The Difference Between Starbucks' Healthiest And Least Healthy Breakfast Sandwich

Many people grow up hearing the phrase "breakfast is the most important meal of the day," but, according to the BBC, nearly one-quarter of all Americans and one-third of adults living in the United Kingdom skip the meal entirely. This is not great for our health, as dietician Sarah Elder explains that eating a healthy, balanced breakfast helps the body regain energy, protein, and calcium lost during the night. 

A very important thing to take away from this message, however, is that you need to eat a healthy breakfast to see the real benefits of eating in the morning. Eating a healthy breakfast can help you avoid overeating later and kickstarts your metabolism for the day. Reader's Digest notes one of the reasons many people skip breakfast is that they simply do not have enough time in the morning, and in their rush forget to eat or do not prioritize the meal. 

This is where the Starbucks breakfast menu comes into play for many of us. Restaurant Dive asserts that in the last five years, breakfast and morning snack purchases rose 5 percent, with over half of the people surveyed by the National Restaurant Association saying they are more likely to pick up breakfast on their way to work than they were two years ago. 

So, which breakfast sandwich should you choose on your morning Starbucks run to achieve that "healthy, balanced breakfast" experts recommend?

In a breakdown of the nutritional information for the Starbucks breakfast sandwiches by PopSugar, it is clear that some of these choices are much healthier than others. The sandwich with the least amount of calories and sodium by far is the Reduced-Fat Turkey Bacon and Egg White Sandwich. This offering has only 230 calories and 550 milligrams of sodium. The Starbucks website lists the Reduced-Fat Turkey Bacon and Egg White Sandwich as being composed of reduced-fat turkey bacon, egg whites, and reduced-fat cheddar cheese on a whole wheat English muffin. 

The least healthy item is either the Bacon, Sausage, & Egg Wrap or the Southwest Veggie Wrap — depending on what you are avoiding. The Bacon, Sausage, & Egg Wrap has the most calories, at 650, and is made of double-smoked bacon, sausage, and cage-free eggs (and more) wrapped in a flour tortilla, according to the Starbucks website. 

The Southwest Veggie Wrap has the most sodium of all of the Starbucks breakfast sandwiches, containing 1340 milligrams. This breakfast wrap is described by the Starbucks website as a breakfast scramble made of eggs, black beans, sous vide potatoes, Cotija cheese, pico de gallo, and jalapeno cream cheese, enclosed in a salsa tortilla.