CBC: Getting your fruits and breadgies?

Joyce Slater, an assistant professor of human nutritional sciences in the Faculty of Human Ecology, weighed in on a story about the pros and cons of a new way of ingesting your veggies: bread. The prof has also been promoting Nutrition Month, which runs the entire month of March.

A new line of Country Harvest bread markets itself as a healthy alternative to getting your veggies the traditional way; it boasts  loaves baked with tomato, red and green pepper, spinach and zucchini.

According to the story, the marketing campaign may be a bit overblown, however: Slater’s investigation found that the bread contained much less than might be expected:

“When you look at the actual amount of vegetable material in these breads, they clock in around a quarter of a serving of vegetables per slice. So that’s about two tablespoons,” she said.

“Given that Canada’s Food Guide says we should have upwards of eight servings of fruits and vegetables per day, you’d have to be eating 32 slices of this bread to get your daily requirements. That’s a little bit heavy on the carbs.”