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What Kind of Bread Should I Eat?
Health | January 23, 2017
Many people choose not to eat bread or any products that contain grains. Some people only want to avoid gluten. Some people just want to avoid carbs. But I would hazard a guess that lots and lots of people have a vague idea that bread and wheat are bad for us but they’re not sure why.
Gluten, Gluten, Gluten.
What the heck is gluten and why is it apparently evil? Nowadays, people are blaming gluten for everything from digestion issues and inflammation to skin problems and mood disorders. Gluten is a general name for the strands of proteins found in “wheat, rye, barley and triticale – a cross between wheat and rye. Gluten helps foods maintain their shape, acting as a glue that holds food together. Gluten can be found in many types of foods, even ones that would not be expected”.
Research shows that more and more people have a sensitivity or an intolerance for gluten, just like people who are lactose intolerance. Intolerance is often confused with Celiac Disease. Celiac Disease is an autoimmune disorder that causes the body to attack the small intestine whenever gluten is ingested. These attacks damage the small intestine and make it difficult for the person with Celiac Disease to absorb nutrients. This can lead to tons of serious health problems like anemia, chronic fatigue, brittle bones, digestive disorders, cancer, and even death. To learn more about Celiac Disease (or if you think you might have it), click on this link and check out the Celiac Disease Foundation website.
Who Should (and Should Not) Go Gluten Free?
It turns out that we’d all probably be better off without gluten. According to the world’s leading expert on gluten, Dr. Alessio Fasano of Harvard, anyone who eats gluten is doing small amounts of damage to their intestinal lining, creating leaky gut and inflammation.
I Eat Gluten and Feel Fine
For those of us who can tolerate (or rather ignore the bad impact of ) gluten there then arises another question. Is it ok to eat bread?
If you’re trying to keep a really low carb diet, then it’s probably best to give bread a pass. But let’s say that you’re fine with a small amount of grains in your diet. Perhaps you enjoy one or two pieces of toast with your delicious runny-yolked eggs in the morning. Super! But don’t reach for that package of Wonder Bread just yet.
Breads, just like any food, are not all created equal. First of all, bread is a processed food and that makes making the right bread choice more complicated. Whether you’re the one doing the processing (if you bake your own) or the company you’re buying it from does, there’s a lot to consider when you’re choosing your bread.
If you want to make bread, great! That’s a big step. It can be really rewarding to make your own bread form scratch. But please keep in mind that even if you make bread yourself, that doesn’t make the white processed grocery store flour any healthier. Here’s a great recipe for walnut bread from my website. It also happens to be gluten free.
If you would prefer to buy bread or want to eat some grains, there’s really only one brand of bread I would recommend; Ezekiel Bread.
Why Ezekiel?
1. Sprouted Grains. “Sprouting is the natural process that involves seeds germinating and the plant sprouting out of its shell when coming in contact with water. So, when foods like Ezekiel bread are labeled ‘sprouted’, this simply means that this natural process was mimicked, leading to a ton more nutrients and healthful benefits. Sprouted grains and legumes are much lower in gluten, and because the sprouting process breaks down enzyme inhibitors, the bread is, therefore, easier to digest and much more nutrient dense”.
2. No Sugar! Food For Life, the company that makes Ezekiel Bread, says, “We don’t use refined sugars. When sugar is refined and processed there are many harmful ingredients that are added to the sugar as a result. Instead, we use malted barley, a natural sweetener produced from sprouted barley, which is basically a carbohydrate comprised mostly of complex carbohydrates rather than the “sugar” carbohydrates.
3. A Complete, Organic, Meat-Free, Fiber-Full Protein. Ezekiel bread contains zero flour (they don’t grind the grains and legumes that small) and is made up of:
Ingredient List:
Organic Sprouted Wheat, Filtered Water, Organic Sprouted Barley, Organic Sprouted Millet, Organic Malted Barley, Organic Sprouted Lentils, Organic Sprouted Soybeans, Organic Sprouted Spelt, Fresh Yeast, Organic Wheat Gluten, Sea Salt.
This ingredients list makes Ezekiel Bread a complete source of protein that’s similar to the protein found in eggs and milk. Non-animal proteins leave a much smaller carbon footprint. Ezekiel Bread also contains all 9 essential amino acids and some fiber. And we all know that fiber makes us feel fuller longer and places the food containing it lower on the glycemic index.
4. Proven. You don’t just have to take my word, the word of respected food bloggers. or the word of the company that makes Ezekiel Bread. Studies have shown that sprouted grains have a much weaker effect on the body’s glycemic response (meaning, sprouted grain don’t cause a huge and detrimental sugar spike) and that regular whole wheat bread doesn’t have the same benefits.
What do you think? Do you currently eat bread? If not, tell me why. Do you eat Ezekiel Bread already? Will you try it now? Do you have another brand of sprouted grain bread you love? As always, I’d love to hear about it below in the comments.
In good health,
Zuzka
Sources:
Private Member |
fallbrook, california
Love Ezekiel bread! I’ve been eating it for years .
Private Member |
curitiba, parana, brazil
Hi Zu and friends…I have never heard about Ezekiel bread (I will search now what is this hahaha). I used to eat industrialized loafs my entire life. I love breads. Nowadays I bake my own bread (with the refined industrialized white wheat flour simply because I can not prepare flour also, there is no time neither instruments for this so we always have to make a choice or stop eating it completely, what I feel is not necessary or try the best option, bake my own bread) most of times I use white wheat flour with brown wheat flour (whole wheat), water, olive oil or a nice quality butter, salt, brown sugar and sometimes eggs. So the ingredients are all good for health and the bread is delicious. Wheat flour is healthy if you eat it consciously, in small quantities…my son needs it, my husband also eats it and it is a homemade bread with all my energy and very fresh, there are no chemicals at all. I eat one slice every morning. This option is with gluten. I also bake gluten free breads with a mix of many flours (tapioca starch, corn starch, quinua flour, amaranth flour, chickpeas flour, rice flour, almond flour etc). Gluten free breads are very high in carbs, except the one Zuzka makes that uses only almond flour (that tastes like a salty cake and not like a bread so it is a different story, I tried it and it is not a bread that I feel like eating every day, I would prefer to use peanut flour instead of almond, then the taste is better in my opinion). So sometimes I eat bread with gluten and sometimes gluten free also. I have been doing low carb diet since two years non-stop avoiding all types of breads. What I got? 🙂 Just a tiny body…a body without any muscles, any curves, simply thin and thin. I was happy of course, but now my goal changed a bit. I always wanted to show abs and I have never shown it, neither when I was under low carb diet. So I realized that the problem is not a slice of bread in the morning. We can not be so hard on ourselves. If I love bread why I will try to avoid it or I will eat something else? I need to listen to my body first. And trust my nature, my constitution. I got sick in December and I lost so much weight, I was looking horrible and I realized that what matters is being healthy. People that are over weighted they need to take care of their diet with more restrictions till they lose the extra weight and learn how to eat. But we are in other level, we are fit and we know how to eat. So a bread with gluten or gluten free, white flour or brown flour, whatever it will not make any difference in our body at this point. Also when you learn how to eat, you learn to balance the food you intake. So I do not eat only bread every day, one day I eat tapioca, other day I eat gluten free bread, other day pan bread with eggs, waffles. We need to have a balanced healthy diet, this is what matter to me. See you all, take care!
Private Member |
mira, venezia, italia
I totally agree with you! I like eat, it’s a pleasure for me and the to be healthy… I enjoy pizza and when I was in Brazil paõ de queijo (I love ir)… But I know that I have to move my body to eat what I want… My body is a perfect machine ( like everyone) that needs fuel… And if the fuel is not only healthy but even flavored… Much better! 😆
Private Member |
curitiba, parana, brazil
Hi Barbaracajelli…pao de queijo is really good! 🙂 I ate a lot of it when I was on holidays…kkk…you are right…healthy food and tasty is everything! Thanks for commenting. See you and take care.
Private Member |
brooklyn, ny, usa
We went grain free in my house about 5 years ago, but on occasion we do eat gluten free bread or sprouted bread. I also make nut flour based bread at home which isn’t exactly the same feeling but does the trick. I do feel better and less bloated since cutting out grains. I think if I were back to eating my old diet, which was “healthy” but primarily grain and legume based I would be gaining weight. Don’t know if that’s my age/metabolism (I’m 43) but I feel better not eating it, I know I don’t need the fiber from grain since I eat vegetables and fruit. Also have read SO much about grain free being healthier, I think I’m just programmed to now think it’s best in small or no amount. Wish it weren’t so as bread is delicious!
Private Member |
Yeap, Ezekiel bread is the only bread I buy. I make an amazing “french” toast with it sometimes.
Private Member |
I love bread, tried Ezekiel bread and I don’t like it. I’m all about sourdough or french bread, overall I don’t eat a lot of bread to begin with.