Bread: Is it good or bad for health.

"Happiness is.......the smell of freshly baked BREAD."

What do we know about bread?

We live in place where bread is consider to be a time pass food. If you are a busy person and cannot make chapati go for bread. But in the west bread is what rice is in the east.

Blame it on Whatsapp or the facebook nutritionists (the new breed of supposed experts who get most of their knowledge about nutrition from social media links), but bread is hugely misunderstood.

Consider the words of Bruce German, a food scientist at UC Davis, He says "If I gave you a bag of flour and water you could live on it for a while but eventually you would die, but if you take that same bag of flour and water and bake it into bread, you could live indefinitely."

Is Bread Bad For Your Health?

But the fact is, bread is a healthy way to access a wide variety of nutrients. You just have to know what to look for. Eating more nutritious foods that lead to a healthier life is a common goal for many of us. But the question is, how? How do we turn that goal into action and start taking the necessary steps to eat better?

Bread is the product of baking a mixture of flour, water, salt, yeast and other ingredients. The basic process involves mixing of ingredients until the flour is converted into a stiff paste or dough, followed by baking the dough into a loaf. Should we eat this loaf or not. Let's understand this. Here are some guidelines to follow:

“The Whiter The Bread, The Sooner You’re Dead.”

1. Prefer Whole grain over white bread

Whole Wheat is Better Than Refined Wheat. It is true that whole grain breads are better for you than breads made with refined grains. They contain more nutrients and fiber. Bread made with soaked and sprouted grains is better than the regular white bread.
Image result for white and whole wheat

2. Bread is High in Carbs and Can Spike Blood Sugar Levels

Even Brown grain bread usually isn't made with actual “whole” grains. They are grains that have been pulverized into very fine flour. Even though this process reserves the nutrients, it causes these products to be digested rapidly.The starches in bread get broken down quickly in the digestive tract and enter the bloodstream as glucose. This causes a rapid spike in blood sugar and insulin levels.Even whole wheat bread spikes blood sugar faster than many candy bars.When blood sugar goes up rapidly, it tends to go down just as quickly. When blood sugar goes down, we become hungry. This is the blood sugar roller coaster that is familiar to people on high carb diets. Soon after eating, they become hungry again, which calls for another high-carb snack.

Elevated blood sugars can also cause glycation at the cellular level when the blood sugars react with proteins in the body. This is one of the components of ageing. Studies on carb restricted diets (which eliminate/reduce starches and sugars) suggest that individuals who are diabetic or need to lose weight should avoid all grains.

Also read article "How to cook Broccoli without losing it's nutritional value"

Bread Contains a Lot of Gluten

Wheat contains a large amount of a protein called gluten. This protein has glue-like properties (hence the name glu-ten) responsible for dough’s viscoelastic properties. Evidence is mounting that a significant percentage of the population is sensitive to gluten.When we eat bread that contains gluten (wheat, spelt, rye and barley), the immune system in our digestive tract “attacks” the gluten proteins.

How to find whole grains

When choosing store-bought bread, look for the word "whole" as the first word in the ingredient list. This ensures that all three parts of the grain are contained in the product. The definition of a whole grain, obtained from The Whole Grains Council, is as follows:

"Whole grains or foods made from them contain all the essential parts and naturally-occurring nutrients of the entire grain seed in their original proportions. If the grain has been processed (e.g., cracked, crushed, rolled, extruded or cooked), the food product should deliver the same rich balance of nutrients that are found in the original grain seed.
This definition means that 100% of the original kernel - all of the bran, germ, and endosperm - must be present to qualify as a whole grain."

Also read Article : "HOW TO MAKE PEANUT BUTTER"

Bread is an extremely complex food.

According to Terry Graham, professor of nutritional science at the University of Guelph, the properties (nutritional value, glycemic index, prebiotics) of bread change, not only with the ingredients, but how it's made, how it's baked, and how it's served.

Whole grain breads reduce the risk of coronary heart disease.

According to the survey those that had three servings of whole grains in their daily diet had a lower risk of coronary heart disease, probably as a result of eating all that extra fiber and shoring up their blood profiles.

Don't be fooled by "wheat bread."

Wheat bread is made of wheat flour, another name for refined white flour, or flour that's been stripped of its fiber-rich bran and nutrient rich germ. Of course, like white bread, this type of bread will at least feed the lactobacilli in your gut, so it might not be a complete waste.

Look for "whole" grains when buying bread.

Always look for "whole" word whenever you need to buy breads.These breads are made from unprocessed kernels. This includes whole wheat bread. Prefer to buy breads from nearest Bakery.

Don't confuse "whole grain" with "multi-grain.

Various grains in multi-grain bread are often processed. Check the label. If they say, "Whole Multi-Grains go for it.

Screw the high or relatively high glycemic index (GI) of most breads.

As i mentioned in our last article of SEEDS: Importance & Health Benefit About GI.

While the GI of plain bread may be high, just about everyone heaps something on top of it, whether it be turkey breast, roast beef, or Elvis' favourite, peanut butter, bacon, and banana, preferably sautéed to crispy up the bread.

Putting any of those toppings or spreads on bread dramatically slows the speed at which bread is digested, along with ameliorating the blood sugar response, so the GI of bread is probably overblown.

Also read Article : "SEEDS: Importance & Health Benefit"

Don't Freeze and then Roast Bread

If you keep your bread in the freezer and then, when you want to make a sandwich, toast it, you dramatically lower the GI. The freezing and toasting alters the molecular structure, and GI is all about molecular structure and how hard/easy it is for it to be broken down by mechanical (chewing) and enzymatic processes.

Keep in mind that it only takes 4 ingredients to make bread.

In an ideal world, you'd only see four ingredients on the label: flour, yeast, water, and salt. Of course, sugar might get a pass, as long as it's no higher than three or four on the list of ingredients (sugar feeds the yeast and helps the bread rise).

Unfortunately, manufacturers often add all kinds of crap to bread, including a dough "conditioner" named azodicarbonamide, which is also a chemical used to make yoga mats. Even supposedly natural "caramel coloring" is created by heating ammonia, a process that also makes it become carcinogenic. The fewer the ingredients, the better. Read your labels.

Also read article "How to cook Broccoli without losing it's nutritional value"

Oats bread is okay.

It's got twice the protein of whole wheat and it's slow digesting. It also tastes pretty good and, unlike most nutritious breads, can be used, with approbation, to make grilled cheese sandwiches and BLTs.

Multigrain vs Whole Grain Bread

Multigrain and whole wheat foods are two separate types of grain products. In regards to your health, whole wheat foods provide your body with more nutrients, fiber and vitamins than most multigrain products.