Without any exaggeration, bread is the most popular product, without which most of us do not fancy our food ration. Bread is an essential source of protein, carbohydrates, minerals, certain B vitamins and dietary fiber.
However, bread differs. Following a diet, we do not eat carbohydrates, so bread should be excluded first and foremost. Our ancestors ate bread, but no one suffered from obesity. What was the secret? They just ate black or brown bread. White bread was eaten only during holidays. Black bread and coarse-grained bread are rich in:
- proteins;
- calcium;
- phosphorus;
- magnesium;
- iron salts;
- vitamins B1, B2, PP.
Moreover, bread is a great source of fibre which is essential for a healthy digestive system and heart health [4].
Nowadays, bread is sold with different flavors:
- sprouted grains (regulate the work of the stomach and slow the aging due to vitamin E and B);
- soy flour (helps to cope with atherosclerosis and gastro-intestinal diseases);
- organic acids and pectin (help to remove radionuclides, heavy metals and toxins);
- beta-carotene (boosts immunity);
- raisins (help to egest toxins, normalize metabolism);
- garlic (helps to prevent complications of colds and flu).
Soft and warm white bread should be avoided as their regular consumption can cause gastritis. White bread does not benefit the body and can actually cause extra kilos, especially if eaten in large quantities.
It is also believed that yeast bread is harmful. Yeast fungi, in the process of their activity, consume vitamins and minerals. Thus, a person may suffer the deficiency of essential vitamins and minerals even if he intakes sufficient amount of fruits and vegetables. Yeast fungi grow at an exponential rate interrupting the microflora of the intestinal tract and interfering with normal digestion.
Yeast acidifies the gastric environment and together with starch (the only thing that remains in refined flour) contributes to the formation of ulcers and gastritis, chronic constipation and the formation of stones in the liver and gallbladder. Moreover, acidification interferes with the absorption of calcium as calcium is “pulled” from the bones (calcium is the most accessible in the body alkaline element which is used to restore the acid-alkaline balance). Thus it is possible that yeast bread, along with the use of milk, lead to the emergence of osteochondrosis [2].
Any fungi (including yeasts) are capable of producing antibiotics among other toxic substances. Antibiotics further violate the microflora of the body and reduce the effect of the use of antibiotics for diseases.
Additionally, bread is not recommended for patients with:
- diabetes (most bread contains sugar or high fructose corn syrup);
- overweight;
- gluten enteropathy (people suffering from this disease can not tolerate the protein gluten grains);
- peptic ulcer of the digestive system [1].
If you eat bread, try to pay attention to the following rules:
- Choose quick bread (bread on natural sour dough).
- Choose whole-meal rye bread.
- Choose bread without salt, eggs and milk.
- Soft hot bread is rather harmful. Crisp is more useful than crumb.
- Give preference to whole-wheat bread and bread with bran.
- White bread should not be eaten with fatty foods. Fatty fish or broth are better connected with a piece of black bread. Meat, cereals and potatoes should be eaten without bread.
- If mold appears on bread, this bread should not be eaten. The spores of mold can cause severe poisoning or cause serious diseases of respiratory organs and blood [3, 5].
Thus, bread, as the majority of products, has beneficial and harmful effects on health. On the one hand, you should not overeat it. On the other hand, the complete lack of bread in the diet may lead to ailment, depression, increased irritability, fatigue, sleepiness and nervousness. The elimination of bread in the diet will cause digestive problems and have a negative impact on the metabolism.
References:
1. 5 Deadly reasons why you should not eat bread. http://www.gnet.org/5-deadly-reasons-why-you-should-not-eat-bread/ (accessed May 29, 2015).
2. Does our daily bread nourish us? http://www.naturalcleansingtechniques.com/our-daily-bread.html (accessed May 29, 2015).
3. Is any bread actually healthy? A must-read before you buy your next loaf http://greatist.com/eat/best-healthy-bread (accessed May 29, 2015).
4. Is bread bad for you and how much is too much? http://www.caloriesecrets.net/is-bread-bad-for-you-and-how-much-is-too-much/ (accessed May 29, 2015).
5. Why is bread bad for you? The shocking truth. http://authoritynutrition.com/why-is-bread-bad-for-you/ (accessed May 29, 2015).
