• By Emily Amelia Inglis
• Published 03/26/2012

With so many types of bread around, it can be hard to know which types of bread are healthy bread and which types are less healthy for us.

Therefore, learning something about the ingredients and the nutrients that can be found within bread is an important step towards finding the most healthy bread for us and for our diet overall.

Of course, bread like any food contains calories, and the calories within bread indicate something about its ability to provide fuel for our bodies. Official statistics suggest that women need about 2000 calories per day to maintain their weight and provide everything that the body needs; whereas men need about 2500 calories. A slice of bread typically contains about 100 of these calories each, with some providing slightly less and some slightly more.

Bread is also potentially an excellent source of fibre. Fibre is vital for the digestive system in keeping it going, and for those on a diet, fibre is very effective at helping you to feel full which can help to ward off food cravings in between meals

It is also a good source of protein, which is an important part of helping to keep the body in good shape. Generally bread is not a high source of fat, although if you spread something like butter or other spreads on your bread, then of course they will increase your fat intake. However, bread in itself is quite low in fat.

Although there may be quite a high amount of sugar in a whole loaf of bread, the amount that can be found in one or two slices is quite low, and white bread can be an excellent source of calcium, as well as many other vitamins and minerals, such as folic acid, which is very helpful to pregnant women.

A few slices of bread per day can be an excellent way of getting a whole range of different vitamins and minerals into your body, as well as healthy amounts of fat, protein and fibre. Along with whatever ingredients you have with your bread, it is an excellent staple food in your diet, making healthy bread vital to your health and general wellbeing.

About the Author: Emily Amelia Inglis looks to educate you on what makes healthy bread.