The bread aisle gives us plenty to think about these days. Whole grain, multigrain, high fiber, low carb, gluten-free. It feels like we need reading glasses and a nutrition degree before we can make some toast.

And some of those labels carry more baggage than others. Gluten-free bread, in particular, comes with a bit of a health halo. We tend to assume it has fewer carbs, is easier on our stomachs, or is simply a healthier version of the regular loaf beside it.

But, unless we have a medical reason to avoid gluten, that little label doesn't tell us much about how nutritious the bread is. Here are five of the biggest misconceptions worth clearing up.

Myth 1. Gluten Is a Carb

This may be the biggest misconception of the bunch. Gluten isn't a carbohydrate. It's a protein found naturally in wheat, barley, and rye. 

The FDA says that gluten helps give bread and other grain products their shape and texture. So, removing gluten doesn't mean removing carbs.

Gluten-free breads are often made with ingredients such as rice, corn, potato, or other gluten-free flours and starches. And those ingredients still contain carbs. So, if you’re trying to cut back on carbs, the nutrition label will tell you a lot more than the words "gluten-free" on the front of the package.

Myth 2. Gluten-Free Bread Is More Nutritious

Once gluten grains come out of the bread, other ingredients have to take their place. And what replaces them can make a big difference.

Some gluten-free breads contain whole grains, seeds, and plenty of fiber. Others rely more on refined flours and starches. Research into the nutritional quality of gluten-free diets has found that they can be lower in fiber, partly because some gluten-free products are made with starches or refined flours.

That doesn't make gluten-free bread unhealthy. It just means we can't judge the nutritional quality of a loaf of bread by a single claim on the package.

Myth 3. Gluten-Free Bread Is Better for Your Gut

This is where things get interesting. If gluten causes a problem for you, removing it is important. But, for people without a medical reason to avoid gluten, taking it out doesn't automatically make the gut happier.

One study involving healthy adults found that following a low-gluten diet for 16 weeks changed the gut’s microbiome and reduced its richness, including decreases in some bacteria associated with potential health benefits.

That doesn't mean gluten itself is necessary for a healthy gut. Everything else we eat matters, especially when eliminating gluten also changes the grains and types of fiber in our diet. Our gut may care much more about the whole loaf than the gluten-free label printed on the front.

Myth 4. Nobody Really Needs to Avoid Gluten

Here's one misconception we definitely don't want to create while clearing up the others. For people with celiac disease, avoiding gluten isn't a dietary preference. It's medically necessary.

Celiac disease is a chronic digestive and immune disorder that causes gluten to damage the small intestine. The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases estimates that about 2 million Americans have the condition, and some haven't been diagnosed.

Other people may also need to avoid wheat or gluten because of conditions such as non-celiac gluten sensitivity or wheat allergy. So, this isn't necessarily a pro-gluten argument. Some people genuinely need to avoid it for medical reasons. The point is that avoiding gluten doesn't automatically make a diet healthier for everyone else.

Myth 5. The Gluten-Free Label Tells Us Which Bread to Buy

If we don't need to avoid gluten, choosing between regular and gluten-free bread can come down to the bread itself.

Turn the package around and look at the nutrition label and ingredient list. Fiber is worth checking, as are added sugars, sodium, and the ingredients making up most of the loaf.

A whole-grain wheat bread may give more of what we're looking for in one comparison. Meanwhile, a fiber-rich gluten-free loaf may come out ahead in another. There's no universal winner hiding behind a particular label.

Gluten-Free Is a Description, Not a Health Grade

Maybe the biggest misconception is that gluten-free is another way of saying healthy. It isn't.

A gluten-free label tells us something useful about what's missing from the food. It doesn't tell us whether that food is low-carb, high-fiber, minimally processed, or more nutritious than the version beside it.

For people who need to avoid gluten, that label is essential. For the rest of us standing in the bread aisle wondering which loaf should come home with us, we may be better off turning the bag around. The front tells us it's gluten-free. The back tells us what we're eating.

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