In recent years, doctors are increasingly reporting the dangers of white bread. However, people ate it for centuries and remained completely healthy. What is the reason for the unexpected findings of scientists and nutritionists?
From time immemorial, bread was the main part of the diet of the Russian people. Over such a long history, people have learned to make a lot of varieties of bakery products, so the varieties of bread known today are huge. For baking loaves, loaves and cakes, not only wheat or rye flour is used, but also other cereals are ground. Bread may be from barley, buckwheat or oats. Various seeds, dried fruits or bran can be added to its composition. However, today we’ll talk about traditional varieties of everyday baking.
It so happened that at all times white bread was considered an "elite" product. In pre-revolutionary Russia, fragrant cakes with a crispy crust could only afford rich people. Representatives of the poor classes usually ate simpler and cheaper rye loaves or bran products. With the advent of Soviet power, white bread became available to every consumer and almost everyone began to use it, regardless of their financial situation.
Recently, the idea of the benefits of white bread has turned upside down. The development of science, the conduct of all kinds of research and analysis of the impact of various food products on the human body led to the understanding that it is bran types of bread that are most useful. After all, all the necessary trace elements necessary for a normal digestion process are contained in the shells of grain, and, as you know, bakery products of the highest and first grades are made from flour, in which there are no film particles.
Bread is the most important source of fiber, the daily rate of which is unlikely to be obtained from vegetables and fruits alone. However, all nutritionists voice the dangers of white bread. In their opinion, for the optimal functioning of the gastrointestinal tract, it is better to choose whole-grain types of bakery products or products with the addition of bran. Only 200 grams of the “right” bread per day compensates for many useful substances, including fiber.
What is wrong with white bread?
Why are nutritionists increasingly saying that traditional white bread should be limited? So what happened that experts start to sound the alarm? It turns out that there are many reasons for this.
· White bread contains a huge amount of starch, which from the point of view of chemistry is a glucose molecule, connected in balls. If you hold a slice of ordinary white bread in your mouth a little, then after a while you can feel a sweet taste. These saliva enzymes begin to act with starch and decompose it to glucose. Of course, the whiter the bread, the more it contributes to an increase in blood sugar and affects the production of insulin in the body, which causes the risk of manifestation of acquired diabetes mellitus. This property can be attributed to one of the main indicators indicating the dangers of white bread.
· An unbalanced diet, provoked by regular overeating of rich bakery products, contributes to the development of various diseases and the formation of pathologies. Such abuse causes a chronic feeling of fatigue and severe headaches.
· Ordinary white bread is a source of a large amount of energy, which, by and large, is quite difficult to spend. That is why there is a widespread belief that the consumption of bakery products contributes to weight gain. However, most often extra pounds come from what we eat with bread.
· Many experts argue that excessive consumption of white bread can cause a feeling of heaviness in the stomach, bloating, constipation and other malfunctions of the gastrointestinal system.
· And finally, we will not forget that in recent years, one can increasingly hear about serious diseases caused by intolerance to vegetable protein - gluten. Especially a lot of it contains wheat and rye. Therefore, for some people who have symptoms of gluten allergy, eating traditional bread is not recommended at all.
The benefits of white bread
Nevertheless, despite the presence of such serious shortcomings, it is worth mentioning the need for the presence of white bread in the diet of people leading an active lifestyle. This product must be on the menu of children and athletes.
The fact is that it is precisely those substances to which harmful properties are attributed that have excellent nutritional characteristics. Starch and gluten, which are part of the bread of the highest and first grade, are easily absorbed by the body and provide quick saturation with small amounts of food consumed.
Moreover, the benefit of white bread lies in the whole vitamin-mineral complex, which is part of it. The vitamins of group B, PP, E, calcium, phosphorus and iron contained in white bread are essential elements for maintaining normal life. Especially useful is bread with bran containing the maximum amount of the necessary substances.
The benefits of white bread are obvious. According to numerous studies, it is proved that people whose daily diet includes white bread are less prone to neurosis and bouts of depression, they are less likely to suffer from heart disease. It is also known that the use of white bread has a beneficial effect on the condition of the skin, nails and hair. Therefore, in order to preserve youth, beauty and health for a long time, it is impossible to completely exclude bread from daily consumption. However, the abuse of bread products can cause a negative effect. Therefore, nutritionists recommend consuming no more than 200 grams of these products per day.
White bread in slimming diets
Due to the high calorie content of bread, many people believe that if you follow diets for weight loss, it is enough to completely abandon the use of bread. However, this is not quite the right opinion. After all, the fight against extra kilograms is a whole complex of measures consisting of regular physical exertion, a reasonably composed diet and the correct organization of the daily regimen.
The basis of any diet is a balanced diet. It is with rational consumption of food that the body is saturated with the necessary nutrients in the right proportions. The energy value of wheat bread directly depends on the quality and composition of the flour used for its preparation. And although it is not too different from BZHU rye products, wheat products contain the so-called "slow" carbohydrates, which are poorly absorbed by the body.
On average, bread contains about 8 - 9% protein and 1% fat, while the amount of carbohydrates in such a product can reach half its weight. Therefore, it is the harm of white bread when dieting that brings the body tangible discomfort. This is due to the specifics of the technological process for the production of high-grade flour, where shells and the germ of the grain are separated from it. Thus, flour loses almost all vitamins. Therefore, in diets, it is recommended to replace white bread with gray, rye or whole grain.
