If you go into a store you will be faced with a wide range of choices as to which bread you purchase. Traditionally those looking for a healthy lifestyle have sided with whole wheat bread, whilst those individuals who do not care about their lifestyle go for white bread. Both sets of people will make claims about how good their choice is.

Both store brought breads have their faults, listed below are some of the arguments against the two products. Whilst not exhaustive these arguments may influence your decision as to which is the best.

What is wrong with a store's white bread?

• White bread has very little nutritional content. Most of the nutrition is lost during the sifting and bleaching of the ingredients required to make the bread a brilliant white. Even adding vitamins won't help replace a fraction of the lost nutrients.
• The production process of a white loaf includes the introduction of preservatives and chemicals required to ensure that it can stay on a store's shelf for longer. These chemicals can be harmful to your health.
• A white store loaf is almost without taste, although there are some people who prefer the taste of the sandwich ingredient to come through rather than tasting the bread itself.

What is wrong with a store's whole wheat bread?

• A store's whole wheat bread will have numerous sweeteners, like sugar, in it. These sweeteners go against the whole idea of the healthy loaf, providing no nutrition and are fattening in themselves.
• The production process in pretty much the same as that of the white bread, as a result the same chemical and preservatives are present, enabling the loaf to stay in store for longer.

So if both store brought loafs have their downsides why purchase from a store at all? To eat the healthiest and best tasting loaf, the only solution is to make your own whole wheat bread.

So why should you bake your own whole wheat bread?

• Firstly it tastes good, and you can make it unique to your own individual taste. Most people will find they prefer the home baked taste to the blandness of the store brought bread.
• Baking at home means that your bread doesn't have the same chemicals and preservatives in it. As a result more of the vitamins and nutrients remain in your loaf. These vitamins, in particular the Vitamin B's, are good for your heart, allowing you to remain healthy for longer.
• Making your own whole wheat bread is easy. Get a few recipes together and soon you will be baking bread to perfection.