Bread Information

Photo: flickr user The Library of Congress

Ingredients

OK to sandwich some bread in daily menu

Preparation

The debate about carbohydrates has proved quite a breadwinner for certain best-selling authors, especially those who recommend more protein. But bread itself, along with pasta, is a big loser in those popular diets. More than a few personal trainers have urged their clients to swear off bread entirely.

Nutritionists are unconvinced about such bread bans. They might suggest different ways to eat bread - most especially not emptying the bread basket before the first food order even arrives at a restaurant table. These food counselors are not about to pull a food item off the menu that reaches back some 9,000 years.

"Bread definitely fits into an active person's food needs," says consulting service (www.sportfuel.com) and advises the Chicago Bulls, Chicago Blackhawks and Northwestern University athletic teams. "Bread is part of the starchy carbohydrates group of foods. We need these carbohydrates for energy."

Burns says the bread backlash is likely a response to heightened interest in the glycemic index, which gauges how quickly the body processes foods. The quicker a food processes - such as white bread, bagels and even whole wheat bread - the less full we feel.

The theory is eating too many foods high on the glycemic index causes you to eat more calories than your body needs (researchers estimate 800 calories is the maximum the body can process at any one meal before it stores extra calories as fat) because you are not satisfied. Another cited problem is that high-glycemic foods cause spikes in blood sugar levels.

"What people forget is if you eat bread with something, like in a healthy sandwich, the effect on the glycemic index is not so dramatic as eating the bread itself," says Burns. "It's a mistake not to eat any bread."

Burns doesn't endorse processed white bread. She is more inclined to suggest whole-grain breads, particularly sprouted wheat, spelt, kamut, soy flour and whole rye breads that provide the most fiber and even a considerable amount of

The problem with white and many breads on grocery shelves is that their main ingredients are refined flours, which means the outer kernel of the wheat or grain has been removed. This process makes for soft breads but loses the substances in grain that have been associated with protecting against heart disease.

That's one reason breads processed and sold in U.S. supermarkets are required to add back calcium, iron, thiamin, niacin and now folate. But what's still missing is the fiber found in whole-wheat bread. One large study showed people who regularly consume whole-wheat bread are half as likely to have heart attacks as individuals who eat very little.

But British dietitian Amanda Ursell makes a case for white bread in her new book "The Complete Guide to Healing Foods" (Dorling Kindersley, $29.95). She says white bread is a good source of calcium for adults who consume few dairy products and children who are growing bone because calcium-blocking substances are removed during the milling process.

Roberta Clarke, a clinical dietitian at Rush-Presbyterian St. Luke's Medical Center in Chicago, says there is ample room for bread in anyone's daily diet, though she prefers clients to consume breads with whole grains, nuts, seeds and dried fruits for added nutritional power. The problem is more about eating too much bread and ignoring carbohydrates from sources such as grains, beans, fruits and vegetables.

"Most people don't have a sense of their carbohydrate needs," says Clarke, who is launching a new Internet site (www.figurefacts.com) this month to help close the knowledge gap. "The human body doesn't recognize whether you are sending it cookies, bread, pasta, fruit or whatever. What it recognizes is carbohydrates, protein and fat. It is our role to understand what we need. No builder puts up a house without a blueprint. We shouldn't be nonchalant about our food intake.

"When you are eating at a restaurant and plan to order a pasta dish, then lay low on the bread basket," says Clarke. "Have one piece for the satisfaction and taste (dipping it in olive oil is a healthier option than butter). Order a salad or vegetable soup right away if you are famished.

"If you lose your resolve and eat three or four pieces of bread, then call it a night on the starchy carbohydrates and order a piece of fish or chicken with some vegetables. You can eat the pasta tomorrow."