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Bread - Healthy or Not?
Filed under: Nutrition: Health
With the re-emergence of low-carb and no-carb diets in the past decade, bread has become the Voldemort of the food world. We've heard that the Food That Shall Not Be Named makes you fat. It's nutritionally bankrupt. It gives you type 2 diabetes. But is any of this true? Read on to find out whether bread is really the villain it's been made out to be.
Jennifer Schonborn is a holistic nutrition counselor based in New York.
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Bread - Safe or Scary?
Is bread wholesome and good for you...or just full of carbs and needless calories? Read on to find out the facts on your favorite loaf.
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Bread - Safe or Scary?
White Bread
White bread is made with refined wheat flour, which means almost all the nutrients and fiber have been stripped away from the grain. Because of the lack of fiber, white bread is digested very quickly, leading to a fast rise in blood sugar. As blood sugar levels rise, our bodies release more insulin, the hormone that signals cells to absorb blood sugar for energy or storage. Over time, heavy demand on our insulin-making cells wears them out, and insulin production slows or stops. This can eventually cause type 2 diabetes. In addition, elevated insulin levels leads to greater fat storage in our bodies. Bonus: A couple hours after eating refined carbs like white bread we experience a steep drop in blood sugar, and so can feel fatigued and/or voraciously hungry.
Verdict: White bread should not be your everyday sandwich bread.
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Whole Grain Bread
Whole grains are a good source of vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients, and fiber, and, depending on the grain, even protein. As whole wheat and whole grain flours are made from the intact grains, we digest whole grain breads more slowly and feel full longer, and don't experience a blood-sugar freakout.
Verdict: Best choice.
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Breads "Made With Whole Grain"
When the USDA began recommending we eat more whole grains in 2005, the number of food products claiming to be "made with whole grains" more than doubled. Bread "made with whole grain" pretty much always means it contains some whole grain--and a lot of white flour.
Verdict: Not as healthy as 100 percent whole grain bread, but if you're struggling with the move from white to whole wheat, these are good transition breads.
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Bagels
Bagels are in a category all their own. Why? Because they're large. Very large. So large that one bagel equals five slices of bread, or two and a half English muffins. You're looking at 400-500 calories for one of these chewy dough balls, and that's before you've even begun spreading on a few hundred more via cream cheese or butter. And if it's a white flour bagel, you'll likely need a nap soon after eating it due to the inevitable blood sugar crash.
Verdict: Think of bagels as an occasional brunch treat. If you're eating them every day for breakfast, try swapping in some whole grain toast, oatmeal, eggs -- basically anything other than sugary cereals, donuts, pastries, or muffins -- a few days a week.
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Jennifer Schonborn is a holistic nutrition counselor based in New York.
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ReaderComments (Page 1 of 1)
5-14-2009 @ 10:09AM
ame s said...bread=villian=OMG get over your own selves, some Parents!
Remember how many food allergies there were when we where kids?
Yep,exactly. Paranoid Look at me and My Child's Imaginary Problems are the cause of the shiz we have to deal with now.
Allergic to wheat, rice, any grain, give me a break, Paranoid Moms. Your kid pukes after swallowing any natural food that grows from the ground? No, I suspect they puke because of their Mama's finger jammed down their throat to get attention for her own sad pathetic self.
Reply
5-14-2009 @ 7:42PM
Sandyone said...Wow, Ame...lay off the sauce!
5-13-2009 @ 10:08PM
Rachael said...As a weight loss surgeon, the bread I recommend to my weight loss patients is Ezekial bread which has gobs of fiber and 4g of complete protein (as opposed to only partial essential amino acid combinations found in other bread). It tastes great and the fiber helps keep you full and gives it a fairly low glycemic index.
Reply
5-14-2009 @ 1:13AM
Rob O. said...As long as you're making informed choices, bread doesn't have to be bad at all. There are plenty of high-fiber, protein-rich breads available that still taste great - and many of them aren't the heavy, dense stuff you might assume.
And remember, the crust is actually loaded with more healthful antioxidants than the rest of the bread ( http://www.2dolphins.com/2006/10/best-thing-since-sliced-bread.html ) so don't cut off those crusts!
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5-20-2009 @ 5:46PM
mary said...I had severe acne and after i stopped with crappy white bread it almost vanished.
Reply