Is my bread really wholegrain? How to read the words on the wrapper

To check whether a loaf is really wholegrain, skip the front of the bag and read the ingredients. The British Dietetic Association advises looking for the word "whole" before the name of the cereal, as in whole wheat or whole oats, and checking that a wholegrain is among the first ingredients. Ingredients are listed in descending order of weight, so the opening words show you what the product is mostly made from.

Colour and seeds are poor guides, and several of the words used on bread wrappers do not mean what they seem to.

What "wholegrain" means

A wholegrain is a cereal seed with all three of its parts intact: the bran, the germ and the endosperm. The diagram shows where each sits. Milling often strips away the bran and germ to give a whiter, refined product, and those are the parts holding much of the fibre and many of the nutrients. The BDA lists fibre, B vitamins, folic acid, vitamin E, selenium, copper and magnesium among what wholegrains provide, and says they can contain up to 75% more nutrients than refined cereals.

The wrapper, word by word

Wholemeal

On the BDA's list of terms to look for. Wholemeal bread and wholemeal flour are both named as wholegrain foods.

Wholegrain, 100% whole

Also terms the BDA says to look for. Check the ingredients as well, since "wholegrain" on the front does not tell you how much is inside.

Multigrain

The one to watch. The BDA is direct about this: it is not the same as wholegrain and only means the product contains more than one type of grain. Those grains can be refined.

Granary

The BDA includes granary among its wholegrain bread examples, and the NHS lists it among healthy choices. Recipes vary, so read the ingredients on the loaf you are buying.

Brown

The NHS treats brown bread as a healthy choice, but it does not appear on the BDA's list of wholegrain foods. Brown does not by itself tell you the bread is wholegrain, so again the ingredients settle it.

Seeded

The NHS lists seeded bread as a healthy choice too. Seeds on a loaf tell you what was added, though, and nothing about the flour underneath.

Higher-fibre white

White bread has less fibre than wholemeal, and the NHS suggests higher-fibre white as an option if that is what you or your family will actually eat. It can raise fibre without being wholegrain.

Check the nutrition panel as a second opinion

Once the ingredients list has told you what the bread is made of, the panel lets you compare two loaves. Food with 6g or more of fibre per 100g counts as high fibre, and 3g or more as a source of fibre, according to the NHS and BDA. Use the per 100g column, because slices differ in size.

Salt is worth a glance while you are there. The NHS lists bread among the everyday foods that supply much of the salt we eat. On the NHS's label thresholds, 0.3g or less per 100g is low and more than 1.5g is high. Our breakfast cereal guide sets out the full table, and it works the same way for bread.

Beyond the loaf

Bread is usually the first place people look, but the BDA's list runs much wider, and some of it may already be in your cupboard:

• Breakfast: rolled oats, oatmeal, bran flakes, wholegrain muesli
• Bread and crackers: rye bread, wholemeal pitta, oatcakes, rye crispbread
• Meals: brown rice, wholewheat pasta, bulgur wheat, quinoa
• Snacks: plain popcorn, rice cakes, wholegrain cereal bars

Barley is on the list as well, with a caveat: the BDA excludes pearled barley. The list also takes in grains that sound less familiar, such as freekeh and amaranth. Oats are the easy win, since rolled oats and oatmeal both count. Our porridge article looks at what happens once you start adding things to them.

How much should you be eating?

Here the UK differs from some other countries. The BDA says there is currently no UK advice on what amount of wholegrains to eat, while experts elsewhere often suggest three servings a day. What the UK does have is the broader NHS advice to choose wholegrain or higher-fibre versions of starchy foods where you can.

If you would like a yardstick, the BDA's examples of one serving are helpful: a medium slice of wholemeal bread, three tablespoons of wholegrain cereal, two to three heaped tablespoons of cooked brown rice, or two oatcakes. Two slices of toast and a side of brown rice with dinner would reach three.

The BDA reports survey findings suggesting about 95% of UK adults do not eat enough wholegrains and nearly one in three eat none. Given there is no official UK amount, read that as a sign of how rarely they appear on our plates, measured against the suggestions used elsewhere.

Why bother

The BDA says research suggests regular wholegrain intake, as part of a low-fat diet and healthy lifestyle, may lower the risk of heart disease, stroke and type 2 diabetes by up to 30%, and that higher intake may reduce the risk of digestive cancers such as bowel cancer. Those are research findings about long-term eating patterns and not a promise about any one loaf. Wholegrains also make it easier to hit the 30g fibre target, which is where most of us fall short.

A note if wheat is off the menu

Wholegrain does not mean gluten free. Wheat, including spelt, along with rye and barley, all contain gluten. If you have coeliac disease or have been told to avoid wheat, follow the advice of your GP or dietitian, and treat words like "ancient grain" with the same care as any other marketing term.

This article is general information and is not medical advice. Guidance changes, so check the linked sources for the current figures. Last reviewed 1 September 2026.