

[laurier51]

In terms of macros? not really much of a difference. With good whole grain bread you get more fibre and depending on the brand sometimes more vitamins and minerals. Once I started eating only whole grain I found it hard to go back to the taste of white bread.

[StephSkywalker]

I might be in the minority to say I prefer the taste of Wheat bread.. It's what my mom always bought growing up, so I am used to the taste. White bread taste fine as well however, so I would eat that as well if I get a good deal on some

[snorkelman]

Let me inject a bit of confusion to this thread: What about the various varieties of breads at Subway restaurants? Many people order "whole wheat" thinking it is significantly healthier than Italian. Guess what? Look at the ingredients (keeping in mind that the main ingredients are listed first).
9-GRAIN WHEAT: Enriched Wheat Flour (Wheat Flour, Malted Barley Flour, Niacin, Iron, Thiamine Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid), Water, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Whole Wheat Flour, Contains 2% Or Less Of The Following: Wheat Gluten, Oat Fiber, Yeast, Soybean Oil, Wheat Bran, Calcium Blend (Calcium Carbonate, Vitamin D3), Salt, Rolled Wheat, Rye Nuggets, Dough Conditioners (Datem, Sodium Stearoyl Lactylate), Yeast Nutrients (Calcium Sulfate, Ammonium Sulfate), Degermed Yellow Corn Meal, Rolled Oats, Rye Flakes, Caramel Color, Triticale Flakes, Parboiled Brown Rice, Refinery Syrup, Honey, Barley Flakes, Flaxseed, Millet, Sorghum Flour, Flavor (Yeast Extract, Salt, Natural Flavor). Contains wheat.
ITALIAN (WHITE) BREAD: Enriched wheat flour (wheat flour, niacin, iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), water, sugar, contains less than 2% of the following: soybean oil, yeast, wheat gluten, calcium blend (calcium carbonate, vitamin d3), salt, dough conditioners (acetylated tartaric acid esters of mono- and diglycerides, ammonium sulfate, calcium sulfate, ascorbic acid, azodicarbonamide, potassium iodate, amylase [enzymes]), wheat protein isolate, sodium stearoyl lactylate, flavor ( yeast extract, salt, natural flavor). Contains wheat.
As for nutritional info, the 6" 9-Grain Wheat Bread has 210 calories, 2 grams fat, 410 mg sodium, 41 grams of carbs, 4 grams of fiber, 3 grams sugar, and 8 grams protein.
Meanwhile, 6" Italian (White) Bread gives you 200 calories, 2 grams fat, 390 mg sodium, 38 grams carbs, 1 gram fiber, 5 grams sugar and 7 grams protein.
As you can tell from the last couple of words next to the ingredients for Italian bread, refined white bread is still made from wheat flour. I am not sure that it is so easy to conclude that the wheat bread is better than the white bread.
That being said, subway's bread is not the same as the bread you find in the grocery store. In the grocery store you can actually find 100% stone ground whole wheat if you desire. This is why you should not assume that all “wheat bread” is the same as “whole wheat bread.”

I personally enjoy nature’s own 100% whole wheat, as I like the fluffiness of this bread



and it is hard to beat the calories per slice

[jubjubrsx]

ever thought of buying a bread machine and making your own...seriously takes almost no time at all. other then the cooking time(3hrs roughly and most have timers) then you can add all the healthy stuff you want....I've made in the past whole wheat pumpkin protein bread, had chia seeds, and some flax in it as well. seriously you could make up 10 batches at a time put them in ziptop bags so you just dump it in the bread maker, and add a egg or water, milk (or put dry milk in the dry mix packet) honey what wet ingredients you want throw it in the bread maker and hit start...

fresh bread is so awesome tasting as well. or heck easy way to make pizza dough as well.

[ted01]

ever thought of buying a bread machine and making your own...seriously takes almost no time at all. other then the cooking time(3hrs roughly and most have timers) then you can add all the healthy stuff you want....I've made in the past whole wheat pumpkin protein bread, had chia seeds, and some flax in it as well. seriously you could make up 10 batches at a time put them in ziptop bags so you just dump it in the bread maker, and add a egg or water, milk (or put dry milk in the dry mix packet) honey what wet ingredients you want throw it in the bread maker and hit start...

fresh bread is so awesome tasting as well. or heck easy way to make pizza dough as well.

Precisely. I even have a flour mill and grind my own grains. If I had enough land, I'd grow the grains themselves. Besides, there is simply no better smell than fresh baking bread wafting through the house!!

To the OP: It totally depends on what you mean by "better". If you mean "better" from a macro perspective, that's one question. From an insulinogenic perspective, that's another question. From a taste perspective, that's another question. If you mean from a general nutrition perspective, well, that is yet another question. I try to keep my insulin levels as steady as I can so I prefer foods that have lower insulinogenic properties. For this reason, I prefer whole grain breads. Realizing that the glycemic index of a food is pretty useless since quantity is not accounted for and since foods are rarely eaten all by themselves, white bread has a GI almost as high as table sugar (87 vs. 100), whereas wheat bread made with 75% cracked wheat kernels has a GI of 48. Again, use caution when looking at the GI of foods as it isn't a particularly good measuring system and I only use it as an example of why it's hard to answer your question.

[ironwill2008]

I haven't used white bread in a long time. I switch off between wheat, whether it is a seven grain or cracked, and rye. But is there really any difference between the breads?

I enjoy rye bread more than the others, so that's what you should enjoy too.

[MetilHed]

I enjoy rye bread more than the others, so that's what you should enjoy too.

Hahahahahaha

[MNTiburon]

I haven't used white bread in a long time. I switch off between wheat, whether it is a seven grain or cracked, and rye. But is there really any difference between the breads?

The major difference is fiber. White bread has the bran removed which is where the fiber is concentrated. It also has some additional B vitamins.

[getbigbro]

+1.. the biggest differences are the loss of fiber due to the processing of white bread and also whitebread tends to be higher in sugar..Based on your post a year or so ago regarding fat loss - go with a low to 0 sugar (3 grams or less) whole wheat (I like aunt millies - cheap and good)

In terms of macros? not really much of a difference. With good whole grain bread you get more fibre and depending on the brand sometimes more vitamins and minerals. Once I started eating only whole grain I found it hard to go back to the taste of white bread.

[isaiah41v10]

Actual whole wheat bread (should contain more fiber than sugar, no HFCS) would be more beneficial because of fiber.

[patnshan]

I prefer the sprouted wheat variety. Started eating it because I thought it was better for me. Once I realized it wasn't necessarily better for me, I kept eating it because it tastes good. Particularly good toasted with PB on it!

[PBateman2]

Ezekiel bread FTW.

[metalmancpa]

It seems that every time a food is posted, the "if you think it's bad you're misinformed" statement always comes up.

I, now more than before, am moving away from all the "bad food" media and researching more, but outside of body building/body composition (IIFYM etc) some foods exhibit some characteristics that can be healthier than others. White bread gets the stigma because it's processed, the favorite types of foods to be attacked by the "healthy". Whole grain breads have more fiber, some nutrients get stripped in the processing of white bread, etc. The differences though are not as glaring as I once thought, but, in the case of bread I choose the whole grain - same carbs, same calories - in this case I don't think I'm missing out by not having white bread. Plus, I just think any bread other than white tastes better (the main reason of choice for me).

[patnshan]

Ezekiel bread FTW.

If you gotta get frozen, then yep. We have a bakery in town that makes the stuff fresh! Mmmmmm.