Because toast is considered unhealthy, more and more people are now turning to normal bread. Could whole grain toast be a healthier alternative to buttered toast? How does it compare to real whole wheat bread?

Fresh from the toaster for breakfast or as a juicy sandwich in between – toast bread is popular and versatile. However, toast has been criticized for some time: Compared to normal bread, it is unhealthy. Wholemeal toast, on the other hand, enjoys a better image, after all it contains the whole grain. We explain how butter toast, wholemeal toast and normal (wholemeal) bread compare.

This is what toast is made of

Every conventional bread contains flour, water, yeast and usually also salt. This applies to mixed rye bread from the bakery as well as to rolls from the discounter – and also to packaged toast.

Unlike conventional bread, toast bread also contains a whole range of other ingredients: in addition to fat and sugar, it often also contains milk, soy and numerous additives such as acidity regulators, acidifiers, emulsifiers, stabilizers, preservatives and enzymes.

In a nutshell:

Toast contains more additives, making it a more processed product than regular bread.
Toast bread provides significantly less fiber and is therefore less full.
At the same time, it contains significantly more sugar and fat than conventional bread.

Is Wholemeal Toast a Healthier Alternative?

The industry has now responded to consumer demand: in addition to classic butter toast, most supermarkets and brands also offer wholemeal toast products. These are considered healthier because they contain whole grains.

The Bavarian Consumer Advice Center states in a comparison of butter and wholemeal toast:

Wholemeal toast contains significantly more fiber than regular toast. As a result, it has a better satiety value than buttered toast.
Therefore, fewer slices of whole grain toast fill you up, which means you need fewer spreads that are high in sugar and fat.
A breakfast with whole grain toast therefore tends to be healthier as it is lower in sugar and fat than one with conventional buttered toast.