Advantages of bread and it's benefits to our health

Jimdog

Active Member
KCr.
9.00

Bread Contains Fiber​

Different bread products contain varying amounts of fiber, but you can generally find at least 1 gram per serving. And this is an essential nutrient to eat every day. Many know fiber for keeping your digestive system moving, but it does more than that. When you eat fiber, it can help you:

  • Feel fuller: When your body works to break down food containing fiber, you feel fuller longer. That could help you avoid overeating in one sitting or eating too much throughout the day. Some types of fiber that have this effect can even help you lose weight.
  • Manage blood sugar: Foods high in fiber often have a lower glycemic index (GI), a ranking that reflects how foods affect blood sugar. With a lower GI, certain foods that are high in fiber, like some bread products, can help reduce blood sugar spikes after a meal that’s high in carbs.
Bread will most often contain insoluble fiber, which comes from sources like whole wheat flour. Our bodies can’t break down and absorb this type of fiber, so it goes through us relatively intact, helping to sweep through the digestive system. You might also find bread with ingredients that include soluble fiber, like oats or barley. Soluble fiber dissolves into a gel in water and can help lower blood sugar and cholesterol levels.

Bread Has a Prebiotic effect


2. Bread Has a Prebiotic Effect​

This bread health benefit comes courtesy of fiber, which acts as a prebiotic. Our bodies contain beneficial bacteria known as probiotics. These are sometimes called good gut bacteria, and they protect our digestive systems and bodies from things like harmful bacteria and fungi. Probiotics consume prebiotics, which often come from carbs and fiber that we can get by eating bread and bread products.

When you eat bread products with fiber and carbs, the probiotics consume those nutrients and continue maintaining your body’s healthy balance. And it’s important to keep that good bacteria fed. A study concerning gut bacteria’s role in our health found that probiotics help our immune systems function, address obesity and improve depression symptoms, among other benefits. It’s essential, then, to introduce beneficial bacteria to your system and to feed that bacteria prebiotics, as well.

When probiotics consume fiber from the food you eat, they turn that into different things, including butyric acid. This short-chain fatty acid is responsible for giving colon cells the energy they need to function. Around 70% of the energy your colon cells get comes from butyric acid. That means eating bread with dietary fiber can help keep your digestive system functioning in addition to your good gut bacteria.

3. Bread Contains Protein​

According to the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for protein, you should try to consume 0.36 times your body weight in pounds of protein a day in grams. For instance, that means that someone who weighs 150 pounds should try to consume 54 grams of protein a day. While bread doesn’t contain as much protein as other foods, it is a low- to no-fat way of meeting your daily protein goals. Getting enough protein in your diet can help:

  • Reduce your appetite: Protein reduces levels of ghrelin, the hunger hormone. That can help you feel fuller while eating less food, and you could avoid overeating.
  • Increase muscle mass: Protein is essential for building and maintaining muscle mass and strength. If you’re trying to lose weight without losing muscle, ensure you consume enough protein.
  • Maintain bone health: Eating protein can help maintain bone mass as you age. That prevents fractures and other issues.
Bread, in addition to other protein-rich foods, can get you those and other benefits of protein. Bread as a protein source is often vegan- and vegetarian-friendly, as well. If you don’t eat meat, you may have trouble getting protein in your diet. Eating bread and other protein alternatives can help you reach your daily protein goal.

Bread Can Be Enriched With Micronutrients


4. Bread Can Be Enriched With Micronutrients​

The nutritional value of bread on its own already includes some essential nutrients. But bakeries can enrich their products with additional micronutrients, creating more bread health benefits. When making certain products, manufacturers process and refine grains. That process often removes the outer layer of the grain, which is generally the most nutritious part. To make up for that nutrient loss, manufacturers add micronutrients into their bread products, like:

  • Iron: This trace mineral helps create certain hormones and brings oxygen to our muscles.
  • Thiamine: Also known as vitamin B1, thiamine helps our bodies convert nutrients into energy.
  • Riboflavin: Also known as vitamin B2, riboflavin helps with cell function, fat metabolism and energy production.
  • Niacin: Also known as vitamin B3, niacin helps our bodies derive energy from food.
  • Calcium: This micromineral supports our bones and teeth. It also helps blood vessels contract and muscles function.
Those added micronutrients help boost the health benefits of bread, especially for certain bread products and types.

Bread Contains Folic Acid


5. Bread Contains Folic Acid​

Manufacturers can add folic acid, a synthetic vitamin, to fortify their bread products in addition to other naturally occurring micronutrients. Folic acid is a common addition to fortified foods, and it’s a synthetic version of folate, which is a type of B vitamin. Our bodies can’t naturally make their own folate, so folic acid supplements this vitamin we might otherwise miss out on.

While folic acid and folate differ slightly in how they benefit the body, they’re still essential for a proper diet. Manufacturers add folic acid to food and ingredients like flour, meaning you could get this synthetic vitamin in your bread products. When you eat bread products that are fortified with folic acid, you get these benefits:

  • Repairing and synthesizing DNA
  • Helping cellular division
  • Helping the maturation of red blood cells
  • Promoting other metabolic processes folic acid to prevent folic deficiency.
The United States and other countries require grain product manufacturers to fortify food with folic acid to prevent folic deficiency. Many diet issues, diseases, and other situations, like pregnancy, can lead to a lack of folate for many individuals. Fortifying products with foic acid addresses folic deficiency, and it’s essential for promoting brain health and preventing congenital disabilities and pregnancy complications.

6. Bread Fuels Your Body​

Low- and no-carb diet trends leave many people thinking all carbs are bad. But certain carbohydrates are necessary to fuel your body for the day ahead. Carbohydrates are known as a macronutrient, and they’re responsible for giving our bodies energy. Carbs include three things — starch, fiber and sugar — which you can then split into complex and simple carbs. Fiber and starch are complex, while sugar is simple, and bread contains all of those carbohydrate types.

Complex carbs are better for you because they provide your body with more nutrients. These carbohydrates give you energy that lasts longer as your body works harder to digest them. Simple carbs will give your body energy, as well, but that fuel burns more quickly than starch and fiber. That makes bread products beneficial meals for starting your day — you may find you have the energy to make it through the usual mid-morning slump onto lunch.

Bread Is Low in Fat


7. Bread Is Low in Fat​

Many bread products have 0 grams of trans and saturated fats per serving. Those are considered the unhealthy fats that you’ll find in butter or margarine. Use those spreads sparingly on your bread, and you’ll have a low- to no-fat meal to enjoy. In general, you should try to avoid trans fat completely and cut down on your saturated fats. Eating foods with high levels of those fats can contribute to these negative health impacts:

  • Increased blood cholesterol
  • Increased LDL, or bad, cholesterol
  • Increased heart disease risk
  • Higher risk of inflammation
Luckily, you won’t often find saturated and trans fats in most bread products. As long as you avoid pairing your bread with spreads or fillings that are high in those fats, you can have a low-fat meal.
Ref: Gold Medal bakery
 
Top