Toast for breakfast, sandwiches at lunch and a buttered slice with dinner. It’s hard to imagine it now, but that’s how it was in the Seventies, when the average British consumer ate 25 slices of bread a week.These days, we manage just 15, according to recent government figures.

This is, in part, down to health-conscious Britons responding to messages that bread contributes to problems such as weight gain‑and bloating. And when we do eat bread, we’re seeking out apparently ‘healthier’ types.

Sales of white bread — less filling and lower in fibre than wholewheat — have slumped by 75 per cent in the past four decades, and retailers are reporting an increased demand for artisan loaves, such as sourdough bread. However, experts stress that bread — even the white variety — is not the demon food it is often made out to be.

Indeed, bread generally can be regarded as a health food, says Sue Baic, a spokeswoman for the British Dietetic Association.

‘Bread is a really nutritious food, providing not only fibre but also things such as calcium, iron, B vitamins and protein.‘It’s filling and relatively low in calories. Usually it’s the things we put on it, like cheese or meat, that are fattening.’

Even people who are gluten-sensitive or have coeliac disease (an adverse reaction to gluten which damages the gut) should have bread, albeit gluten-free versions, ‘as it’s impractical to live life without this staple’, says Sue Baic.

‘I’ve never understood why bread has such a bad reputation,’ agrees Gary Frost, a professor of nutrition at Imperial College London.

 ‘Like any energy source, it will contribute to weight gain if you over-eat it, but it’s substantially better than many others because of its low fat content. Bread is a staple food that’s been eaten for many thousands of years.’