Bread - Least bad for you

hurler32

Have to get the weight down , giving up the white sliced bread ... Can't completely ditch bread so what bread is best alternative ? Soda Bread , brown sliced , mcCambridges ??

Dtp1979

hurler32 wrote: »

Have to get the weight down , giving up the white sliced bread ... Can't completely ditch bread so what bread is best alternative ? Soda Bread , brown sliced , mcCambridges ??

Bread itself isn't the problem and there's not a huge difference in white or brown. Calories are what you need to start tracking if you want to lose weight.

Macy0161

In just calorie terms, a slice of a white pan is often lower than the brown and wholewheat alternatives. There's other reasons you might want to switch from white bread, but (imo) a straight substitute isn't going to make much odds on its own.

Ceepo

Macy0161 wrote: »

In just calorie terms, a slice of a white pan is often lower than the brown and wholewheat alternatives. There's other reasons you might want to switch from white bread, but (imo) a straight substitute isn't going to make much odds on its own.

This is very true, however it is a bit higher on the GI chart. Wholemeal Brown would also contain more fiber so it would digest slower.. giving a slower release of carbs.


Op... Look out for the added sugar..and try to go for some bread with a bit less added.
Remember a few slices of bread each day is not going to play havoc with your diet unless you have gluten intolerance. A lot of the time it's what you out on it/or have with it that's going to be the problem.

Chakra Khan

Try the Brennans 'Be Good' range:)

bladespin

Flatbread is a good alternative, most are lower in cals.

irishlady29

I like the slims. Not sure how they compare to bread though

marko99

Make your own - it's very rewarding, not at all difficult, and you know exactly what's gone into it.

Macy0161

Ceepo wrote: »

This is very true, however it is a bit higher on the GI chart. Wholemeal Brown would also contain more fiber so it would digest slower.. giving a slower release of carbs.

Like I said, other reasons you may want to swap. fwi I like the Farmhouse Multiseed and 5 Grain from Aldi! But they're higher calories per slice than a standard white pan...

Ceepo

Macy0161 wrote: »

Like I said, other reasons you may want to swap. fwi I like the Farmhouse Multiseed and 5 Grain from Aldi! But they're higher calories per slice than a standard white pan...

Have to say I like any if the multiseed ones myself.
And while there may be a few more calories in a slice think of all the other good stuff you are getting in.. 😉

Alf Veedersane

Most of the 'low-cal' breads have lower calories because they're smaller. Slims, WW bread etc

Ceepo

Alf Veedersane wrote: »

Most of the 'low-cal' breads have lower calories because they're smaller. Slims, WW bread etc

Shur isn't it all in the marketing....lol

Alf Veedersane

Alf Veedersane wrote: »

Most of the 'low-cal' breads have lower calories because they're smaller. Slims, WW bread etc

There's an element of truth to that, alright.

I find Brennan's 'Be Good' wholemeal bread to be nicely portioned though for what it is (a normal sized slice is 60calories) whereas Pat The Baker have a bread (can't think of the name, think they're called Slimsters?) where it's 58cals per slice, but the slice of bread is notably smaller than pretty much any other slice of bread I ever had.


If presented with both, I'd opt for the Be Good Wholemeal as the size of the slice seems much better 'value for calories' than the Pat The Baker equivalent.

Mellor

Ceepo wrote: »

This is very true, however it is a bit higher on the GI chart. Wholemeal Brown would also contain more fiber so it would digest slower.. giving a slower release of carbs.

Lower GI, but higher calories will imped weight loss more than a slice of white bread.
Also, looking at the GI of a slice of bread in isolation is a bit pointless. As it's something you'll never eat in its own. At the very least it'll be toasted with butter. Or possibly as a sandwich. Which means the GI of the meal as a whole is much lower and the difference between white and brown insignificant.

daithi7

Mellor wrote: »

Lower GI, but higher calories will imped weight loss more than a slice of white bread.
Also, looking at the GI of a slice of bread in isolation is a bit pointless. As it's something you'll never eat in its own. At the very least it'll be toasted with butter. Or possibly as a sandwich. Which means the GI of the meal as a whole is much lower and the difference between white and brown insignificant.

I don't agree with this. Low GI, wholegrain, Brown breads are best for you. You want complex carbs instead of simplex ones, higher fibre for better intestinal heath, and lower GI breads as they result better regulated blood sugar release which is directly related to better weight management, lower cravings, less incidence of diabetes & better overall health.

4068ac1elhodqr

Just discovered 'Spelt bread' and it's even available in some Lidl's, Tesco's etc.
Ancient grains (cultivated since approximately 5000 BC) and ideally non-GM are the future.
15% Protein and only a moderate amount of gluten.

Mellor

daithi7 wrote: »

I don't agree with this. Low GI, wholegrain, Brown breads are best for you. You want complex carbs instead of simplex ones,

The difference between white and brown flours/bread/rice/pasta is grossly overstated. The brown flour constitutes maybe 97% white flour. It's just white bread with 2grams of bran mixed in.
The fact that one is a health food and the other garbage make no sense.

White bread is predominantly a complex carb. It's starch based. Simple carbs are sugar.

higher fibre for better intestinal heath, and lower GI breads as they result better regulated blood sugar release which is directly related to better weight management, lower cravings, less incidence of diabetes & better overall health

There's little point compare them in isolation like that. Nobody is eating nothing but bread.

Fibre is important. But brown bread isn't a particular good source of fibre. It has an extra 2g. A good target is 40g per day. So you need to be getting most of your fibre from adequate servings of veg (a lot more fibre than bread). The decision to eat brown over white bread at lunch isn't making much difference.

GI, is less than half the picture. But for arguments sake lets say it's a total measure of how healthy something is. And all those thing are solely dependant on GI (they aren't, not even remotely). What's the GI of a sandwich?

2 slices of white bread, scrape of butter, 100g poached chicken breast, 3 slices tomato, some cheddar cheese, 1/4 avocado mashed up with hot sauce.

Or the exact same sandwich with brown bread.


What's the glycemic load of both sandwiches? What the difference in blood sugar level after eating the two?
While we're at it, what's the fibre content of both?

daithi7

Mellor wrote: »

The difference between white and brown flours/bread/rice/pasta is grossly overstated. The brown flour constitutes maybe 97% white flour. It's just white bread with 2grams of bran mixed in.
The fact that one is a health food and the other garbage make no sense.

White bread is predominantly a complex carb. It's starch based. Simple carbs are sugar.


There's little point compare them in isolation like that. Nobody is eating nothing but bread.

Fibre is important. But brown bread isn't a particular good source of fibre. It has an extra 2g. A good target is 40g per day. So you need to be getting most of your fibre from adequate servings of veg (a lot more fibre than bread). The decision to eat brown over white bread at lunch isn't making much difference.

GI, is less than half the picture. But for arguments sake lets say it's a total measure of how healthy something is. And all those thing are solely dependant on GI (they aren't, not even remotely). What's the GI of a sandwich?

2 slices of white bread, scrape of butter, 100g poached chicken breast, 3 slices tomato, some cheddar cheese, 1/4 avocado mashed up with hot sauce.

Or the exact same sandwich with brown bread.


What's the glycemic load of both sandwiches? What the difference in blood sugar level after eating the two?
While we're at it, what's the fibre content of both?

In general terms,you are asking about the significance of how much better for you brown whole grain low GI bread is compared to white bread, and you are seeking to down play this as it is only a smal l% of one's overall diet, so you seem to be suggesting it should not be significant.

This is to miss the point entirely imho. As well as explicitly ignoring the OP's original question. Why!?

The fact is low GI ,whole grain brown bread is better for you than white bread. So even a 1% improvement in daily dietary intake could be significant over a month, certainly a year & most definitely a lifetime.

Also things like slow release carbs controls blood sugar rushes and cravings and leads to better nutrition choices right through the day (not just while you're eating bread), so it impacts on the quality the rest of your nutrition and diet also.

Finally, 2g of extra fibre is significant. As is the type of rough fibre you find in whokegrain bread, as it binds with saturated fats in the intestinal tract and can reduce the absorbtion of such fats and lower blood cholesterol simply by excreting some of these fats undigested. All good.

I hope this helps answer the OP's initial query.

Mellor

daithi7 wrote: »

In general terms,you are asking about the significance of how much better for you brown whole grain low GI bread is compared to white bread, and you are seeking to down play this as it is only a smal l% of one's overall diet, so you seem to be suggesting it should not be significant.

This is to miss the point entirely imho. As well as explicitly ignoring the OP's original question. Why!?

Nowhere did I ask the significance of how much better it is.
I already understand how marginal it is.

My first post was a reply to the OP. The above was a specific reply to you.

The fact is low GI ,whole grain brown bread is better for you than white bread. So even a 1% improvement in daily dietary intake could be significant over a month, certainly a year & most definitely a lifetime.

Not really tbh. White bread is pretty poor in terms of nutrition. If Brown bread is 1% better, then it's still firmly in the same group of not very nutritious foods. They are both pretty bad. And most brown bread isn't low GI. It's just a little lower than white but still medium to high. I think you've just proved my point.

If somebody thinks brown bread is a healthy food, then chances are their diet isn't great overall. You see that all the time in sample diets here.
Somebody who understands they are both crap probably has a better diet overall.

As I asked above, what's the difference in GI between those two sandwiches?
There's a huge difference between meals and ingredients.

Also things like slow release carbs controls blood sugar rushes and cravings and leads to better nutrition choices right through the day (not just while you're eating bread), so it impacts on the quality the rest of your nutrition and diet also.

That's pretty much a fallacy. I've a pretty good grasp of nutrition. And generally don't eat bread often. The rare times I do, if I decide to have white that day it in no way affect the rest of the diet.

Taking the average irish diet with brown bread, is pretty poor nutritionally.

Finally, 2g of extra fibre is significant. As is the type of rough fibre you find in whokegrain bread, as it binds with saturated fats in the intestinal tract and can reduce the absorbtion of such fats and lower blood cholesterol simply by excreting some of these fats undigested. All good.

The fibre in vegetables is the insoluble fibre. So 2g is not significant if you are getting 35g+ from veg. If somebody has diet low in fibre, they should eat more veg, not more bread.

Also, I don't think fibre can target saturated fat specifically. Hopefully not, as saturated fats isn't bad for you. Stop buying into marketing.

ford2600

Humans have been eating bread for a long time, but up until quite recently it was very labour intensive and as such difficult to over eat.

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/features/the-shocking-truth-about-bread-413156.html

Not a bad article by a baker on difference between simple bread and what you'd normally get in a supermarket/café.

No problem having a little bread in a healthy diet, especially if it's homemade and or a decent sourdough/spelt etc.

The problem with the typical Irish diet is that bread(or some other crappy simple carb) seems to form the basis of most meals; eggs on toast for breakfast, scones at 11, sandwich at 1 etc etc. Change nothing else in diet but switch veg for bread at most meals and you'll have made a much better change in your diet.

Switching white for wholegrain brown if you are having 8 slices a day is majoring in the minors.

On whole grain have a read of this. let me know how you get on overeating oats, millet wild rice etc..
http://www.precisionnutrition.com/safe-carbs

Alf Veedersane

ford2600 wrote: »

Switching white for wholegrain brown if you are having 8 slices a day is majoring in the minors.

This is the most relevant point when someone needas to shift weight and looks at their bread intake.

It's not the type of bread you're eating that's doing the damage (for the most part). It's the quantity of bread you're eating.

hurler32

Thanks to all for responses.... I do tend to eat a lot of bread and mostly White Sliced pan bread....If I had a local shop with spelt bread i'd be inclined to go for that but there isnt a local one..failing that i'm inclined to try mccambridges in the short term..it surely is more fibre , lower sugar etc??/...but i hear the reduction in amount of bread is key also..

Mellor

hurler32 wrote: »

Thanks to all for responses.... I do tend to eat a lot of bread and mostly White Sliced pan bread....If I had a local shop with spelt bread i'd be inclined to go for that but there isnt a local one..failing that i'm inclined to try mccambridges in the short term..it surely is more fibre , lower sugar etc??/...but i hear the reduction in amount of bread is key also..

Reduction is definitely tender move as Alf and Fore mention above.
The thing to watch with the likes of McCambridges is the fact the breads are very dense. So you can easily eat a fair bit without meaning too. Which prob results in a greater glycemic load than the white bread you are replacing.
They do a spelt bread too I believe.

ford2600

hurler32 wrote: »

Thanks to all for responses.... I do tend to eat a lot of bread and mostly White Sliced pan bread....If I had a local shop with spelt bread i'd be inclined to go for that but there isnt a local one..failing that i'm inclined to try mccambridges in the short term..it surely is more fibre , lower sugar etc??/...but i hear the reduction in amount of bread is key also..[/QUOTE

That's just a habit, conditioning that you have got used to.

Changing a habit, getting to like texture/taste of new foods is something that you can train your body to do. You can train yourself to eat almost any food. Start really small for first few times, and increase very gradually.

If you want to drop weight, changing habits is your number 1 tool.

Rather than eggs on toast, have eggs with lightly fried broccoli/mushrooms/tomatoes/peppers etc. Add a tiny bit of olive oil and salt.

Rather than a ham/cheese sandwich; have ham/cheese/tuna with tomatoes, beetroot, sweet potatoes, olives etc etc

Alf Veedersane

hurler32 wrote: »

Thanks to all for responses.... I do tend to eat a lot of bread and mostly White Sliced pan bread....If I had a local shop with spelt bread i'd be inclined to go for that but there isnt a local one..failing that i'm inclined to try mccambridges in the short term..it surely is more fibre , lower sugar etc??/...but i hear the reduction in amount of bread is key also..

A slice of Brennan's sliced pan has the same calories as a slice of McCambridge's wholewheat brown bread so while the latter has more fibre and less sugar, if you replace 8 slices of white bread with 8 slices of wholewheat brown bread, you'll still find it hard to shift weight.

Switch bread, by all means, but you need to make a dent in your caloric intake of bread as well.

FizzleSticks

This post has been deleted.

tiredblondie

Brennans "Be Good" i find to be the nicest of the low calorie breads - Tesco actually do a nice one but doesn't often seem to be on the shelves.
I'm a very fussy eater so giving up bread to lose weight is a no no - i have issues with digestion and normal bread makes me sick but have found the brennans or tesco one to go down well! Much nicer than the WW breads, they just aren't worth the bother - trying to put butter on them rips the bloody bread!!

dastardly00

tiredblondie wrote: »

Brennans "Be Good" i find to be the nicest of the low calorie breads

Is it a low calorie bread though?

Brennans Be Good White Bread has 212 kcal per 100g.

Brennans Family Pan (i.e. the normal white sliced pan) has 219 kcal per 100g.

tiredblondie

dastardly00 wrote: »

Is it a low calorie bread though?

Brennans Be Good White Bread has 212 kcal per 100g.

Brennans Family Pan (i.e. the normal white sliced pan) has 219 kcal per 100g.

https://brennansbread.ie/products/brennans-be-good-wholemeal

Sorry,i should have said, i only eat the brown or wholegrain bread and not white.
60 calories per slice - when i say low calorie, i just mean compared to normal bread which is usually (i think) around 95 or more calories.

Like i said, my reason for it isn't for weight loss, it's just that i can eat it and not throw up from it!
But for people who are looking to lose weight but don't want to give up bread, then it is an alternative....

dastardly00

tiredblondie wrote: »

https://brennansbread.ie/products/brennans-be-good-wholemeal

Sorry,i should have said, i only eat the brown or wholegrain bread and not white.
60 calories per slice - when i say low calorie, i just mean compared to normal bread which is usually (i think) around 95 or more calories.

Like i said, my reason for it isn't for weight loss, it's just that i can eat it and not throw up from it!
But for people who are looking to lose weight but don't want to give up bread, then it is an alternative....

I wasn't criticising anything you said or why you eat, apologies if it came across like that

Brennans market the 'Be Good' range as some super-special low calorie bread, when in reality it's just a smaller slice than normal bread!

Mellor

tiredblondie wrote: »

https://brennansbread.ie/products/brennans-be-good-wholemeal

Sorry,i should have said, i only eat the brown or wholegrain bread and not white.
60 calories per slice - when i say low calorie, i just mean compared to normal bread which is usually (i think) around 95 or more calories.

212cals pet 100g, same as the White bread above.
The lower calories are mostly down to the fact that it's a much smaller slice as mentioned above. 28g vrs 40g.
If it helps control portion size it's not necessarily a bad thing.
But have 6 "low calorie" slices instead of 4 because they are less/smaller is a waste of time.

daithi7

Mellor wrote: »

212cals pet 100g, same as the White bread above.
The lower calories are mostly down to the fact that it's a much smaller slice as mentioned above. 28g vrs 40g.
If it helps control portion size it's not necessarily a bad thing.
But have 6 "low calorie" slices instead of 4 because they are less/smaller is a waste of time.

Ha, those food companies' marketing departments are devious feckers aren't they!?....

Still in fairness, as you also point out, portion size is a major driver of your calorie intake, so it probably makes sense to reduce slice size to encourage people to eat less by just eating same number of smaller slices. Reducing plate size has been clearly shown to help people reduce how much they eat, so the slice size thing probably works also imho.

marialouise

I for one am a fan of smaller slices! I am not a big bread eater, and I buy packets of the Slimbos or whatever they're called, pop them in the freezer, and for that one day a week when I want something to go with my eggs or whatever, there's a little low-calorie slice of something, without needing the whole slice. I wish I could buy mini-everythings, the small slices are ideal I think

Mellor

daithi7 wrote: »

Ha, those good companies marketing departments are devious feckers....

You have to hand it to them, they've got people to pay the slightly more money for 3/4 of a loaf.

It's not a new trick either, a few years ago Brennans did a weightwatchers branded bread. Which was basically their normal bread in smaller loafs.

rubadub

dastardly00 wrote: »

Is it a low calorie bread though?

Brennans Be Good White Bread has 212 kcal per 100g.

Brennans Family Pan (i.e. the normal white sliced pan) has 219 kcal per 100g.

Mellor wrote: »

, a few years ago Brennans did a weightwatchers branded bread. Which was basically their normal bread in smaller loafs.

They still do and its actually higher in kcal than the previous 2 listed.

224kcal per 100g

https://brennansbread.ie/products/brennans-weight-watchers-white-bread

They can change the recipe to lower the WW points, but to still make it taste nice they can end up adding more sugar, which may be low in WW points.

These were the WW points some years ago that I worked out

600kcal portion of coconut is 21.5points
600kcal portion of sugar is 8.5points

rapeseed oil has 14.5WW points per 100ml
coconut oil has 34.5WW points per 100ml

The points calculations have changed since then.

OneMan37

How did it go for you ? I’m a Catholic so fast on one meal a day, other than that I only eat dry bread with perhaps a cup of tea. This is fulfilling my daily fast while also helps me control my weight. You can offer your fast up for any intention.

Mellor

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122587053#Comment_122587053

If you’re eating bread, and having one meal a day it’s not really a fast.