Just because you’re following the keto diet, it doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy bread! That being said, most bread is NOT keto friendly due to its high carb count. This leaves you with two choices: make your own delicious, fluffy keto bread, or buy one in from a specialist company like Hero.
Multiple companies like Hero are producing keto bread that help you relieve carb cravings. However, keto goes further than just tracking macros. It’s about optimizing your health, which means considering your food’s ingredients.
So can you eat Hero Bread products on keto?
This post will review Hero Bread to see if it’s a healthy option for keto dieters. We’ll look at the ingredients, nutritional information and if it’s worth your time and money.
What Is Hero Bread?
Cole Glass founded Hero Bread in 2017 after battling severe food allergies. He’s allergic to all raw fruits, vegetables and nuts, so he did keto to improve his overall health.
But after craving carbs, he started baking his own muffins, bread, burger buns and tortillas.
Upon discovering that thousands of people worldwide struggle with the same issues, Glass decided to sell his healthy bread.
Today, Hero Bread is popular within keto communities and you can find it in a quick service restaurant chain like Subway. The zero net carbs and sugar means you can eat as much as you’d like without affecting ketosis.
Where Can You Buy Hero Bread?
So if you’re looking to enjoy sliced bread on keto, you can purchase Hero Bread online. Simply visit the Hero Bread website at Hero.co and you’ll find:
- Bread and specialty sandwich roll
- Tortillas
- Burger buns
You can buy through the single purchase option or the subscription.
With a single purchase, you’ll pay $20 for two loaves of great tasting bread or $40 for four. The subscription allows you to save 10 percent and choose how often you’d like Hero to deliver products to your home.
Hero sells its tortillas in four packs of eight, costing $28, and the 10 percent subscription discount is also available here.
The third product you’ll find on the Hero website are the burger buns, and this is handy when having a barbeque with friends and family. These yummy bad boys cost $20 for three packs of four.
You’ll even find Hero Bread products in Subway restaurants, as the general population is pushing toward healthier fast-food.
Hero Bread Nutritional Information
One slice of Hero Bread contains:
- Zero net grams of carbohydrates
- Two grams of fat
- 45 calories
- 11 grams of dietary fiber
- Five grams of protein
You’ll also find trace amounts of electrolytes like sodium and calcium to help you beat the keto flu.
These nutritional facts make Hero Bread a healthy snack from a macronutrient standpoint. It isn’t nutrient-dense, but you’re consuming no carbs or sugars, a decent amount of fat and lots of protein and fiber.
A Word Of Caution When Eating Hero Bread
However, Hero Bread isn’t perfect. The net carb sandwich rolls content attracts many keto dieters, but it still has modified wheat starch that triggers inflammation and causes an adverse reaction in celiac disease patients.
Even if you aren’t sensitive to gluten, research shows that gluten exacerbates insulin resistance, diabetes and fatty liver disease.
Although you might be able to eat the gluten in Hero Bread without apparent symptoms, nobody can completely digest it. According to Dr. Alessio Fasano, your body can dismantle all proteins except gluten.
The undigested gluten peptides float around your upper small intestine, and your body mistakes this as dangerous bacteria.
So if you’re new to keto, eating Hero Bread in moderation to ease carb cravings is fine. But you want to remove it from your diet entirely after a few months.
What Ingredients Are In Hero Bread?
Hero Bread does contain healthy ingredients like apple cider vinegar and fava bean protein, there are some harmful ingredients.
- Canola oil
- Modified wheat starch
- Wheat protein
Canola Oil
Hero uses canola oil when making their bread, tortillas and burger buns, and this is surprising for a keto brand. Medical papers show that canola oil spikes inflammation and negatively impacts every part of your body.
Most keto companies like Great Low Carb Bread Co. opted for olive oil and avocado oil, which is far healthier than canola oil.
This makes me think that Hero Bread used canola bread because it’s cheaper and easier to source in large quantities.
Modified Wheat Starch
Hero Bread also has modified wheat starch, which spikes blood glucose levels, even if it doesn’t contain carbs. So if you’re a diabetic and doing keto to keep your blood sugar as low as possible, limit your Hero Bread consumption.
Medical research shows that wheat starch has a long list of allergens like gliadin that increases hunger. They block leptin, the statutory hormone, while stimulating parts of your brain that produce an abnormal appetite. This is why you still feel hungry after eating low-carb breads like Hero Bread.
Wheat Protein
A slice of Hero Bread contains five grams of protein. Although it sounds like a lot compared to traditional bread, this protein comes from wheat, which isn’t easily digestible and provides little muscle-building benefits compared to eggs or beef protein.
You may also like our recipes for Keto Coconut Flour Bread and Cheesy Keto Garlic Bread.
Final Thoughts On Hero Bread
Eating a healthy keto diet goes deeper than just counting macros and reducing carb intake. It’s essential to look at ingredients in your food, like canola oil and modified wheat, that cause cellular damage.
Hero Bread won’t interfere with ketosis and is better than regular bread. But it contains harmful ingredients like canola oil, modified wheat starch and wheat protein, spiking inflammation.
So if you’re a bread lover, I’d suggest eating Hero Bread in moderation when you first start keto to help with carb cravings. Once it becomes less intense, remove Hero Bread and focus on nutrient-dense, whole low-carb foods that keep inflammation to a minimum.
Written by
Matt Gaedke
Matt is a former college basketball player turned computer engineer who discovered his passion for health and nutrition after cutting sugar from his diet in 2016. That year he founded KetoConnect with Megha in order to share their ketogenic lifestyle through recipes, videos, and educational content. Matt is always seeking to grow and try new things, a passion he shares with his wife and two amazing sons.