It has earned a reputation as one of the least healthy carbohydrates, full of additives and lacking essential nutrients.
But every bread, even white, has some benefits and there is no reason to stay away from traditional bread, experts argued today.
Dr Duane Mellor, a dietician at Aston University, said: “What matters most is what you add to the bread.”
He told MailOnline: ‘White bread is not as bad as many people think.
‘What is most important is to consider how people can add more fiber to their diet.
Dr Duane Mellor, a dietician at Aston University, said: “It’s what you add to the bread that matters most.” He told MailOnline: ‘White bread is not as bad as many people think. What’s most important is to consider how people can add more fiber to their diet. Having it in bread is just one way, with salads and vegetables, and legumes like beans are also great ways to add fiber to the diet. What matters is the overall fiber intake.
‘Having it in bread is just one way. Salads and vegetables, as well as legumes like beans, are also great ways to add fiber to your diet. What matters is the overall fiber intake.”
Advocates of low-carb diets have long vilified white bread, warning that its higher carbohydrate content can cause blood sugar spikes that make us more irritable, tired and susceptible to weight gain.
White bread contains about 49g of carbohydrates per 100g, compared to about 41g in whole wheat bread.
But Dr Mellor added: “In terms of how quickly starches are digested and glucose produced in our body, there isn’t much difference between white bread and wholemeal bread. That’s how flour is milled.
Sourdough and other unleavened breads, which do not contain yeast or baking powder to help the dough rise…“They are digested more slowly than regular sliced bread, so they carry a slower blood glucose risk,” he said.
Registered nutritionist and author Rob Hobson also told MailOnline that a rise in blood sugar is “a natural reaction to eating food.”
“If you serve your sandwich with something that contains fat and protein and maybe some salad greens, this will reduce the impact it has on blood sugar levels,” he added.
“I don’t see anything wrong with a loaf of white bread or good quality sourdough, which is the least ultra-processed.”
Meanwhile, Dr Idrees Mughal told The Telegraph: ‘You have to remember that bread is just energy. It will break down into glucose.
‘How many people do you know sitting on the couch chewing slices of bread?
‘Eating a single loaf of bread every day will not benefit your health. You will probably be consuming excess calories and it is not very nutritious.
“But if you eat it as part of a lunch sandwich with lettuce, grilled chicken breast, a little low-fat mayonnaise, and maybe some pickles and relish, it’s completely fine.”
However, mass-produced white breads in supermarkets are now widely considered an ultra-processed food (UPF), generally anything edible that has more artificial than natural ingredients.
These include chemicals, dyes, sweeteners and preservatives that extend shelf life.
While white bread contains an average of 5 g of sugar per 100 g (one gram less than whole wheat), salt represents 491 mg and proteins only 9 g.
In comparison, whole wheat bread contains an average of 400 mg of salt and 13 g of protein.
Foods loaded with additives have long been vilified for their supposed risks, and there are studies linking them to cancer and heart disease. Some experts have even called for UPF to be removed from diets.
The Nova system, developed by scientists in Brazil more than a decade ago, divides foods into four groups based on the amount of processing they have gone through. Unprocessed foods include fruits, vegetables, nuts, eggs, and meat. Processed culinary ingredients, which are not typically eaten alone, include oils, butter, sugar, and salt.
However, Dr Mellor noted that “some things added to bread sound like nasty chemicals.”
Ascorbic acid, for example, is listed as E300, but it is actually vitamin C.
“This acts as an oxidant that helps gluten form bonds that give the bread a better texture,” he said.
He told MailOnline: ‘By law in the UK, white flour must have its levels of iron, calcium, thiamine and niacin, all essential vitamins and minerals, fortified to match those found in wholemeal bread.
‘Some people might be concerned when they see the names of chemicals like calcium propionate.
“Calcium is already added to bread flour and propionate is produced through fermentation in sourdough and is important because it inhibits bacteria in the dough from becoming slimy and delays the deterioration of bread by mold.”
Cheap, soft-textured packaged white bread, however, is “low in fiber” and “easy to overeat,” Hobson acknowledged.
“If this is the only bread you can afford, try opting for a packaged whole wheat bread and try topping or filling it with something healthy that contains protein and vegetables to help lessen the impact on blood sugar levels,” she added.
WHAT SHOULD A BALANCED DIET LOOK LIKE?
Meals should be based on potatoes, bread, rice, pasta or other starchy carbohydrates, ideally whole grains, according to the NHS.
Eat at least 5 servings of a variety of fruits and vegetables every day. All fresh, frozen, dried, and canned fruits and vegetables count.
Basic meals based on potatoes, bread, rice, pasta or other starchy carbohydrates, ideally whole grains.
30 grams of fiber per day: This is equivalent to eating all of the following: 5 servings of fruits and vegetables, 2 whole grain crackers, 2 thick slices of whole wheat bread, and one large baked potato with skin.
Eat some dairy or dairy alternatives (such as soy drinks) by choosing low-fat, low-sugar options.
Eat some beans, legumes, fish, eggs, meat and other proteins (including 2 servings of fish each week, one of which should be blue)
Choose unsaturated oils and spreads and consume them in small quantities.
Drink 6-8 cups/glasses of water a day
Adults should consume less than 6 g of salt and 20 g of saturated fat for women or 30 g for men per day.
Source: NHS Eatwell Guide