There are many people who does not eat bread and the question is this: what leads someone to get rid of this food that has been in our diet for centuries?
Bread generates debate: if it is fattening, if it is protein, if it is better low in salt, if it is not good every day… in short, it gives a lot to talk about. To begin to understand what this food is and what it provides, you have to know that bread is prepared from a dough made from flour and water. However, you have surely seen all kinds in your bakery: with olives, whole wheat, sourdough, spelled, with raisins… Julia Farré, dietitian-nutritionist at her own center, comments that “bread is a food “It mainly provides carbohydrates but depending on the type, it can also be a source of fiber and protein,” and that explains why depending on what you want to achieve, you consume one or the other.
The best bread you can buy
And let’s continue with basic: what is the best bread What can we buy? Julia Farré comments that the sourdough, “that has gone through long fermentations.” The consumption of this bread is recommended because it ferments naturally, without the use of added yeasts: “These fermentations produce chemical reactions that transform the nutritional value and digestibility of the final product.” In addition, he adds that whole wheat bread is the most interesting.
So, whole wheat or sourdough bread? The expert shows that “it is best to stick with both, that is, sourdough and whole wheat.” If that were not possible we could alternate between the two mentioned.
Beatriz Robles, food technologist, indicates that the following must be taken into account when buying bread:
– A good bread should have water, flour and salt as its main (almost only) ingredients.
– Whole wheat breads, as well as sourdough breads, are the healthiest.
– We must look carefully at the labels. Even with the new regulations, as we continue in a transition process, it is important to look at the ingredients in detail.
In the same line, the dietitian-nutritionist Belén Siscarthe healthiest bread is “classic bread, the one our grandparents ate and we can find in traditional ovens, which will only have three or four ingredients: flour, yeast/sourdough, water and salt.” In the case of gluten-free breads, they may contain an extra ingredient to give greater sponginess, such as xanthan gum or guar gum.
«The rest of the bread types, brioche, milk… are going to have many more ingredients such as refined oils, sugar, preservatives… which make them less healthy and less interesting in terms of nutrition. It would also be important to buy bread made with whole wheat flour, since it will contain the entire grain, including the bran and germ, thus being richer in fiber, vitamins and minerals,” says the nutrition expert.
According to data provided by the experts at the Turris bakery, these are the benefits of eating bread:
– Slow absorption carbohydrates (approximately 58%). These carbohydrates make our body take longer to break them down and, therefore, gradually release the sugar molecules to absorb their energy. This makes them very convenient for our health, since our blood sugar levels remain stable for longer. For a balanced diet, carbohydrates as a source of calories are essential.
– Provides energy and not fat.
– Energy and energy source. Of course it does not offer all the protein we need daily, but it is complemented with protein from meat, fish, among others.
– Consumption of 100 grams of bread provides 32% of the vegetable protein we need daily.
– Bread provides elements such as iron, zincmagnesium, potassium, niacin and vitamins of group B1, B2 and B6.
Bread every day?
Since it generates controversy about whether bread is good on a daily basis, Julia Farré has come to the rescue and assures that bread is a food that is considered daily consumption in the Mediterranean diet pattern: “This diet is the one that has the most scientific evidence on the cardiovascular health, we can generically conclude that it is good to consume bread daily.
In this way, do we eat little bread a day or do we eat too much? Belén Siscar urges that the recommended amount of bread per day varies greatly “depending on our characteristics and our caloric expenditure.” However, as a general rule, “we could say that the average serving of bread would be about 40-60 grams, and a maximum of 1-2 times a day, because otherwise it will be displacing other nutritionally interesting foods.”
Therefore, bread is a healthy product, which provides important nutrients and we must learn to eat bread, which is when our body needs it and at the time of day that best suits us. When in doubt, always consult with a registered dietitian-nutritionist.
#bread #eat #day
