Bread has always been a staple food for centuries. According to the latest national survey, it is the most commonly eaten product within the grain and grain product food group.

With the increasing popularity of low carb diets, paleo diets and gluten free diets more and more people are eliminating bread from their diet.

In this article, we will cover if eliminating bread is good or bad for weight loss and for people with diabetes.

In the olden days bread was essentially made with whole grains, from flour made with hand pounded grains. It retained all the nutrients of the grains and provided wholesome nutrition and hence was considered a staple food. Bread eaten this way is the best form of carbohydrate you can consume. However, with the modern machinery and processing techniques the flour was so processed and bleached and the product of this is the white bread which is consumed by more than 50% of the population.

This is where lies the problem. The white bread barely has any nutrient value other than the mandatory fortification of vitamins it undergoes. It is high in GI and low in fibre and no better than few spoons of sugar.

Whereas the multigrain alternatives like multigrain bread, traditional sourdough or any bread made with grains intact will provide the goodness of the whole grains which are not only low GI and will keep you full for longer, studies show that they decrease the risk of coronary heart disease and cardiovascular disease. They are good for diabetics as well which result in smaller post meal rise of blood sugar levels and greater satiety to assist with weight management.

Bread is not the enemy, the right type of bread is a good carbohydrate choice. Dense wholegrain bread with lots of bits in it is the way to go. It is better than the smooth wholemeal bread which is again processed bread albeit a little better than its white counterpart. For people with chewing difficulties wholemeal or rye sourdough is a good alternative.

To learn more check out our Nutrition for Weightloss course!