Written by Diana Licalzi, MS, RD, CDCES
Many people think that once they’re diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, they have to give up all carbohydrates, including bread. But this is far from the truth. Some types of bread are full of whole grains, which are an essential part of a healthy diet.
In fact, many studies show that including whole grains in your diet can help prevent type 2 diabetes in the first place. For example, in this systematic review and meta-analysis - which is a study that looks at multiple studies - the researchers found that a high whole-grain intake was associated with reduced type 2 diabetes risk.
Whole grains have many essential nutrients like fiber, protein, and many B vitamins. Both the American Diabetes Association and the American Association of Clinical Endocrinology recommend people with diabetes should include whole grains in their diet, including whole grains like multigrain or whole wheat bread.
With that said, there are thousands of different bread varieties on the market, and not all of them contain healthy whole grains. Let's review five of the healthiest breads, especially for type 2 diabetes.
1. Food for Life (aka Ezekiel)
This bread has risen in popularity over the years because of its stellar nutritional profile. It’s flourless and made up of tons of whole grains. It has six grams of protein and six grams of fiber per slice! If you were to make a sandwich, you’d already be at 12 grams of protein and fiber just with the bread, which is nearly half the recommended amount of fiber you need for a whole day. Because there are no hidden preservatives, you'll often find this bread in the freezer section of the grocery store so that it maintains its freshness. Out of all the bread our community has tested, they say this one has the least impact on their blood sugar levels.
2. Alvarado St. Bakery
Similar to Food for Life bread, Alvaro St. Bakery is usually found in the freezer section. It is made with sprouted wheat - a 100% whole wheat berry that has been soaked and allowed to grow into a living sprout. This can be beneficial as our bodies are oftentimes able to digest and absorb more vitamins and nutrients from sprouted grains.
3. Mighty Manna Bread
Manna Bread is also made from sprouted whole organic grains and is made up of ingredients such as whole wheat, whole rye, and whole seeds. It is often described as a unique, cake-like sprouted bread, so it’s not really a traditional sliced sandwich bread, but it is much more moist and can best be compared to a muffin. Manna Bread has a lot of great unique varieties like Banana Walnut Hemp, Carrot Rasin, and Cinnamon Date bread.
4. Mestemacher
Mestemacher is a German company, but their bread is available here in the United States. They pride themselves on using 100% natural ingredients for their bread, including freshly milled rye, water, salt, and yeast, and never use any preservatives.
5. Silver Hills Sprouted Power
Silver Hills Sprouted Power is also made up of sprouted grains and a simple list of ingredients. Their bread is rich in whole grains, fiber, and essential vitamins and minerals.
Ok, now that we've reached the end of the list, we're going to share our secret for picking the best bread at the grocery store. It's called the Carb-to-Fiber 5:1 ratio.
Carb-to-Fiber 5:1 Ratio
This rule prescribes a 5:1 ratio between the carbohydrate and fiber content in packaged foods.
So, there should be at least one gram of fiber for every five grams of carbs. This ratio establishes an adequate amount of fiber to carbohydrates, which will help slow down the absorption of carbs into your bloodstream. The more fiber found in bread, the better it will be your blood sugar.
Apply this rule to any processed food containing carbohydrates, especially bread.
To use the rule:
- Locate the total carbohydrates and fiber.
- Divide the total carbs by the fiber.
- If it’s more than 5, it’s best to put the product back on the shelf.
- If it’s five or less, then you are good to go.
In this slice of bread, there are 14 g of total carbs / 3 g of fiber, which equals 4.67. This would be a great selection of bread since the ratio is 5 or less.
Let us know in the comments below if you have tried any of these breads before. If not, which ones would you try?
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