Is the Bread in Europe Better for You?

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/24/well/eat/health-effects-bread-europe-united-states.html?unlocked_article_code=1.ZE8.mSkP.Xxma9YofkyC7

by rezwenn

38 comments

  5. Had a hard time finding bread that didn’t have 5+g of added sugar/100g when i lived in Southern California 7 years ago. Surprised that’s not mentioned as one of the main differences and potential causes.

  7. > When they eat wheat products in the United States, his patients say, they have bloating, nausea, diarrhea, constipation, joint pain, fatigue or brain fog. When they eat wheat products — particularly bread — in Western Europe, they have fewer or milder symptoms.

    Okay, that’s strange.

    > Most bread in the United States is fermented much faster — for just an hour or two — leaving more gluten and FODMAPs that can cause symptoms.

    Wait, what? They just don’t know how to make bread?

    > To shorten the production time, bread manufacturers in the United States typically use a more commercial, high-speed process, Dr. Carver said. This can result in bread that is too dense, so manufacturers add ingredients like dough conditioners, strengthening agents, extra gluten and emulsifiers to improve its texture, as well as preservatives to lengthen its shelf life.

    In fact, it’s not really bread that they are doing, right ?

    > Wheat growers in the United States sometimes apply glyphosate to the crop just before harvest. This can leave glyphosate residues on the grain.

    Wtf. Is it even supposed to be food ?

  8. Of course the food is better here in Europe. In every conceivable way. One of the reasons Trump is so hell bent on imposing tariffs is because Europeans hardly buy anything American outside of tech products. Not the cars, the clothes or the food.

    But the main reason we’re so much healthier is that our portions aren’t ridiculous and we get off our asses to get from a to b.

  9. Better for you, and better in every other way too.

    American bread is like some kind of sugary mush. No substance, flavour, texture, anything. 

    Give me a nice grainy sourdough any day. No sugar required.

  10. My brother, who immigrated to America, his American wife says the food in Ireland tastes so much better than in the USA, this is something I’ve seen (anecdotally) repeated by americans who’ve visited Europe.

    Everything, the bread the meat, the butter the cheese everything.

    We dont buy the fancy stuff lidl all the way!

    On an unrelated note, has anyone visited America since trumps second term started? my parents want to visit their grand kid but are worried about crossing into the US that there might be some issues.

  11. For the longest time I think theres something extra in American food that makes people more exhausted..I dont know but the demand of the usa wanting to change the eu food laws highlighted it for me. By the trump.administration is almost never out of “kindness”

    (such a strange word. Old fashioned. According to potus – the p stands for something else today though)

    The bread when I was in the usa. Was the first thing that freaked me out a bit. It stays well way too long.

    But I dunno. Everything seems to come out now lately

  12. You can buy rye bread and other varieties that have no added sugar

    There is a ridiculous amount of things you can buy if you don’t want unhealthy food

    I live in north Carolina and can go to grocery stores, bakeries, restaurants from first or second generation citizens from probably over 100 countries

    Its not all processed shit, it’s just there if you do want to buy it

  13. A more general experience of a European who worked in the US for a while: I had stomach cramps for the first four weeks after arriving in the US and for four weeks after moving back to Europe (even with my mom’s cooking over Christmas). A far as bread is concerned: Caved at the international aisle at a supermarket after two weeks of being in America and bought the German bread. 😀

  14. I love posts like this. There are in fact local bakeries in the US, and in the 1970s we discovered not everything has to be Wonder Bread. Even mainstream grocery stores like Kroger and HEB have their own bakeries.

    I wouldn’t know what to shop for in a European grocery in all cases either, but I’ve seen what passes for the “American aisle”. OMG it’s a stereotype come to life, the worst possible quality food. Don’t get stuck in stereotypes. Visit someone in the US and have them show you how to shop. I’m glad I did in Belgium and France.

  15. Depends on the bread. It’s easy to find healthy normal European bread here in Brooklyn.

  16. The definition of “bread” varies widely throughout Europe. And there exist many different unhealthy types here as well that are eaten as desserts or pastries. However, after reading the article, it seems as if North American bread is produced with a different and hyper-processed method, even for the basic bread dough.

  18. I felt more poorly too when I was in the US eating bread, so I guess it isn’t just a tourist effect

  20. talking about European bread makes me laugh a bit.. there are so many different kind of breads in europe that it would take an enciclopedia just to list them all.. only in italy every small town has its own bread, I am form the south of Rome and we have completely different bread from those savages (/s) living on the north side of the city.. if you dare to cross to a different region then you get to completely different kind of breads.. and more or less it’s the same in other countries in europe

  21. Food in general is better in EU. And safer.
    Bread in particular is best in Germany imho, there is countries in EU with shitbread and little variety as well. Yeah looking at you Sweden and Netherlands.

  22. Every time I’ve gotten bread in NY it was always wrapped in plastic. Even if the bread was initially ok, even if it was an Italian made $3 bread, the fact of wrapping it in plastic always killed it.

    That alone would make me not want to live in the USA.

    Also fruits and vegetables tasting like plastic, that’s 100% a thing and I hate it too.

  23. I found American bread to be very sweet. It was weird and I wasn’t a fan of it. Avoided bread while I was there as a result.

    Can’t speak for additives and things as I didn’t check.

  24. If you buy bread in Germany in a Lidl, Aldi, or in a cheap bakery, they are horrible. I don’t ever want to taste American bread. I have no problem paying double the price at my local bakery, because damn this tastes so good. It also stays fresh for 3 days and doesn’t decline in taste or texture like cheap bread. If I would live in America, I would try to bake my own bread.

  25. We had a German exchange student years ago who said it’s not that you can’t eat healthy here (in the USA) but that you can also eat unhealthy which isn’t as easy in Europe. It’s easy in the US to make an unhealthy choice. I think that’s mostly true.

  26. I live in Germany and no, unfortunately not. Supermarket bread is kinda meh, bread from bakeries is better but not as good as it was at home for a fraction of price.
    The only thing that is good are those underbaked bread rolls that you need to throw in the oven.

  27. Why doesn’t EU want beautiful US beef? Growth hormones and over used of antibiotics. Now, US beef can be imported but only the stuff that is sold in US as “organic”. The premium product in USA is standard product in EU.

    Also, European sodas taste much better. Less additives, less coloring, no syrup. If it says orange soda, it has orange juice in it.

    [Pic](https://imageproxy.ifunny.co/crop:x-20,resize:640x,quality:90×75/images/24aa369f82d9b1fa2b0b25fa64a3d952089bcab3a6b7b4be3e23be566f83659e_1.jpg)

    What is Trumps trade war about? Well, lets first explain the Brussels Effect. If you want to sell your stuff globally, it is easiest to just adhere to EU regulations as they are the most strict and thus, you don’t have to worry about other regions. The products will be accepted without any changes. Trump wants to create a Washington Effect: All standards on the planet are lowered to US levels. This is a big obstacle in US exports, they often do not meet the standards of other countries.

  28. Wth are these titles? We’ve got bread, they got bread too. It’s not rocket science, it’s just flour.

  29. Yes, yes it is. So good, especially in Germany! Yum!

  30. Ukrainian bread is the best bread I ever had. Even the bread in supermarkets is fucking delicious, beats bakeries in the west by far

  32. Average US bread would be considered an unhealthy cake in Europe.

  33. Everything is better in Europe compared to the US. It’s not a discovery

  35. Different type of wheat, correct recipes, correct time to proceed the dough and bake it. So yes european bread or correctly, european wheat and rye products are healthier than their Us counterparts.

  36. The smell of the “bread” in Subway makes me want to barf. 

  37. Hard time even finding *bread* outside of Germany

  38. Yes, for one it doesn’t taste like cake from all the added sugar

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