7-grain, 12-grain, whole wheat, all-natural multi-grain, whole grain whole wheat....What, what, what? There's too much in the bread aisles to know which one to choose. To help, here's key info on whole wheat versus whole grain breads, and a comparison of nutrition labels for some popular products at the market. The choice should be easier to make after understanding which breads really are better for you.

Whole Grain 101
Whole grain products are better for you than refined grains because they use the entire grain kernel, which is where the nutrients are, especially B vitamins, fiber, and iron.

Whole Wheat Bread vs. Whole Grain Bread
Whole wheat is a whole grain, so what is going on?

Why multi-grain whole grain breads can be better than whole wheat breads: Each whole grain has a different strength, so breads that use a variety of whole grains help you take in a greater range of benefits. For instance, flax seeds are rich in lignan, an antioxidant that may protect against breast cancer, while barley helps lower cholesterol. If you consume both of these in one slice of bread you get to enjoy the benefits of both.

Why multi-grain breads aren't always better: First, to be a healthy contender, a bread label that says "multigrains" must also say "100% whole grains" somewhere on the package. Otherwise, the bakery may be throwing a couple whole grains in with a ton of refined grains, which sidesteps almost all the nutritional benefits.

Second, even those legit multi-grain breads often have nearly the same nutritional profile as whole wheat bread because they use mainly wheat with tiny amounts of those other whole grains (even though they may market those other grains in a big way on the package). Most companies do not list the amount of each whole grain they use on their packages. The best clue is how close to the top of the ingredients list the whole grains are. Look for breads that list their whole grains (such as oats, flax seeds, barley, etc.) as a main ingredient, rather than in a sub-list of ingredients that each contribute less than 2% of the makeup of the bread.

This information below was gathered by comparing in-store nutritional labels at the time of publishing.

15 common whole wheat and whole grain breads:
Earthgrains 100% Stone Ground Whole Wheat Bread
Earthgrains 7-Grain Bread
Ezekiel 4:9 Sprouted 100% Whole Grain Bread
Milton's Multi-Grain Plus Bread
Milton's 100% Whole Wheat Bread
Oroweat Country 100% Whole Wheat Bread
Oroweat 100% Whole Wheat Bread
Pepperidge Farm 15-Grain Bread
Pepperidge Farm 100% Whole Wheat Bread
Roman Meal 100% Whole Grain Bread
Roman Meal 100% Whole Wheat Bread
Sara Lee Classic 100% Whole Wheat Bread
Sara Lee Hearty & Delicious All-Natural 100% Multigrain
Western Hearth 12-Grain Bread
Western Hearth Whole Wheat Bread

Breads With Higher Content of Multi-Grains
Ezekiel 4:9 Sprouted 100% Whole Grain Bread
Milton's Multi-Grain Plus Bread
Roman Meal 100% Whole Grain Bread
Western Hearth 12-Grain Bread

Low-Fat Breads (1g of fat or less)
0.5g/slice-Ezekiel 4:9 Sprouted 100% Whole Grain Bread
0.5g/slice -Milton's Whole Grain Whole Wheat
1g/slice -Milton's Multi-Grain Plus Bread
1g/slice -Oroweat Whole Grain 100% Whole Wheat Bread
1g/slice -Roman Meal 100% Whole Grain Bread
1g/slice -Roman Meal 100% Whole Wheat Bread
1g/slice -Western Hearth Whole Wheat Bread

Breads With Bad Saturated Fat
.5g/slice- Earthgrains 100% Stone Ground Whole Wheat Bread
.5g/slice-Earthgrains 7-Grain Bread
.5g/slice-Oroweat Country 100% Whole Wheat Bread
.5g/slice-Pepperidge Farm 15-Grain Bread
.5g/slice-Pepperidge Farm 100% Whole Wheat Bread
.5g/slice-Sara Lee Classic 100% Whole Wheat Bread
.5g/slice-Sara Lee Hearty & Delicious All-Natural 100% Multigrain Bread

Breads Without High Fructose Corn Syrup
Earthgrains 100% Stone Ground Whole Wheat Bread
Earthgrains 7-Grain Bread
Ezekiel 4:9 Sprouted 100% Whole Grain Bread
Milton's Multi-Grain Plus Bread
Milton's 100% Whole Wheat Bread
Oroweat Country 100% Whole Wheat Bread
Oroweat Whole Grain 100% Whole Wheat Bread
Pepperidge Farm 15-Grain Bread
Pepperidge Farm 100% Whole Wheat Bread
Sara Lee Hearty & Delicious All-Natural 100% Multigrain Bread
Western Hearth Whole Wheat Bread

Low-Sodium Breads
75mg/slice-Ezekiel 4:9 Sprouted 100% Whole Grain Bread
130mg/slice-Roman Meal 100% Whole Grain Bread
130mg/slice-Roman Meal 100% Whole Wheat Bread