Bread and its reputation
If there is something that almost 90% of humanity agrees on, it is that bread makes you fat. Something we have heard so many times that, who can doubt it? Therefore, this is one of the great myths that nutritionists deny the most. And this is confirmed by Júlia Farré, who confesses that this is one of the questions she is asked the most since she started working in nutrition.
Bread and its composition
Let’s go in parts. As Júlia comments, bread is a processed food, since it is made up of various raw materials and cooked. But this does not mean that it is ultra-processed and, therefore, harmful to health. The base of bread is cereals. In its most classic version, the recipe only contains wheat flour, water, yeast and a pinch of salt. In addition, it is baked, so we cannot consider bread a high-calorie food. It is an ancient food and we should not remove it from our diet now because of a false belief.
The problem is not the bread, but what is added to it
As Júlia states on her Instagram account, the problem is not the bread, but the things that are added to it, such as the sausage or the sauces that people like to dip so much. Also, how many people have you heard say that she has lost a lot of weight since she stopped eating bread? What you are not always aware of is that, once you give up bread, you usually also leave out sausages and sauces. In fact, many other products that do make you fat by themselves are stopped being consumed, and this is not the case with bread.
Bread as part of a balanced diet
The nutritionist insists that bread itself is not an excessively caloric food. “It is a food that provides slow-assimilation carbohydrates, especially if it is whole grain. Therefore, it is advisable to keep it in your diet, even if you are trying to lose weight,” she concludes. Missouri State University conducted a study to determine which breads were the healthiest.
The healthiest breads
The prize went to whole wheat bread. It is rich in vitamins B, E, potassium, iron and magnesium. A 43-gram slice contains 100 calories, five grams of protein, five grams of fiber and 20 grams of carbohydrates. These figures are highly applauded, and we add that being made with whole grain is much more filling and rich in fiber. In second place is rye bread, followed by the versions that include cereals. In both cases, you have to trust the place where you buy it, since these versions usually add fats and even sugars to improve their consistency and flavor. However, pre-cooked white bread, which is always on sale in the supermarket, is not usually a good option.
