Half Baked Harvest
If you're wondering if bread or pasta is healthier for you, we rounded up information from a number of registered dietitians to help us understand the world of carbohydrates better. There's a better way to approach bread vs. noodles, including looking at carbohydrates as part of a bigger nutritional picture.
Despite its bad rap, carbohydrates are important to a balanced diet. According to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, compiled by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 45 to 65 percent of your total daily calories should include carbohydrates (a primary source of where we get our energy).
Carbs, along with other macronutrients protein and fat, keep our bodies functioning optimally. They can also help regulate mood, contribute to a healthy heart and better brain function. However, contrary to popular consciousness, carbs (which include fiber, sugar, and starch) aren't just a matter of bread vs. noodles. "People love to say things like ‘I am on a low-carb diet’ or ‘I'm not eating carbs right now.’ Typically, they're referring to pasta and bread, but what many don't know is that dairy, fruit, and vegetables have naturally occurring carbohydrates,” says registered dietitian Courtney Ferreira in an interview with NBC Better. “If you are eating broccoli, you are eating carbs."
Meet the Expert
Courtney Ferreira is a registered dietitian nutritionist in the Baltimore, Maryland area. She is the owner of Real Food Court nutrition consulting and serves as the Wellness Director at a physical therapy clinic.
That said, all carbs aren't bad for you, and instead of categorizing carbohydrates into good vs. bad, dietitians recommend considering that there are some foods that you can eat with abandon—whole food carb-sources like green veggies and fruit, which are packed with nutrients and fiber (which helps you feel full). On the other hand, foods like refined or packaged bread, cookies, and chips require more balance and mindfulness around portion size.
According to Ferreira, "Instead of saying, ‘I can't eat that,’ [ask] what is a source of carbs that will provide me with more nutrition?” That's why it's important to approach your diet from a holistic perspective. "The presence of fiber, protein, and fats is important because it slows digestion, prevents a spike in our blood sugar levels, and helps us to feel full and satisfied for longer (i.e. curbs cravings)," says Rebecca Lewis, registered dietitian at HelloFresh, for NBC Better.
According to Joel Feren, a practicing dietitian and spokesperson for the Dietitian's Association of Australia, bread is slightly better for you than pasta, with caveats. "One cup of cooked pasta is a [serving], and its [calorie] content is a little bit higher than a [serving] of bread, which tends to be two slices," he tells the Australian health publication Body+Soul. "In terms of carbohydrate content, we have 42g of carbohydrate in the cup of pasta and about 30g in a [serving] of bread."
However, Feren says to consider the fact that pasta is a low glycemic index (GI) source, which means it's "broken down over a longer period of time, so it's actually going to sustain us," or help us feel fuller longer. Instead, the challenge with pasta tends to be in the portion sizes we're consuming it in. "People tend to overeat pasta," Feren continues. "Patients I meet in private will have a bowl of pasta and that's all they'll eat as a meal. I'll ask, where's the protein coming from? It's also about getting enough veggies."
Feren recommends sticking to a one-cup serving of pasta and supplementing that meal with a side salad and a source of protein. What's more, you can opt for whole-wheat pasta, which has a bit more fiber than white (and the same goes for bread.) It's worth noting, however, that ingredients like sugar, preservatives, and additives will alter food's nutritional value, so whether you opt for pasta or bread, the more simple the ingredient list, the better.
Byrdie takes every opportunity to use high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial guidelines to learn more about how we keep our content accurate, reliable and trustworthy.
2015–2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans Eighth Edition. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. December 2015.
Firth J, Gangwisch JE, Borisini A, Wootton RE, Mayer EA. Food and Mood: How Do Diet and Nutrition Affect Mental Wellbeing? BMJ. 2020;369:m2382. doi:10.1136/bmj.m2382
Slavin J, Carlson J. Carbohydrates. Adv Nutr. 2014;5(6):760-761. doi:10.3945/an.114.006163
Unless you're on a specific doctor-recommended plan to cut carbs for a medical condition, there's no reason to arbitrarily deprive yourself of bread, experts say.
Retired body builder Arnold Schwarzenegger recently revealed he cut out bread to reach his goal weight, but you don't have to fear the carb, according to nutritionists.
Three dietitians told Insider they enjoy bread every day, and that you can include it in your diet even if you're trying to eat healthier by opting for whole grain varieties with nutritious toppings like eggs, avocado, and salmon.
Bread and other carbs aren't the enemy
Bread restrictive diets — like keto and low-carb meal plans — give bread a bad reputation, registered dietitian Rachael Hartley said.
"Bread gets unfairly demonized, more so than many other sources of carbohydrate," she told Insider.
But bread is a nutritional mainstay for a reason — it's a convenient, cheap, and widely-appealing source of energy and has important nutrients like iron and B-vitamins thiamine, niacin, folic acid and riboflavin.
Hartley said she enjoys bread every day: some recent favorites include pumpernickel with cream cheese and salmon, naan (Indian flatbread) with curry, or whatever is fresh from her local bakery.
"It's a staple food all over the world, and has been for thousands of years! That's because our body needs carbs, as it's our main source of fuel," she said.
Carbs are a powerful resource for athletes, too. Eating carbs before or after a workout can help fuel your body's supply of glycogen, which both powers your muscles and helps rebuild them after exercise.
Two-time CrossFit Games champ, Katrin Davidsdottir, said that after mistakenly avoiding bread for years, it's now crucial fuel for her intense workouts.
For healthier bread options, stick to whole grains
If you're looking to improve your diet, some types of bread will have more of a nutritional punch than others.
"While it is true that white bread and white flour bread products are less nutrient-dense, high in sugar, and lead to inflammation and weight gain, the same is not true for their whole grain counterparts" registered dietitian Brigitte Zeitlin told Insider. "Whole grain bread offers up some serious nutrition."
That's because it's less processed than white bread, and contains more fiber, B vitamins, magnesium , and other nutrients.
Zeitlin enjoys whole grain toast with an egg scramble for breakfast or brunch, and as a tuna melt for lunch.
Don't forget the toppings
Few people sit down and eat a plain loaf of bread. We often load it up with toppings like nut butter, jam, cheeses, meats, and more. While delicious, these toppings can sometimes be very calorie-dense, and many people don't measure them, which can lead to double or quadruple the calories you thought you were eating.
"Bread has been maligned — but excess calories may be more about the company bread keeps, like butter," Bonnie Taub-Dix, registered dietitian nutritionist and author of Read It Before You Eat It — Taking You from Label to Table, told Insider.
That's not a bad thing, but it can sometimes lead to the mistaken impression that bread is linked to weight gain. It doesn't have to be, said Taub-Dix, who said she eats bread every day "without exception — unless it's a bagel."
"When whole grain bread becomes a part of your meal, there's a good chance you'll feel more satiated and less likely to go foraging for a bread-like substitute like chips or cookies between meals," Taub-Dix said.
For a satisfying, protein-packed meal or snack, you can also opt to top it with all kinds of healthy, nutrient-rich extras like avocado, eggs, tuna, salmon, and cream cheese.
If weight loss is a goal for you, it can be helpful to occasionally measure out serving sizes of butters and jams so you know how much you're eating.
Context matters for a healthy diet
Finally, regardless of what type of bread you indulge in, there's no need to worry that a single food item will make or break your diet. That's because nutrition is about overall patterns of eating.
Experts often recommend making healthy, nutrient-dense whole foods the majority of your diet, 80-90% of your calories, while allowing the rest to be foods you enjoy regardless of nutritional value. This is sometimes called the 80/20 rule.
"If you think cutting carbs is the most effective, but it makes you die inside, don't do it," registered dietitian Georgie Fear previously told Insider.
That means that even an occasional slice of white bread is unlikely to sabotage your nutrition goals, and you certainly don't have to ditch the bread completely to be healthy.