Many of us were raised by parents and grandparents who would even force children who refused to eat bread to eat it. So bread has really become an indispensible product on our tables over time. In fact, it’s probably not even an exaggeration to say that while bread used to accompany our meals, our meals now accompany our bread. What’s more, we even eat our bread alongside pasta, rice and chips. But is this much bread really all that healthy? What could we be eating instead of bread? And which breads are best for us?How much bread should we be eating?
Şefika Aydın, a dietician at the nutrition and diet department of Memorial Ataşehir Medical Center, notes that people who eat a great deal of bread and who insist that they could “never be full without bread” need to know that eating too much bread causes the body to store more fat. According to Aydın, bread should be eaten more infrequently and in smaller portions. This means one or two slices per meal, with more for children.
What could we be eating in place of bread? Bread provides energy. But to gain the same amount of energy one gets from bread, people could eat food such as pasta, rice, noodles, soups made with grains and potatoes alongside their main meals. Aydın does note, though, that whole wheat bread is really very healthy and perhaps more so than the above listed foods in that it has a very low glycemic index. And it is precisely this low glycemic index that works to help keep people feeling full. “The fact is that someone who tries to stay full by eating bread with their meal rather than trying to achieve that same sense of fullness through pasta will feel fuller faster. This is because pasta has lots of oil and is generally eaten with sauce, which makes people hungrier and spurs them to eat more. Also, blood sugar levels rise and then fall faster when eating pasta, which means people feel hungrier again sooner,” says Aydın.
What sorts of bread are the healthiest?
White bread is made from wheat flour that has had its bran and germ removed. Aydın notes that this means that white bread has less nutritional value than bread made from whole wheat and that its fiber content is lower, which in turn means that white bread contributes less to people’s health than other kinds of bread. Aydın also states that the fiber in whole wheat bread means that people feel fuller eating than when eating white bread. Rye bread, for example, offers all sorts of benefits in terms of keeping the heart healthy, balancing blood sugar levels and maintaining one’s weight. For those looking for bread that will keep them full for a long time, Aydın recommends whole wheat bread. “The more the flour has been refined, the lower its nutritional value. When bread is made from whole wheat flour that has had none of its bran or germ removed, there is no vitamin loss. And it has more fiber. This keeps people feeling full,” notes Aydın.
