1. Just the Facts, Ma'am
The Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act requires foods that have been prepared to be labeled with a nutrition facts label. Prepared foods include bread and bread products, cereals, snacks, canned foods, frozen foods and desserts that have to be prepared before being sold. The label includes the percent of daily recommended value for each nutrient. The daily recommended value is the daily amount you should have of certain nutrients, for example, the daily value of thiamin. The nutrition facts label will list what percent of the daily value of thiamin one serving size has.
2. The Good
Low carb or low calorie counts per serving are good. If you're trying to watch your weight or are on a restricted diet due to diabetes or heart disease, you need to watch calorie or carbohydrate intake. Bread products that contain a higher fiber content are good too. Fiber, also known as roughage, helps your body maintain stable blood sugar levels and keeps you regular. Fiber also reduces the amount of carbohydrates in each serving, called net carbs. Bread products also include the nutrients of iron, protein and calcium, depending on the type of bread. Bread products are also enriched with the B vitamins of thiamin, niacin, folic acid and riboflavin.
3. The Bad
High calorie or carbohydrates in a single serving are bad if you're watching your weight. Carbohydrate grams are higher per serving in processed grains and white bread products. Calorie counts are higher if the bread products contain eggs, saturated fats, sugars or added ingredients for flavor. Check the nutritional facts for fat content of bread products, including saturated fat, polyunsaturated, monounsaturated and transfats. Cholesterol content is listed separately from fats as well. Other counts listed in the nutritional facts label include sodium and sugar. Some low-fat or low-calorie bakers remove the fat from bread products but increase the amount of salt or sugar to improve flavor.
4. The Ugly
Strange words that you can't pronounce are ugly if they're listed in the ingredients of your bread product. Some of those words you can't pronounce may include azodicarbonamide, succinylaated monoglycerides and ethoxylated monoglycerides or diglycerides, which are dough conditioners. Other unpronounceable additives may include monocalcium phosphate and ammonium sulfate, which are yeast foods. High-fructose corn syrup may be added, along with molasses. Though familiar and pronounceable, these ingredients are very high in sugar content. Other additives may include food flavorings and food coloring. Some additives are necessary to keep bread products fresh and stop spoilage but others are merely to improve appearance.
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