Yes, I eat bread.
It’s time to address the many questions I get about one of most wonderful and satisfying foods on earth – Bread! I don’t want to live without it and you shouldn’t have to either.
Bread is a really hot topic and is targeted as the root of many health problems. Overall, bread gets a bad reputation because grains are not easy for your body to digest, can overwork your pancreatic enzymes, contain the anti-nutrient phytic acid and an abundance of dreaded gluten. Also, our wheat crops in this country have been through some serious genetic manipulation to make them profitable for the food industry and less healthy for us.
The main problem with wheat (unless you have a gluten sensitivity) is that we as a culture eat too much of it in general. Just take a look at the typical American diet – a bagel for breakfast, a sandwich for lunch and rolls or pasta for dinner. That’s a lot of grain in just one day. Even larger amounts would be consumed if we take into consideration common snacks like crackers and desserts like cookies. Additionally, commercially available grain-based products that line grocery store shelves and are served at restaurants are unhealthy. They are full of ingredients that are not food, like azodicarbonamide (the same chemical in yoga mats and shoe rubber), other chemical dough conditioners, added sugars, artificial flavorings or coloring and GMOs. Flour can be treated with any of the 60 different chemicals approved by the FDA before it ends up on store shelves – including chemical bleach! Also, the industrial processing destroys nutrients, such as Vitamin E and fiber. Remember, it only takes 4 ingredients to make bread – flour, yeast, water and salt, there’s really no need for all that other nonsense.
If you are like me, you probably want to enjoy the occasional piece of bread without subjecting yourself to of all these questionable ingredients. I’ve done a lot of research on bread brands, and have uncovered what can make grains really unhealthy and which ones make a nutritious addition to any diet because they are whole, unadulterated and real foods.
Examples of Store-Bought Breads To Stay Away From:
Please note: Nature’s Own Bread recently took out azodicarbonamide, but is still not recommended. The picture of ingredients was removed after this news release in WSJ on 2/28/2014.
The Health Wrecking Ingredients in Bread:
- Dough Conditioners – these are unnecessary in traditional bread making and only make the process faster and cheaper for the food industry to make bread in big machinery. Many dough conditioners like azodicarbonamide (which is banned all over the world), DATEM, monoglycerides, diglycerides, sodium stearoyl lactylate are linked to health issues. Many dough conditioners start with manipulating fat – like soybean oil or corn oil, which is also most likely GMO. Nature’s Own, Arnold, Wonderbread, Martin’s, Sara Lee, and many other popular brands are guilty of using dough conditioners.
- Preservatives – Bread is supposed to be fresh and eaten within a few days from baking unless frozen. If you see preservatives like calcium propionate, which is linked to ADHD, put the bread down and keep searching. Warning: Pepperidge Farm uses this ingredient to “retard spoilage.”
- GMOs – Most commercially available breads contain one or many genetically modified ingredients like soy lecithin, soybean oil, corn oil, corn starch or soy flour. GMOs have not been tested long term on humans, however we know that the pesticides sprayed on them are absolutely toxic and considered to be poisonous. Some GMOs are created by inserting a toxic pesticide into the seed itself to make an insect’s stomach explode when they try to eat it.
- Added sugar – This is where you really need to watch out. There’s nothing wrong with a little honey to bring out the sweetness in whole wheat bread, but most manufactures are using high fructose corn syrup, GMO sugar made from sugar beets, or some other artificial sweetener like “Sucralose” that are not the best forms of sugar and can pose health risks. Almost all commercially baked brands have some form of added sweetener – especially watch out for “light” breads, which often contain more added sugar like “Arnold Bakery Light.”
- Artificial flavors and coloring – These ingredients are made from petroleum and are linked to several health issues like hyperactivity in children, allergies and asthma. They are easy to spot on the label because the FDA requires it. However, ingredients like “caramel coloring” can fool you into thinking this ingredient is a real food. Most industrial caramel coloring is created by heating ammonia and is considered a carcinogen when created this way. Martin’s potato rolls have Yellow #5 and Yellow #6, and Thomas’s English Muffins have caramel coloring.
Now before I share my top recommendations for the best (and healthiest) breads on the market – I should tell you the truth about how much bread I actually consume on a weekly basis. My diet consists of mostly plants like fruits, vegetables, seeds, beans and nuts along with the occasional meat, dairy or bread product. However, when I travel – I like to enjoy the local culture (think crossisants in France and pizza in Italy). I’m not about giving up whole food groups. My diet is about balance and choosing the most nutritious choices, but I do like to live a little and have my bread on occasion! At the grocery store, I buy the best of what’s available for my body and here are the choices I feel good about buying.
Thankfully, you don’t have to get out the bread maker or learn to make bread from scratch. There are many healthy bread options available – if you just know what to look for!
The Healthiest Breads On The Market
Sprouted Grains – I love sprouted grains because they are technically vegetables. To sprout a grain, you just soak it until it begins to sprout into a little plant. These sprouts are then ground up to make bread. When you eat a grain that has been refined into flour, your body quickly metabolizes it like a sugar, which causes your insulin to spike. This can make you gain weight and contributes to diabetes and inflammation. For all of these reasons, I don’t buy bread that is primarily made from flours, especially “wheat flour” which is really just white refined flour. The sprouts are much more easily digested than starchy flour, and contain more vitamins, minerals and antioxidants than whole grains. Phytic acid is destroyed when the grain sprouts, so your body is able to absorb the nutrients in these grains – which makes them that much better for you!
My favorite sprouted grain bread is the classic – Ezekiel 4:9 Sprouted Grain Bread by Food for Life – it’s made up from six different organic sprouted grains and absolutely no flour! This combo of sprouted grains contains all 9 essential amino acids, which makes up a complete protein. I use their “Cinnamon Raisin” version to make this yummy breakfast casserole. There are no preservatives in these breads, so I keep them in my freezer and take out portions as I need them. I also love the sesame seed bread, whole grain tortillas, corn tortillas and english muffins by Food for Life. Hands down – they are the healthiest breads on the market. They are available in most health food stores and some conventional stores in the freezer section.
Other good sprouted breads are Manna’s Sunseed bread and Dave’s Killer Bread Sprouted Wheat, which are both a healthy combo of organic sprouted wheat and seeds.
Ancient Grains (spelt, quinoa, amaranth, millet, sorghum) & Gluten-Free – Unlike wheat, these grains are called ancient because they haven’t changed for thousands of years. They are packed with nutrients and many of these grains can be used to make gluten-free bread. Just make sure that the bread you are buying is labeled as “gluten-free” if you are trying to avoid gluten – because not all ancient grains are gluten-free and they may be blended with wheat. Manna makes a good gluten-free bread with brown rice, sorghum, millet, amaranth, quinoa and chia seeds. Please note, almost all gluten-free breads contain added sugar in the form of honey, molasses, agave nectar or evaporated cane juice.
Here’s A Quick List Of Healthier Breads:
Sprouted Grain Breads
- Ezekiel 4:9 Sprouted Grain Bread – Food for Life (all varieties – 7 grains, sesame, genesis, flax, cinnamon raisin, tortillas, muffins)
- Sunseed Bread – Manna
- Banana Walnut Hemp Bread – Manna
- Sprouted Multi-Grain Bread – Rudi’s (contains added sugar)
- Sprouted Wheat Bread – Dave’s Killer Bread (contains added sugar)
- Sprouted Wheat Multi-Grain Bread – Alvarado St. Bakery (contains added sugar)
Gluten-Free Breads
- Buckwheat Bread – Happy Camper’s (contains added sugar)
- Gluten-Free Rice Almond Bread – Food for Life (contains added sugar)
- Gluten-Free Exotic Black Rice Bread – Food for Life (contains added sugar)
- Gluten-Free Super Chia Bread – Nature’s Path (contains added sugar)
- Good Morning Millet Toaster Cakes – Ancient Grains Bakery (contains added sugar)
- Gluten-Free Deli Rye Style Bread – Canyon Bakehouse (contains added sugar)
Ancient Grain Breads
- Gluten-Free Ancient Grains Bread – Manna (contains added sugar)
- Spelt Ancient Grain Bread – Rudi’s (contains added sugar)
- Good Seed Spelt Bread – Dave’s Killer Bread (contains added sugar)
See a PDF of the full list of ingredients here
Last – but NOT LEAST – Remember to always choose bread that is made with real certified organic ingredients. The wheat that is used to make most bread is heavily sprayed with pesticides and by choosing certified organic products you will avoid exposure to GMOs.
Now, let’s go break some bread with our loved ones and share this article with them. Everyone deserves good bread without chemical additives that can wreck their health.
Xo,
Vani
What about Multi Grain with Omega-3 Organic bread by Alpine Valley? Just bought it from Costco.
Post the ingredients and I’ll take a look
Oops posted reply to myself…
Hi Vani,
I have been struggling to find a healthy bread that is both gluten & dairy free.
I just purchased a food for life bread, which seemed o-k, and was actually the only one in WFM freezer without dairy.
I was concerned when it didn’t make your list.
Also, freaked out for months over “natural flavors”, I just realized my organic vitamin B12 sublingual supplement also has “natural flavors”…does that mean what I am afraid it means????
Thanks for changing our world to a healthier & happier reality!!!!!!!!!!
Cathy
Never got a response on the ingredients of this bread…
Ingredients: Organic whole grain wheat flour, organic wheat flour, water, organic honey, organic oat bran, organic oats, organic sunflower seeds, organic flaxseed, organic cultured wheat, organic vinegar, sea salt, yeast. (89 Calories, 1 gram of fat, 120 mg sodium, 15 grams Carbohydrate, 3 grams dietary fiber, 2 grams sugar, and 5 grams protein)
Oh man, I just bought Alpine Valley too. Would love to know if this is on the avoid list.
I am hoping the Alpine Valley from Costco makes the “good” list, because I like the taste and texture of this bread.
I buy this bread also! I would love to know if its OK…
Good article although the best is still one with the fewest ingredients—from a bakery or, if you’re more ambitious, make your own. I use organic flour and bought Jim Lahey’s great book “My Bread” which has his “no-knead recipe” which is little work, just rise time and planning. The basic recipe is 4 ingredients—(organic) flour, water, yeast, salt. There’s nothing like a loaf of just baked bread. The breads at his bakery in nyc (Sullivan Street Bakery) are even more amazing. FYI, if you don’t want all those great recipes, the base no-knead recipe is on the Sullivan Street website.
I love Sullivan Street’s bread, too. A big part of why it’s so flavorful and healthful I believe is because it’s so slow rising. Maybe Food Babe will address this in a future post. People focus on gluten but I think quick rising bread causes problems for people–our guts were not made to eat bread that’s risen quickly. I don’t know the chemistry but I am familiar with the different result of a slow rising. I feel good eating bread that’s taking a day or more to rise. Same with traditional, dense rye bread.
Never heard that before and now I’ll have to investigate. Thanks! I often make my own with all the different recipes in that book. With a little planning it’s actually not difficult. His olive bread is great and there was good advice on the brand he likes which has become one of my favorite organic olives to buy.
I remember sitting on the floor of Barnes and Noble and leafing through Lahey’s book. I have vowed not to purchase any more cookbooks but maybe I should cheat and get that one, he really does have good recipes. Thanks for the olive bread suggestion; after going my whole life avoiding olives I discovered them about a year ago and hardly a day goes by without something from the olive family in my diet. Olive bread is doubly heavenly, two of my favorite things in one magical package. Is there anything better than baking your own bread? I want to try a dense rye soon. I just saw a comment from someone about how only rich people can buy good bread. It breaks my heart that financially challenged people buy cheap fake bread but I get it, I’ve been there. It is my dream to introduce baking homemade, healthful breads to people with limited budgets and meager diets. It’s empowering like few other things (breastfeeding? gardening?). Take back your life, people; bake some bread!
I grind my own organic wheat berries to make my own flour in order to avoid the alloxan that is present in most commercial flours. It is a byproduct that is produced when the chlorine dioxide used by commercial flour manufacturers reacts with proteins in the grain. It is very toxic to the pancreas and may be partially responsible for the rise in type 1 diabetes that we have seen in recent years.
How do you grind the wheat berries? Do you cook them first?
I don’t know about Lisa, but I use a coffe bean grinder. Often you can find them at resale/second hand stores pretty inexpensively.
I use my Vita-Mixer and yes, the wheat berries are raw. Evidently flour loses its nutritional content very quickly after grinding so I just grind as much as I need at one time.
I eat daily the Ezekiel breads, sesame is a steady diet and on passover I eat the MANNA and occasionally throughout the year – GREATEST store bought bread I’ve ever had.
So relieved to see Dave’s Killer Bread listed since I love the variety in the blue bag.
The best bread is bread you bake yourself from scratch with yummy organic grains. My favorite is whole grain rye made with a sourdough starter.
Sounds good! Mine sharing the recipes….
Anything from Trader Joes brand??
Check out their organic multigrain. Been using that for a while.
Hi, Vani –
I am interested in so much of your work. I have, however, a husband who will go into raves and arguments if I mention anything. I am 76 years old, an ex-Chicagoan, a diabetic and of German descent. Hearty eating is almost my middle name. My current question is about bread. I love rye bread……and my sandwich bread of choice is Brownberry 12-grain. Except when I am in Paris, visiting my daughter who has lived there for 30+ years, and then I must absolutely have my morning croissant, and my baguette sandwiches or with salads and soups. I did not see Brownberry 12-grain mentioned in this post. I checked the bread label ingredients and see a few problems – like soybean stuff………is this a bad bread for me? We live in the far northern part of Minnesota, and the breads you recommend are not easily available up here. when I visit the Twin Cities I do go to Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods, but mostly for cheese and a few other things. Please tell me something good about Brownberry’s 12-Grain! 🙂 Thank you!
Hi Nancy, Whole Foods Co-op (not the chain… ) in Duluth carries many of the breads listed above and in addition carries bread from local bakeries that use organic ingredients. No need to go to the cities!
Hi Nancy. Also, Natural Harvest Co-op in Virginia, MN, carries Ezekiel bread and locally backed bread from 3rd STreet Bakery.
What about Paleo Bread? It is baked with almond and coconut flours. I’d like a review, please. Thank you.
We don’t have many choices in our area. So glad to see our Ezekial 4:9 listed. Try to make my own but it doesn’t always happen.
Are food for life tortillas available in any stores unfrozen? I have only seen it in the freezer section of whole foods?
I get Food For Life Ezeikiel 4:9 Sprouted Grain Tortillas from Trader Joe’s
I like a lot of those however my kids…teenagers…don’t like all the “stuff” and seeds that are on top. Any suggestions other than baking it myself….I have absolutely no time!!!
Your kids will be just fine eating whatever it is they currently eat regardless of GMO/non-GMO, organic or not. Just eat in moderation. You probably grew up eating things that folks on this site would run from and you lived to talk about it. If you have teenage kids you may have lived 40 years give or take a few years and probably have eaten GMO products for 15 years. So have I and will continue to do so. Your kids will not suffer by eating a piece of GMO bread that has some additives to make the bread last longer mixed in with it. If they eat more than a loaf a day, the sugar could be problem. Foods have additives mixed in with them so they last longer for people like you and I who balance family with other obligations like work or kid’s activities. If you have time to kill, like all day, you should check every loaf of bread at the grocery store, hopefully carrying an Ipad so you can google if any of the ingredients might have GMO products, before choosing the right one. If that store doesn’t have the right one, then you go to another. You should check every item that goes into your shopping cart just as thoroughly. This site borders on ridiculous. We are not dropping dead from the food we eat. We are living longer than ever and nobody here seems to know why. The government is not out to kill you. The big food companies are not out to kill you. Monsanto is not out to kill you. I, a conventional farmer, am not out to kill you. Eat a mix of foods in moderation and worry about more important things. Your teenagers will appreciate the fact that you get them where they are supposed to go when they are supposed to be there or that you were able to show up for a program or event in support of them rather than you being trapped in this mindset of having to watch every freaking ingredient they eat. This has been a public service announcement. The food sky is not falling.
To Ted – If this site borders on ridiculous, please unsubscribe.
Please no more “public service announcements” The sarcasm in not helpful and wastes space. Here’s just a few items to consider
Americans life expectancy is 26th in the world, right behind Slovenia. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/11/21/the-u-s-ranks-26th-for-life-expectancy-right-behind-slovenia/
Is that all due to what we put in our mouths? No. But food is a part. lots of studies and articles out there – here’s 2
http://www.naturalnews.com/001109.html
Or http://www.livescience.com/38740-boosting-access-to-healthy-foods.html
I know people who are allergic to food colorings, and other “additives”. Moderation doesn’t work for them, unless they want to be sick most of the time or dead.
Really great post. Thanks for speaking the truth!
Thanks Ted but still prefer Organic and Non-GMOs over all the processed food out there!!! Cancer is increasing and no one knows why!!! Same with heart disease and obesity!!! Knowing what you eat is extremely important!! I lost 5 friends to cancer in the last 2 years!! Each one around the age of 40!! How do you know it’s NOT from the food we ate?? I cannot always monitor what my kids eat while they are out with their friends but at least I know what they are eating when they are at home!!
Ted, people may be living longer but they are also living sicker! I don’t have stats cuz its not worth my time to educate people. I can tell you that I personally have been sick since I was ten. Doctors can’t find why but I recently found that food additives are a big part of it. I didn’t realize I was severely allergic to MSG until by chance I stopped eating it for a week then when I ate it again got violently ill, and also realized I had been feeling much better during the week I hadn’t eaten any. I am now slowly removing all pr
Ted, I personally know what eating all those additives can do to your health! I’ve been sick for over 30 years and only found out that certain additives make me severely ill when I stopped eating processed food for a week then became violently ill when I resumed eating the things I’d been eating all my life. I can feel if I have accidentally gotten additives in food because I get certain severe symptoms, like if a restaurant swears there’s no MSG in their food and I eat it and get sick, I know they lied or were too lazy to check! People may be living longer but they’re living sicker. We didn’t have all these diseases when I was a kid, now trillions are spent on health care every year. I can’t give you stats because I don’t have the energy to educate people. I’m too busy trying to avoid toxins in my food, put there so farmers and big corporations can make more money. They may not be trying to kill us or make us sick but they certainly don’t care if they do! Unsubscribe if you don’t want to learn what’s offered here. Everyone else does!
If you people are really here to educate yourselves, then what’s wrong with hearing all sides to any argument? You may not like what I have to say or that I challenge your beliefs but a real education is all inclusive.
To address a couple of your posts….Pam, I have seen the fact that the US lifespan is 26th in the world. The article you post mentions that we are still trending higher in years lived but lag behind other countries because of accidents and violence. I didn’t see anywhere where it said our food is a cause also.
If you are allegic to some food additives then I highly recommend you stay away from them.
Dana, I tend to stay away from processed foods also. Those products, if that’s a major portion of your diet, probably do contribute to obesity, heart disease, diabetes, etc. Most are loaded with sugar. I do all the cooking at my house and use simple ingredients as much as possible. I don’t worry about organic, non GMO because I know I don’t need to. I am not here to attack any of our food production systems but truth about organic produce is that it is treated with several of the pesticides I use on my farm and fertilized mostly with manure. Don’t take shortcuts when you wash it.
Sheesh he states his opinion and actually backs up with facts and you tell him to unsubScribe? Tisk, tisk. Just Bc his opinion differ from you 🙁
Ted, the US isn’t a vibrantly healthy nation just because our life expectancy has increased a bit. (a lot of that is related to better disease management anyway, like I mentioned in another post).
“On nearly all indicators of mortality, survival, and life expectancy, the United States ranks at or near the bottom among high-income countries….Despite the highest per capita spending on health care (see tab below), the United States does not fare well in most comparisons to other developed countries. Key indicators of health and the health care system are substantially lower in the United States compared to other countries. The United States has some of the most state-of-the-art health care facilities, yet behavioral factors such as physical inactivity, smoking, and dietary choices, combined with inequalities, result in poor performance. Innovative solutions from the individual level to the national level are needed in order to address the health care challenges of today and the future.”
http://www.americashealthrankings.org/Rankings/InternationalComparisons
Of course pesticides, herbicides, chemicals, additives, genetically altered and processed food, and other toxins & unnatural substances can and do affect our health. How could it not? Usually it takes time for disease to develop, but not always. The human body can be quite resilient, but there is a limit, and we are seeing more and more illness as the toxic overload continues to increase. This article is not going to address all the diseases that are increasing, you can look into that yourself. We don’t have ANY long term research about the safety of GMOs or other toxins we ingest. You may not be worried about GMOs, but many others are, including many scientists.
Jenna,
You were doing good until your last paragraph. You lead off with “Of course.” Are those your words or someone else’s? If your’s I have said before and I’ll say again, knowing that you can find anything on the internet that supports your position, that there just isn’t much CREDIBLE science out there to make the statements you make. Here comes “precautionary principle” again. I respect it if that’s what you choose to do and you have chosen for sure but your decision is based on opinion not fact.
As far as the health of people goes, I saw a news segment in the last week about older drivers, those 75 and up. Demographics at some point pointed to an increase in elderly drivers. There were predictions by government and insurance groups that our highways would be much more dangerous because of them. It turns out that that prediction was not true. That age group is healthier than anticipated and their driving proves it. There is not carnage out there because of them. They are some of the safer drivers on the road today. This is just one statistic that kind of disproves the idea that we are living longer but not healthy.
I do agree with you that our health care system is a mess. We may not agree on the reasons but it is a mess and could be a contributor to some of the health problems you mention. You also put a quote in your post that I have said before….that behavior is the biggest cause of our health issues. Behavior and accidents. Our younger people don’t drive so well and violence is a factor too. When diet is mentioned it’s because of eating too much processed food, fried food and sugar. Again, you can find anything on the internet that supports your position but one sided arguments always are suspect to me.
Thanks. I appreciate someone who knows how to debate.
Ted, you too – of course 🙂 – are able to find anything on the internet to support your position. It may not be credible, though you believe it is. You keep talking about science, but where is the credible science and facts to support the long term safety of GMOs? Please provide links to independent, peer reviewed, long-term studies. Groupthink seems to be alive and well even in the realm of science. There has been credible research about health concerns about GMOs, but you also may know that the owners of GMOs make independent research quite difficult for those who have funding and interest in such research (such as not providing access to seeds for research). Also though it may sound conspiratorial, scientists have been maligned even when they produce sound research. Look into the link I gave you earlier about Seralini’s work and there are others. When there aren’t real facts and credible science to support the safety of of something, such as GMOs, that is where the good ol’ precautionary principle comes in.
Yes, behavior is an important factor in health, but why is it that sugar, processed food and fried food can be detrimental to health, but not genetically altered food substances which are also laden with chemical/herbicide residues, or other chemicals in food like the yoga mat additive (yum), or just pesticides and herbicide residues?
You really think we are a healthy country because elderly drivers not causing accidents. Okaay.
An interesting article for you (and look at related writing from Robyn O’Brien): http://blogs.prevention.com/inspired-bites/2013/12/06/farmers-share-the-truth-about-gmos/
Good information in this article published just this week: http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/02/24/usda-gmo-report-idUSL1N0LT16M20140224
“…the ERS researchers said over the first 15 years of commercial use, GMO seeds have not been shown to definitively increase yield potentials, and “in fact, the yields of herbicide-tolerant or insect-resistant seeds may be occasionally lower than the yields of conventional varieties,” the ERS report states.
Several researchers have found “no significant differences” between the net returns to farmers who use GMO herbicide tolerant seeds and those who use non-GMO seeds, the report states.
GMO crops that prevent yield losses to pests is more helpful to farmers financially, allowing crops more yield potential and higher monetary returns, the report states. As well, insecticide use on corn farms was down to 0.02 pound per acre in 2010, down from 0.21 pound per acre in 1995, the report states.
But while insecticide use has gone down, herbicide use on GMO corn is rising, the report states. Herbicide use on GMO corn increased from around 1.5 pounds per planted acre in 2001 to more than 2.0 pounds per planted acre in 2010. Herbicide use on non-GMO corn has remained relatively level during that same time frame, the ERS said…”
And the over reliance on glyphosate has translated to an increase in weed resistance, which makes crop production much harder. Glyphosate is the chief ingredient in Roundup herbicide sold by Monsanto, and its use has translated to the glyphosate resistance seen in 14 weed species and biotypes in the United States, according to ERS.”
Yields?
Increase use of herbicides?
The only thing the internet helps me with is finding university or other mainstream and objective type websites to back up what I know to be the truth. Otherwise I don’t need the internet to tell you about farming. I live it. I’m very involved in national issues with it. I grew up on a farm. My life’s work is as a farmer. I am familiar with the Seralini work. It was discredited even by his publisher for about 10 different reasons. He set out to prove something before he started. That isn’t credible science at all. This whole movement, your movement, is based on European environmentalism and their adament opposition to technology. Now the EU has approved GMO for feed and food use in Europe. They must have some credible science to do that considering the opposition to it across that continent. You posted a link to a blog quoting farmers. I could poke holes in most of their statements but I will only comment on one. The second quote where an alledged farmer says something about having to plant 20% refuge to protect the food chain. I had to read that twice and just shook my head both times. That guy crawled out from under a rock apparently. The BT trait has lasted as long as it has without worms developing resistance because that’s what that refuge is designed to accomplish. It has nothing to do with not screwing up the food chain. That statement from a “farmer” is very dubious. Most of our dumber peers went out of business a long time ago.
On to your second post. My yields are substantially higher since GMO crops were introduced. I can’t say that the yield increases are due solely to GMO though. Germplasm has improved tremendously in the last 20 years too. Conventional crops are yielding higher also. Those who plant conventional crops now are benefitting from a completely different crop growing atmosphere than prior to GMO. There are so many acres of worm resistant crops being grown that worms are pretty much decimated by the time they find a conventional crop to snack on. If conventional acres increase, worm pressure will increase as will pesticide applications to control those worms. Prior to GMO I was spraying for worms so much that I really thought I would go out of business. I was growing mostly cotton then and my crop mix has changed. Worms were developing resistance to pyrethroids which were our main pesticide for control of them. If we go back to conventional non-GMO crops, organic farmers will be in some serious trouble as one of their main methods of worm and insect control is pyrethrins along with BT foliar applications which we will use also. Pyrethrins are derived from flowers while pyrethroids are manufactured but both have the same chemical makeup and toxicology. There is also another pesticide that I have in common with the organic farmer called spinosad. I used to use it alot prior to GMO and still do occasionally but it is incredibly expensive. Weed resistance is a growing problem and concern. There are some newer GMO traits out there helping us to combat resistance plus we are using crop rotation and mechanical weed control methods effectively. We don’t just keep spraying more and more Roundup as that makes no sense at all.
The Seralini paper was retracted because it was “inconclusive” and that’s actually not a valid reason for retraction.
From the link I gave you previously:
“According to the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), of which FCT is a member, retraction of a paper is reserved for cases of misconduct, error, redundant publication or plagiarism, and unethical research.
Prof Séralini’s paper does not meet any of these criteria and Wallace Hayes, editor of FCT, admits as much. In his letter informing Prof Séralini of his decision , Hayes concedes that an examination of Prof Séralini’s raw data showed “no evidence of fraud or intentional misrepresentation of the data” and nothing “incorrect” about the data.
Hayes states that the retraction is solely based on the “inconclusive” nature of the findings on tumours and mortality, given the relatively low number of rats used and the choice of rat strain, which Hayes says naturally has a “high incidence of tumours”.
Crucially, however, inconclusiveness of findings is not a valid ground for retraction. Numerous published scientific papers contain inconclusive findings, which are often mixed in with findings that can be presented with more certainty. It is for future researchers to build on the findings and refine scientific understanding of any uncertainties.
Séralini’s study passed peer review with minor revisions and was published by FCT in September 2012.”
This paper wasn’t actually discredited by the publisher. I’m not saying that it is a perfect study, but even if he used a small number of rats or whatever the main issue was, it shows evidence of health concerns. So it’s inclusive, but that isn’t a valid reason for retraction. Just wanted to get past the surface level (and perhaps groupthink) criticism of this study; it’s an example of how subjective and sometimes biased science can be. There’s much more to it than sound bites from mainstream internet sites. Where are those long-term, peer-reviewed, independent studies? You keep talking about references to university and journal articles…I’d like to see them, bring ’em on.
I’m for a healthy America. Remember there was a time when food was just food. It wasn’t about choices about organic or non-GMO, food was just clean, real food. That’s what I’m interested in. I’m not perfect about it myself, but I want to eat as cleanly as I can. I know there are complex issue with farming, but I can’t accept that GMOs and biotech farming are any kind answer. Can you see any issues?
Here is an article about some new studies. Yes, it’s reported from a biased source, but they are just reporting about new studies, so take a look: Five New Reasons Monsanto’s Science Doesn’t Add Up http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_29419.cfm
Good info. I usually make my own sourdough bread, but when it’s too hot in the summer to bake, I try to get Dave’s killer bread. I love that stuff!
I make my own bread if I want to eat it. I haven’t seen any commercial breads worth eating.
What about 12 grain fresh baked bread at publixs
IS CHIA SEEDS DANGEROUS?
Trader Joe’s has some excellent sprouted breads. I’m moving back to a city that has Trader Joe’s! Even when I was on food stamps I ate exclusively at TJs and I felt so clean. Yes, like any other store you have to read the labels, but they have great flourless sprout breads there that I just LOVE. I can’t remember the ingredients, but I always stayed away from certain things. People at TJs told me that they “try” to have no corn syrup, hydrogenated fats or GMOs under their own label, and for the most part, they succeed.
I find the food for life bread is tasteless and stale in comparison.
This is my honest opinion, not meaning to bash any company, but
this is my experience. And since I have had problems with phytates robbing zinc in the past, I can vouch for how good I feel eat TJs sprouted breads.
Thank you so much for all the information you provide. I’m learning so much. Thank you.
I buy my local supermarket’s wheat bread without preservatives. After making homemade Italian bread, I will NEVER buy it out again, it’s so much better with no chemicals. I love you Food Babe, heard about you on the DR’s show, and wish we could meet you! Finally someone who cares about the health of the human race!
Thank you! So interesting! I have been enjoying Ezekials bread.
What about Whole Foods Brand..Touch of Honey?
Thank you, now I can go back to eating bread again. I quit a year ago. AND YOU are the hottest thing since sliced bread!!! Wish I could find another you! Keep up the great work!
I highly recommend buying a bread machine and making your own! I got a highly rated Panasonic machine on amazon for $129. I did this as a direct result of your earlier article on artificial ingredients in bread. So easy and you control the ingredients. Thx so much FB!
Hi Vani most of the bread you listed are what I presume are from the USA, I am from Canada, do you have a list from this country?
You mentioned in your article “by choosing certified organic products you will avoid exposure to GMOs.”
Does that mean if you purchase certified organic food that there is no GMO’s in it? Organic means no GMO?
“”The term “organic” refers to the way agricultural products are grown and processed. Specific requirements must be met and maintained in order for products to be labeled as “organic”.
Organic crops must be grown in safe soil, have no modifications, and must remain separate from conventional products. Farmers are not allowed to use synthetic pesticides, bioengineered genes (GMOs), petroleum-based fertilizers, and sewage sludge-based fertilizers.
Organic livestock must have access to the outdoors and be given organic feed. They may not be given antibiotics, growth hormones, or any animal-by-products.””
GMO’s are NOT allowed in certified organic products.
That’s awesome to hear. I heard somewhere that they could.. 🙂 I got worried since I try to buy all organic and are staying away from all GMO.. that’s for replying!
What’s wrong with xanthum gum. I thought it was acceptable to use as a thickener.
I’ve been using Ezekiel 4.9 bread for about 4 months and my husband and I really love it…tastes great especially when toasted…and it’s good for us. When we want bread, Ezekiel is the answer. Glad you agree!
I live for bread and I love all the breads you mentioned! I eat an Ezekiel English Muffin every morning and it’s one of the happiest times of my day 🙂
I look for bread without maltodextrin and xanthan gum since they both cause shortness of breath for me. I can eat Open Nature by Lucerne Foods. It contains unbleached unenriched wheat flour, water, white whole wheat flour, wheat gluten yeast, sugar, contains less than 2% or less of sunflower oil, honey, molasses, sea salt, calcium sulfate, cultured whey milk, vinegar, soy lecithin, ascorbic acid. This may not be perfect, but it has 150 calories for two slices, 1.5% total fat (0 trans fats, 0 saturated fats), 0 mg cholesterol, 240 mg sodium, total carbohydrates 27g , dietary fiber 2g, sugar 4g, protein 7g.
I am glad to find you site. I hope that food companies read it once in a while. You have done a great job with Subway since they are removing azodicarbonamide from their breads.
Vani,
Thank you for your latest investigation on bread & what to avoid! This will be very helpful. I have MS & diet along with exercise are a few things I really have to take seriously. I have been avoiding bread along with gluten for some time now, when I have either within 30 min. or less I start feeling the aches. Now I may be able to have bread again. Thank you for all the GOOD work you’re constantly doing! ** I hope you received the 2 articles on GMØ ‘s I sent you.**
★♪♥∞
Oh Sam go to the bottom of the e-mail & unsub you AZZÖ!
What bread is good for you that doesn’t have nuts or seeds? I have diverticulitis and those suckers get stuck in my intestines. OUCH!
In 1999 I almost bled to death. The doctor found diverticlulosis and scheduled me for surgery to cut out 3 feet of my colon . I went on line and found Sevovera which is an aloe vera product that takes 8 gallons of the aloe vera plant to make one once of the part that we know as healing. It was expensive at about $400. When 14 years ago I cancelled surgery, my doctor was livid, but I still have that 3 feet of my colon and I am still here at age 82, dancing and playing tennis. My colonoscopy in 1999 had about a dozen palaps. In 2099 there was only one small palap. I did change my diet, with less meat and fats. I don’t take any pills except cayenne pepper like Food Babe recommends (before I even knew of her) and kelp for iodine. AND, STACY, I eat every nut and seed in the world. It won’t cost you a dime to check it out at: http://www.serovera.com. Living healthy and worry free down in a little fishing village in Loreto, Baja Calif. Sur, Mexico.
Check out Sami’s bakery too – I’d love to know if anyone has feedback. I am in Florida and love that I am buying locally to get it. It’s soooo much tastier than Udy’s or Rudy’s. And they make all kinds of lovely GF and low-carb varieties.
http://samisbakery.com/
Yes———Sammies Millet and Flax bread is awesome, no wheat
from Tampa Florida and also Deland Bakery in Deland Florida
See now, wait a sec, backtrack.
The article highlights xanthan gum as a bad ingredient (it’s red), but then every gluten-free bread you endorse here has xanthan gum on the posted ingredient list (the PDF you gave).
How are we suppose to react to that..? Which is it, FoodBabe…? Is xanthan gum bad, or is it something you endorse… or is it both (and your integrity suffers)..?
I never liked American Bread. I bake my own Bread. In my Home Country Germany the ingredients you use here to bake Bread, are prohibited incl. GMO’s.
Thanks for the good work and keep it up
Vani,
Do you have a good sprouted bread recipes? Also, I always wondered if the living organisms get destroyed in the baking process. I guess they would! Would love to know your thoughts on that and for you to pass on any sprouted bread recipes.
Very Best,
Allison
I’m curious if the Kirkland (Costco brand) Organic Ancient Grains bread is safe. I just discovered it a couple of weeks ago and it’s a great price and seems to have a safe ingredients list:
organic whole wheat flour, water, organic steel cut wheat, organic cane sugar, whole grain and seed blend (organic flax seeds, organic oats, organic black sesame seeds, organic sunflower seeds, organic buckwheat, organic sesame seeds, organic pumpkin seeds, organic amaranth, organic poppyseeds, organic khorasan wheat, organic spelt, organic quinoa, organic brown rice, organic cornmeal, organic rye, organic barley), organic wheat gluten, yeast, organic oat fiber, contains 2% or less of the following: organic molasses, sea salt, organic cultured unbleached wheat flour, organic vinegar, calcium sulfate, enzymes.
I make my own spelt bread using the no knead method. I keep simplifying the process to where there are but a few steps. The bread has the look, and crust of an artisan loaf, along with a tasty flavor. Toasted it is a meal in itself.
Why is it so difficult to eat in America!!! I just want to eat and not be tricked into eating wood, bleach, and shoes sole!
While reading this I was wondering about Dave’s killer bread as it is one I feed my family regularly and they really like it. So glad to see other options as well. Thanks for the info.
Ironically though, I found that even Ezekiel 4:9 bread has some issues, namely, it contains vital wheat gluten. THE WHOLE POINT OF SPROUTED BREAD IS TO REMOVE THE LECTIN, NOT ADD IT BACK IN, especially since it’s WGA (wheat germ agglutinin)! However, the Ezekiel tortilla do not contain this gluten. Another mega issue with bread is the fact that the FDA requires manufacturers that sell products that contain spelt to label the products as “spelt (wheat).” What a crock. This is only because the wheat industry is threatened with people knowing the truth about this ancient grain, and that is that the lectin in spelt is much smaller and more digestible than WGA.
http://www.silverhillsbakery.ca/products/sprouted-bread/squirrelly
How about this one?
i just love fresh bread – the smell, the taste, everything… but the stuff i like (never mind that i didn’t actually know what was in it – it was from a bakery – had to good right?), but i got tired of paying 4 or 5 bucks a loaf… 2 loaves a week, inconvenient and expensive. so i just started making it myself. limited success i have to say, it looked and smelled good, but tasted like well, nothing and was stale in a day… i watched a bbc show called the great bread experiment and got two of the best tips – first i mix 3/4 c of brown flour (i sprout, dry and grind my own), 1/4t of yeast – yes only that much, a bit of sugar, and 1 1/2c water… whisk it, and set it in the oven, covered with just the light on, for at least 12 hours. next day, add a dash of non gmo canola, and maybe another 3 cups of flour – i use less, but it depends on the flour… you want a REALLY sticky dough… i use my kitchenaid – let it do it’s thing on low for 13 minutes, then and ONLY then put 1 tsp salt in… knead for 2 more minutes. it will take longer to rise both times, but the result is awesome… bake for 15 minutes at 450, then 10 more at 350… and i have a tray under the bread (which is on a pizza stone)… when the bread goes in, i pour a few cups of water in and slam that door! the best bread…. once you get in the swing of it, it’s easy and the kitchenaid does the work.
I stopped buying sara lee bread a year ago when i found out about all the GMO and have not bought bread sents and with GMO in all the condments and the lunch meat being no good for us why even buy any bread? Love your web site thanks for all your help
What about Simply Truth brand? I used to buy Rudi’s but I now can find a number of organic products at Ralph’s so it helps reduce having to grocery hop to complete my list. I believe Simply Truth is Krogers “generic brand” – curious to learn how their brand rates overall…are all organic products equal?
thanks
I am European and I never found the right bread in USA. So I bought a bread machine and I do bake it myself. From organic, GMO free flour, rye flour, seeds – most of this stuff I order on internet web sites, they not really available in stores….The recipe takes about 5 minutes to put ingredients in and push the START ;-). It is delicious !!! Honestly, there is no competition in the store to this.
whew – good information. we’re bread folks in this house, especially my son he lives off Nutella and it’s scary to know what I’ve been feeding him. Jeez. Stopping that asap! Thanks for always providing the good alternatives 🙂 -Iva
I buy two bread brands – Trader Joe’s organic multigrain, and Whole Foods organic breads that they bake each day (usually the organic batard sweet six for $2.99) and which tastes great. A slice of this with coconut oil on it and almond butter is excellent, or sometimes TJ’s organic cream cheese.
Always check labels. And make sure not just some of the ingredients are organic.
Great article. Love the Good Life brand of tortilla shells and sesame bread. Keep it up Vani. You are my hero 🙂
I hate the fact that most of the “organic” breads still have soybean oil in them. I believe soybean oil is not good for you due to the processing done to extract the oil thereby making “organic” soy oil no better. Furthermore, most of those organic ingredients are still grown in giant monocultures. Personally I don’t see the need for bread in our diets but I suppose if you buy a little spelt grain from your Amish neighbor and make it from scratch, no harm done. Another great article, will you marry me Vani?!?
Thank you, thank you, thank you for writing this article! You seriously read my mind! I have been searching for breads in the food isle, reading ingredients I can’t pronounce, wondering which one is the best of the worst! I have actually thought to myself in the bread isle… I WISH Food Babe would write an article about bread! I just don’t know what to get! So thank you very much for this great article! I read all of your articles and have made so many positive changes in my family’s diet thanks to you! I appreciate all you do! BTW, I also buy Organic Alpine Valley from Costco so I am looking forward to hearing your input on it!