Every time people go on a fad or crash diet, they usually need to give up something in return. More often than not, it’s the classic ‘standby’ food —bread. I have lectured every client how I am not big on fad diets, but what if you’re just trying to eat better? Is there any reason to actually eliminate bread?
The pro-bread side says: bread is a great way to get the complex carbs we need. If you’re pursuing a balanced diet, you can’t eliminate carbohydrates. In fact, you should be eating a good amount of them, as they do tons of things that keep our bodies running properly, and those things aren’t easy to replace with something else. Bread is one of the easiest ways to get those carbs — it’s widely available, and delicious.
The no-bread side says: not all carbs are the same. White bread is digested far faster than other carbs, and thus heads right into the bloodstream as sugar. Just like white rice, there’s nothing very nutritious inside the food to slow the digestion down, and hunger levels rise much faster because of the increased levels of insulin that come with such an infusion of sugars.
This leads us towards a larger debate about carbohydrates in general, and whether low-carb diets are actually healthful, sustainable, and good for our bodies. Remember — you can find scientific (and nutritionist) evidence for just about anything, if you look hard enough.
With that in mind, what are we supposed to do?
Eat “good” bread instead. Don’t bother eating white bread at all. If you’re following any kind of ‘whole foods’ or ‘eating clean’ program in the first place, white bread should already be off the list. It’s usually full of sugar (or high-fructose corn syrup) and a ridiculous, unnecessary amount of salt. The more you can eat whole-wheat bread, or rye bread, or pita bread, or basically anything but white bread, the better.
Follow the bakery-or-nothing rule. This one is simple, and it’s exactly how many French & Italians continue to eat bread. If you’re thinking about cutting out bread but don’t want to make such a huge effort, just put your effort towards buying bread from a real bakery instead. Not only does it taste far better, but you won’t worry about useless added sugars or unnecessary ingredients.
Oh, and one more important thing: this counts for all bread. Just because a Subway sandwich seems to have a healthy calorie count doesn’t mean the bread isn’t full of preservatives and unnecessary additions. Same goes for any hot dog bun or dinner roll. Ever tried to buy, say, a hamburger bun that doesn’t contain sugar? It’s harder than you think — so let the bakery-or-nothing rule sort this all out for you. If it hasn’t been made, by a baker, in the last 2 or 3 days — skip it.
Don’t buy sliced or bagged bread. This is an easy-to-remember variation on the ‘bakery’ rule. Obviously it will have some exceptions (good pita bread is almost always in bags), but if you need a super-simple rule to remember, this is one. Only buy freshly-baked loaves and cut off what you need. Bread lasts longer when it’s not pre-sliced, and proper European-style crusty loaves keep air out far longer thanks to their thick crusts.
Don’t eat too much of it. If there’s anything you should be watching your portion sizes with, it’s bread. Take it easy, savor it, and don’t make it the main protagonist of any meal. If you do this, and stick with the bakery-or-nothing rule, you’ll be set.
Leave a comment