Store-bought sandwich bread is a staple in many homes in North America and even in many other countries around the world. Whether it’s for toast in the morning, school lunch sandwiches, or a quick snack, we eat a lot of bread. While bread is often marketed as a healthy choice, in most cases, these highly processed, presliced sandwich breads are anything but that. They may even be wreaking havoc on your family’s health. These are the hidden health risks of most of these breads, what to watch for on labels, and the unhealthiest breads you can buy at the store.
The Health Risks of Store-Bought Breads

You may be reading this article thinking, are these breads really that bad? The unfortunate truth is, yes, they are. While bread in and of itself has a place in a healthy diet, these overly processed store-bought versions are a far cry from their 3-ingredient or less cousins. Traditional basic unleavened bread is made from only flour and water, and a pinch of salt tossed in. The flour-water mixture is left to ferment, creating what we call a starter. This starter is then used with more flour and more water to make bread. It rises over a long period of time and is then baked.
Store-bought, pre-sliced bread, however? First of all, they are incredibly high in sodium. Most store-bought bread contains 100-300 mg per slice, meaning it contributes to high sodium intake, often sweetened with excessive amounts of sugar. This high-salt, high-sugar bread is terrible for our blood sugar, blood pressure, and overall heart health. Where whole grain or whole wheat bread is high in fiber, store-bought breads are severely lacking (though they are often marketed as if they would be fiber power-houses). Finally, there are plenty of other ingredients, such as additives, preservatives, and other chemical ingredients to ‘improve’ color, texture, shelf life, and more. All of these things are not good for any of us.
Navigating Labels and Packaging

If you don’t have the time or means to make your own bread and have no good quality bakeries nearby, then what can you do? Read your labels, that’s what. Go beyond what the illusionary packaging tries to trick you into believing and read the nutritional label and ingredients list on the other side. Many of these breads can contain up to 100mg of sodium per slice. Keeping in mind that 200mg is the total suggested intake for the day puts just how high that is in perspective. Watch for unnecessary sugars, as well. Look for added sugars or sweeteners such as high-fructose corn syrup, cane sugar, honey, or molasses on the ingredient label. This is particularly problematic if these ingredients are listed in the first few ingredients. In terms of fiber, most of these breads have less than 2 grams per slice. Instead, look for whole grain and whole wheat varieties – and check to make sure that they have at least 2g of fiber minimum, if not more. Finally, look at the other ingredients, such as ‘natural flavorings’ and other unknown ingredients. Those don’t need to be there. If possible, look for certified organic (still read the label, however, as organic does not mean something is healthy).
The Most Unhealthy Brands

Now that we know why most store bought bread is unhealthy, and we know what to look for, let’s have a look at some of the unhealthiest bread on the shelves. These ones aren’t even really worth looking at the label – just put them down and walk away.
Food Club Old Fashioned 12 Grain Enriched Bread

This bread says it has 12 grains and is enriched. Based on the front of the packaging, you’d think it’d be a great choice for your family, right? The reality is that where it is lacking in the fiber that the 12 grains seems to promise, it is more than making up for it in sugar and salt. Next there’s the laundry list of artificial colorings, flavorings, etc. It’s not as enriching as they’d want you to believe.
Wonder Bread Classic White Sandwich Bread

Wonder Bread used to be as the name seems to state – wondrous. In the 1940s, there were widespread outbreaks of both pellagra and beriberi, two diseases caused by deficiencies of essential nutrients niacin and thiamin. Wonder Bread came out with an enriched flour recipe to solve this problem. Nowadays, however, the wonder has faded away. Lacking in fiber and being high in sugar, sodium, and additives, there are many other, healthier ways to get your daily niacin and thiamin intake.
Home Pride Butter Top Wheat Bread

While this bread may be lower in fat and calories than the name implies, that’s about where the accolades stop. Sugar is the biggest culprit here, with most of the sugar found in this bread coming from the big, bad, high fructose corn syrup. Having become rather infamous in the last 10 years or so for its health impact, especially on children, this ingredient is one better left avoided.
Read More: Is Sourdough Bread Healthy? (Benefits, Nutrition, Recipe)
Pepperidge Farm Hearty White Bread

Pepperidge Farm’s marketing is 10/10, I will give them that. After all, a picturesque farm straight out of a Disney movie on every label gives the buyer a feeling of days gone past. This bread, unfortunately, is not quite so wholesome. Nearly devoid of fiber and one of the highest in sodium on this list, this bread does not match the wholesome image its packaging suggests.
Martin’s Potato Bread

Usually, potato bread isn’t a half bad choice for the white bread lover. It typically contains more fiber per serving for the same number of calories as your standard white bread. This bread, for whatever reason, falls quite short. This is because they use reconstituted potatoes rather than whole potatoes, giving the potato bread flavor without the cost – and without the fiber.
King’s Original Hawaiian Sweet Sliced Bread

At least putting the word sweet in the name, they weren’t really trying to trick us here. Sweet, however, would be an understatement. This bread contains both regular sugar and liquid sugar, blessing us with an impressive 6 grams of sugar per slice. You might as well just go eat dessert at that point.
Oroweat Grains Almighty Gut Balance Bread

I am always weary of any food product with big health claims on the front of the packaging. After all, real healthy food (broccoli, apples, salmon, whole wheat flour) doesn’t need to tell you it’s good for you on the packaging. This gut balance bread says that it contains prebiotics, helping to balance your gut (aka digestive system) and improve digestion. I will give this bread some credit: It is strong in the fiber and protein department, and it also has no high fructose corn syrup or really any additives. Unfortunately, it is also equally as strong in salt.
Pepperidge Farm Raisin Cinnamon Swirl Bread

Raisins always seem to make us think that something is healthy. After all, raisins are grapes, right? They have fiber and iron, no? While that is all true, it also means that they are concentrated little sugar bombs. Cinnamon raisin bread, in reality, is more of a dessert than a meal time staple. This bread contains 9 grams of sugar per slice, landing it perfectly in the dessert category.
The Bottom Line

In the end, bread can be a healthy staple in your diet. Most store-bought bread, however, falls far from what many would consider true bread. Read your labels carefully, check for sugar, salt, fiber, and additives, and don’t believe everything you read on the front of the packaging. If you can, choose organic, or even better find a good baker or make it yourself.
Read More: Why Ezekiel Bread is the Healthiest Bread You Can Eat