White bread why is it bad

By Gord Kerr Updated March 13, Janet Renee has over a decade of experience as a registered dietitian. Renee attended the University of California, Berkeley and holds an M. Gord Kerr. Gordon Kerr has worked in the health care industry for the past 15 years. With his passion for a healthy lifestyle and the desire to help others benefit from proper nutrition and natural remedies, Gordon accepted the international position with CARICOM Regional Food and Nutrition in the Caribbean and moved to Barbados.

As well as educating the under-nourished people in the region, Gordon formulated dietary plans to help manage medical conditions including chronic nutrition-related diseases, such as diabetes and hypertension.

Now retired, Gord enjoys a quiet life on a small island in the Gulf Islands of B. White bread is made from refined flour that has had nutrients removed from the grain. Video of the Day. Tip When you're looking for a snack, consider the limited health value of white bread nutrition.

Low in Nutrients. What About Enriched Bread? Bad for the Digestive System. Makes You Hungrier. Contributes to Belly Fat. Bad for Your Liver. Opting for whole-grain varieties carries with it a dose of healthy fiber and more protein, adding a nutritional boost to meals. Erratic blood-sugar levels. This spike — and subsequent crash — in blood sugar not only leads to irritability, but will leave you headed to the vending machine for a pick-me-up.

Increased risk of type-2 diabetes. Research published in in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition supports this, finding that people who consumed several servings of whole grains per day — and limited intake of refined grains — had less of a type of fat that increases risk of type 2 diabetes.

Weight gain. After eating refined carbohydrates like white bread, the surplus of sugar in your bloodstream — unless immediately utilized for activity — tends to be stored as fat in the body.

Whole-grain consumption is tied to a number of impressive health benefits. In fact, eating whole grains may lower your risk of heart disease, diabetes, obesity and even colorectal cancer 23 , 24 , 25 , Keep in mind that bread is made from grains that have been pulverized to form smaller particles.

This process speeds up your digestion and diminishes many of the potential health benefits For this reason, the benefits of whole grains like oats , buckwheat and barley may not apply to certain types of bread or other refined grains. Certain types of whole-grain bread may also be made from less-processed grains, which are digested more slowly and may carry more health benefits. Whole-grain consumption may provide a lower risk of heart disease, diabetes, obesity and colorectal cancer — though these same benefits may not apply to certain types of bread.

Making smart choices about which types of bread you eat can optimize your diet and sidestep the negative side effects associated with unhealthy bread. For starters, whole-wheat bread is a better option than white bread because it provides a higher amount of fiber and protein, both of which slow the absorption of sugar in your bloodstream to keep blood sugar steady 13 , Whole-wheat bread is also richer in several key nutrients, such as manganese and selenium 1 , 3.

Selecting bread made from sprouted grains — such as Ezekiel bread — is another great option to maximize the nutritional benefits of your bread. Sprouting is a process that involves repeatedly soaking and rinsing grains over a period of several days to enhance the digestibility and nutritional value of the final product.

Studies show that sprouted bread contains more fiber, folate, vitamin E, vitamin C and beta-carotene but fewer antinutrients 2 , 19 , Whole-wheat bread is higher in fiber, protein and several nutrients.

Sprouted bread is also lower in antinutrients and rich in fiber and folate, vitamin E, vitamin C and beta-carotene. Bread is high in carbs, low in micronutrients, and its gluten and antinutrient contents may cause issues for some people.

Bread is a staple food for most people. However, most conventional wheat bread is unhealthy. Here are 10 healthy and delicious ways to replace bread.

According to data published in the journal Diabetes Care , white bread has a glycemic index GI of 75, making it rank very high on the glycemic index, as the highest rating you can go is —which is for pure glucose.

The glycemic index is a measure of how drastically a food can make your blood sugar rise. For comparison, whole grain bread has a GI of 53 and high-fiber foods like chickpeas rank at 28! According to Harvard , recurring blood sugar spikes from eating high-glycemic foods can increase the risk of type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and obesity.

Eating more high-GI foods like bread has been shown to lead to weight gain and increased risk of diabetes whereas diets that contain fewer high-GI foods and moderate levels of good-quality complex carbs can help reduce body weight and control glucose and insulin metabolism. Feeling like you're struggling to find the right words? Your toast may be the trouble. According to a Journal of Alzheimer's Disease study, among 1, individuals between ages 70 to 89, those with the highest intake of carbohydrate-rich foods, like bread, had nearly twice the likelihood of developing cognitive impairment or dementia compared to those who ate fewer carbs.

No healthy fats, no protein, no fiber?