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Nutritional Profile
Energy value (calories per serving): Moderate
Protein: Moderate
Fat: Low to moderate
Saturated fat: Low to high
Cholesterol: Low to high
Carbohydrates: High
Fiber: Moderate to high
Sodium: Moderate to high
Major vitamin contribution: B vitamins
Major mineral contribution: Calcium, iron, potassiumAbout the Nutrients in This Food
All commercially made yeast breads are approximately equal in nutri-
tional value. Enriched white bread contains virtually the same amounts of
proteins, fats, and carbohydrates as whole wheat bread, although it may
contain only half the dietary fiber (see flour).
Bread is a high-carbohydrate food with lots of starch. The exact
amount of fiber, fat, and cholesterol in the loaf varies with the recipe.
Bread’s proteins, from grain, are low in the essential amino acid lysine. The
most important carbohydrate in bread is starch; all breads contain some
sugar. Depending on the recipe, the fats may be highly saturated (butter or
hydrogenated vegetable fats) or primarily unsaturated (vegetable fat).
All bread is a good source of B vitamins (thiamin, riboflavin, niacin),
and in 1998, the Food and Drug Administration ordered food manufactur-
ers to add folates—which protect against birth defects of the spinal cord
and against heart disease—to flour, rice, and other grain products. One
year later, data from the Framingham Heart Study, which has followed
heart health among residents of a Boston suburb for nearly half a cen-
tury, showed a dramatic increase in blood levels of folic acid. Before the
fortification of foods, 22 percent of the study participants had a folic acid
deficiency; after, the number fell to 2 percent.
Bread is a moderately good source of calcium, magnesium, and phos-
phorus. (Breads made with milk contain more calcium than breads made
without milk.) Although bread is made from grains and grains contain
phytic acid, a natural antinutrient that binds calcium ions into insoluble,