Dave’s Killer Bread is a popular bread brand available both online and in-store that brands itself as a healthier alternative to commercial bread companies. Dave’s describes its products as “the best bread in the universe” and “packed with whole grain nutrition” and “organic ingredients.”
But is Dave’s Killer Bread really healthier than regular grocery store bread or are these just marketing claims? Does it contain ingredients shown to improve health? Does it contain any harmful additive ingredients? And how do real users rate it?
In this article we’ll answer all of these questions and more as we review the ingredients in Dave’s Killer Bread and give our take on whether or not it’s actually healthy. We’ll compare its ingredients to another popular brand.
Ingredient Review
The ingredients above are from Dave’s 21 Whole Grains And Seeds bread.
Instead of just wheat flour, Dave’s Killer Bread provides a wide variety of different grains such as organic triticale and organic millet. We consider this to be a healthier option given that dietary diversity is proven in clinical research to optimize gut health. Put simply, the wider the variety of whole foods you eat, the more healthy your gut will be, and many Americans don’t eat nearly enough different types of plant-based foods.
Dave’s bread is rich in fiber. Each slice provides 5 grams (g) so a sandwich will provide 10 g. Fiber intake is associated with improved digestive health, reduced obesity rates and reduced blood pressure, and only 5% of Americans consume an optimal amount of fiber (which is a minimum of around 25 g for women and 30 g for men) according to a medical review published in the American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine.
Dave’s bread also has a few exotic ingredients that are not commonly found in grocery store bread, like sesame seeds which are associated with a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease according to a 2020 meta-study.
The only issue we have with Dave’s bread, and the reason we don’t recommend it overall, is the inclusion of 5 g of added sugar per slice, which is a relatively high amount.
There’s no need for two slices of bread to have over 25% of the added sugar in a Coke in our opinion, and as we documented in our review of Nutella ingredients, consuming added sugar in excess is associated with a wide range of negative health effects.
All Dave’s Killer Bread products contain added cane sugar except for their Powerseed bread, which is naturally sweetened with fruit juices like organic apple juice and organic peach juice instead. We would recommend this product from a health perspective and it’s the healthiest bread we’ve reviewed on Illuminate Health to date.
Is Dave’s Killer Bread Healthier Than Grocery Store Bread?
Even the Dave’s products that contain added sugar are significantly healthier than the average bread brand in our opinion because they’re composed entirely of whole foods ingredients.
As a comparative example, the ingredients list above is from Martin’s Potato Bread which is another popular brand.
Not only does this bread contain much fewer whole foods ingredients, it also contains questionable additives like the preservative calcium propionate which was shown in a clinical trial to cause “irritability, restlessness, inattention and sleep disturbance” in children.
Martin’s bread is also “enriched” which means it contains added vitamins like ferrous sulfate and thiamin. As we referenced in our Beyond Meat reviews article, we consider it illogical for consumers to get added vitamins from so many processed foods, because this can push blood levels of those vitamins to dangerous levels in some cases.
The CBC reported in early 2022 that a wellness brand had to recall several products from the market because all of the added vitamins were causing toxicity in some consumers.
Does a Dietitian Approve of Dave’s Killer Bread?
One of the most popular YouTube videos on the healthiness of Dave’s Killer Bread is published by a creator named Jamie Rothermich who’s a registered dietitian (RD).
The video is unsponsored, and he gives his take on the pros and cons of this bread from a health perspective and whether he would eat it:
Are Dave’s Other Products Healthy?
Here’s a quick rundown on the healthiness of the other Dave’s Killer Bread products.
