“Imitation Bread—Stuff of Lies,” is what a best-selling author calls today’s white bread. “It’s a bizarre combination of the least nutritious part of the wheat grain and a number of artificial chemicals, which can be harmful.”

What’s wrong with white bread?
Basically, what’s wrong is what the milling process does to wheat. A grain of wheat is made up of an outer covering (bran), an embryo (wheat germ), and the endosperm.

The bran contains most of the fiber, generous amounts of vitamins and minerals, and a bit of protein.

The germ is a rich source of B and E vitamins, several minerals, and fiber.

The endosperm, which makes up roughly four-fifths of the whole-wheat kernel, contains mostly starch. It is the only part used in making white flour. Ironically, the nutritious bran and wheat germ, which are removed during the milling process, are sold for animal feed.

Should we avoid eating white bread?
No bread is all bad. Even the white, fluffy stuff is a high-starch and low-fat food. It’s just that some breads are much better than others.

Take fiber, for instance. A slice of white bread contains about a half gram of fiber, while a slice of 100% whole-wheat bread contains two grams, and some whole-grain breads contain as much as four grams of fiber per slice. This means you’d need to eat eight slices of white bread to get the fiber of one slice of whole-grain bread.

White flour, whether in a pretzel or a baguette, is digested rapidly, so it can leave you with almost the same energy shortfall you'd get from a candy bar. Coarse, salt-of-the-earth breads provide hours more fuel, meaning hours more sustained energy.

What about enriched flour and enriched bread?
During the milling of wheat at least 24 known minerals and vitamins are largely removed. When nutritional deficiency diseases emerged around the turn of the century as a result of commercial milling, the industry started an enrichment program. Four of the nutrients were restored—thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, and iron—and the bread was renamed “enriched.” However, in most cases, not much was or has been done about the other nutrients lost or reduced in the milling process.

What kind of bread is the most healthful?
Truly healthful bread contains ground-up whole grains, with the bran, germ, and endosperm present. Such breads have double, triple, and in some cases quadruple nutrient value when compared with their refined counterparts.

When combined with fresh fruit, cereals, vegetables, potatoes, and beans, bread makes interesting and satisfying meals and helps maintain good energy levels for long periods.

Look for the substantial-feeling loaves that aren’t full of air. Look for 100% whole-wheat, stone-ground if possible. Sprouted-wheat breads are also excellent.

Find a reliable bakery. Better yet, make your own bread.

Whole-wheat flour seems to attract weevils!
Whole-grain flours have a healthy balance of starch, protein, natural fats, and fiber besides being loaded with vitamins and minerals. The bugs seem to know this. White flour, on the other hand, is such a nutritional minus that the bugs are too smart to touch it.

Store whole-grain flours in your refrigerator or freezer. Or buy the grains whole and grind them up into flour just before using.

Isn’t bread, even whole-wheat bread, fattening?
It isn’t the bread that’s fattening, but what’s done to it. A slice of whole-wheat bread has 70 calories—no more than an apple. If slathered with peanut butter and jam, the slice can pack close to 300 calories. It’s not the raw materials but the overhead that can turn a low-calorie, nutritious, healthful slice of good bread into a caloric disaster.

Bread has traditionally been the backbone of human nutrition. Restoring good bread to its rightful place is a big step toward better health. Next time you shop for bread, go for the real staff of life.