White Bread Nutrition Benefits and Facts

Nutritional summary

White bread is characterized by a high glycemic index (a measure of how quickly a food raises blood sugar levels), which results in a more rapid postprandial (after-meal) glucose response compared to whole-grain varieties .
Frequent consumption of white bread is often associated with lower overall diet quality, as it is commonly eaten alongside foods like red and processed meats that are linked to increased health risks .
One large cohort study found that consuming two or more portions of white bread per day was associated with a 40% higher risk of becoming overweight or obese compared to consuming one portion or less per week .
Early research indicates that white bread contains lower concentrations of acrylamide (a chemical that can form in some foods during high-temperature cooking) than whole-grain bread, though the health implications of this difference remain a subject of study .

Interesting fact

The Chorleywood bread process, developed in 1961, uses high-speed mixing and chemical improvers to produce a loaf from flour to sliced bread in just three and a half hours.

Standout nutrients

GREAT

SOURCE

Chromium

ELITE

SOURCE

Iodine

GREAT

SOURCE

Folate

GREAT

SOURCE

Manganese

255

kcal per 100g

Protein8.36g

Fat2.94g

Carbs46.2g

Fiber3.15g

Sugar1.64g

Fat breakdown

Polyunsat0.47g

Monounsat0.43g

Saturated0.39g

Trans0.02g

Seasonality

Not available

Diet

VeganVegetarianPescatarianDairy Free

Sustainability

Lighter footprint

Wheat has a relatively low carbon footprint, though industrial processing adds to its total impact.

Confidencemedium

Storage

Room Temperature

3–5 days

Store in a cool, dry place to prevent mold.

Freeze

1–3 months

Freeze in slices for easy defrosting.

Flavour

Data & Sources

Harmonized from 2 validated sources

French Food Database

2 contributing source foods

McCance & Widdowson

1 contributing source food

Claim citations

Bread Consumption and Cancer Risk: Systematic Review and Meta ...

[1]pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

The Effect of Regular Consumption of Reformulated Breads on Glycemic Control: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Clinical Trials - PMC

[2]pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Food as medicine: white and whole-grain bread consumption in relation to sarcopenia among older adults, insights from the Birjand Longitudinal Aging Study (BLAS) - PMC

[6]pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Glycemic load, glycemic index, bread and incidence of overweight/obesity in a Mediterranean cohort: the SUN project - PMC

[10]pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Coverage

Nutrients

FoodCompass

2.4

Version

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