Is multigrain bread healthier than wholemeal bread?

Multigrain bread is usually no healthier than wholemeal bread. Multigrain bread is often made from flour and then it is white bread. It contains much less fiber, vitamins and minerals than wholemeal bread. Only when multigrain bread is whole grain can it contain a little more nutrients and sometimes be healthier.

What is multigrain bread?

Multigrain bread consists of at least 3 types of grain. If bread consists of 2 types of grain, you will see this in the name. For example, it says wheat corn bread. The grain most commonly found in the bread is listed first. The ingredients show how much of each grain is in it.

Multigrain bread can be made from whole wheat flour or flour (or a mix). If it says "whole grain" on the package, it is made from 100% whole wheat flour. Whole grain bread contains much more fiber, vitamins and minerals than white bread. That's because the whole grain of wheat has been ground. The nutrients are mainly on the outside of the grain (bran and germ). Multigrain bread often has broken or crushed grains and / or seeds added. As a result, whole grain multigrain bread can sometimes contain more nutrients than whole grain bread. If the multigrain bread is made of flour, it is white bread. White bread contains less fiber, vitamins and minerals. That's because only the innermost part of the grain (the flour core) has been used. White multigrain bread often contains slightly more nutrients than regular white bread. That's because broken or crushed grains and / or seeds have been added.

You cannot always tell by the color whether it is wholemeal bread. White bread is sometimes darkened with toasted malt flour or caramelized sugar so that it resembles whole grain bread and tastes sweeter. So the mnemonic "the darker the bread, the healthier" does not apply.

If you want to buy wholemeal bread, pay attention to whether it says "wholemeal" on the bread (or ask the baker). If there is wholemeal in the name, then you can be sure that it is really wholemeal. A bread can only be called whole grain if it is made from 100% whole wheat flour. This is laid down by law.

Whole-grain multigrain bread is - just like normal wholemeal bread - in the Wheel of Five. Both types of bread are part of a healthy diet. Brown bread and brown multigrain bread consist partly of flour and partly of wholemeal flour. Only if the bread contains at least 4.5 grams of fiber per 100 grams, is it listed in the Wheel of Five. White bread and white multigrain bread are made from flour and are not listed in the Wheel of Five. You can easily see whether a product is listed in the Wheel of Five in the Kies Ik Healthy? App.

You cannot actually say whether one product is healthy. It hangs there always wonder how much or how often you eat or drink it. So we can say whether a product fits into a healthy diet. Read more