What's a healthy bread? Is bread healthy to begin with? Bread has become the standard breakfast for many people. For some, it has become regular food for lunch, snacks and dinner as well. This article, from an old issue of The Good Life, examines the role of bread in a healthy diet, from both the nutritional and macrobiotic perspectives.
The Daily bread?
Christians pray to God to “give us today our daily brad”. And the old testament of the Bible tells about bread falling down from Heaven, in the form of manna.
When even God sends bread, surely it must be good?
Some people would, in their attempt to eat more healthily, switch from eating white rice to eating whole meal bread. Is wholemeal bread healthy bread? Does it have more vitamins, minerals and fiber than white rice?
Firstly, a lot of whole meal bread is not genuine, 100 percent whole meal. Most are made from a mixture of refined flour and wholemeal flour – typically 50 to 70 percent white flour, but it can be as much as 90 percent.
Even high fibred breads may not be 100 percent whole meal. Some are made from white flour mixed with bran.
It's not the same thing. Bran is pure fibred, without the vitamins, minerals and other nutrients.
In America, there had even been cases of “high-fiber” bread made with sawdust. And you won't be able to tell from reading the list of ingredients on the label. There, sawdust is described as “plant cellulose”.
But let's assume you manage to get genuine, 100 percent whole meal bread. And it's still soft and fluffy, like white bread. Some “healthy bread” are like this.
How do they make it?
By adding lots of yeast and lots of sugar. This is not really healthy bread.
Most of you would know by now that sugar is not healthy.
What about yeast? Some books recommend yeast products, such as brewer's yeast, as health foods since they are rich in vitamin B.
But too much yeast can be very harmful. Yeast is very hardy and they don't die even after baking. In your intestines, they can grow out of control, leading to yeast infection, or Candida.
Candida is very common in modern society, especially among women. Sufferers experience a wide range of symptoms, such as sugar cravings, chronic fatigue, tiredness, eating disorders, etc.
Candida is not primarily caused by eating yeast, because a healthy body can prevent yeast from spreading out of control. But eating lots of yeast will only worsen the problem.
Bread made with little yeast tends to be more dense and heavy. These are better - closer to being healthy bread.
Better still are sourdough breads made without added yeast.
Instead, they use a sourdough starter, which is made by mixing flour with water, and leaving it in the open for a few days. The only yeast is those found naturally on wheat, or in the atmosphere.
Research has shown that sourdough breads are more easily digestible and its nutrients more readily absorbed by the body than yeasted bread.
Genuine sourdough bread, however, is again hard to find. (But a lot easier now than in the 1990s when this article about healthy bread was written.)
Many “sourdough” breads are made with both sourdough and yeast. Read the ingredients list carefully, and question the baker.
Okay. Let's say you can find 100 percent whole meal bread, genuine sourdough bread. Let's say you even bake it yourself, so you know exactly what you put in.
Do you know exactly? Do you know what the flour contains? Isn't it just flour?
Don't be too sure of that. In Non-toxic and Natural, Debra Lynn Dadd tells us that “plain flour” (and bread) may contain up to 30 different chemicals. Current food laws do not require these chemicals to be listed. They include bread improvers, bleach, preservatives, etc.
So if you're into bread making, buy your flour from reliable companies that are committed to pure, clean foods.
Companies that are produce organic flours are generally okay. But look for additional information, such as the company's philosophy and guiding principles.
Look also for stone ground flour. This is better because conventional steel grinding generates heat, which affects both the quality and the taste of the flour. Stone grinding is relatively cool.
Healthy bread from fresh flour
More importantly, use fresh flour. Because the quality of flour deteriorates once it is made.
It's like when you cut an apple. It turns brown as its oxidizes when it is exposed to air.
The same thing happens when whole grain are broken up and ground into flour. They too, begin to oxidize except that the process is slower and less obvious.
Ideally, you should grind your own flour just before using. People in traditional societies actually do this. I read that in the Himalays, the Sherpas (mountain guides) carry a small flour mill and they would grind flour each time to make bread for one meal.
Today, there are electric stone mills that can produce 1 or 2 kg of flour in minutes. They are worth the investment if you are serious about eating healthy bread. Breads and cakes made with fresh flour rises more.
Apart from whether bread contains pure and fresh ingredients, the larger issue is: Is bread healthy?
Should you bake often? Should you regularly eat breads, pizza, cakes and other baked foods?
Think about it. Has it occurred to you that baked breads have never been part of the traditional diet in the tropics?
Why not? Because baked foods are very warming.
Traditionally, the Indians eat roti prata, chapatti, dosai and idli, the Chinese eat steamed buns, and the Mexicans eat tortilla...
These breads are steamed or toasted on a hot plate. They cook in a few minutes. They are much lighter than baked breads, which may be subject to intense heat for up to an hour.
Is bread healthy? Unleavened bread
Traditional breads like these are either unleavened (yeast free) or naturally fermented. If you can make them at home using freshly milled flour, they'll be great.
Still, it is advisable to go easy on them. Flour products like bread and noodles are never as health giving as whole grains.
Eat them occasionally if you're in good health. If you have a serious illness, avoid them until your condition improves.
The best breakfast food is not bread, but soft grains, brown rice, millet, barley, corn or other grains, cooked into porridge.
Porridge cooked from a whole grains are again better than those made from broken grains like rolled oats or polenta (corn grits).
If you don't have time to cook, use leftover grains from dinner, add water, boil and simmer for a few minutes.
Cooked grains keep quite well and it is okay to eat leftovers that are not more than 24 hours old. Eat you porridge with lightly steamed vegetables, home made pickles and other convenient but healthy foods.
Is bread healthy? Gluten intolerance
Another point to consider when asking: Is bread healthy? is the issue of gluten.
Gluten is protein that is derived from grains like wheat, barley, oats and rye. These are grains with a line down the middle – which the Japanese call mugi. They are unlike rice, millet or corn which does not have such a line.
Gluten gives bread its characteristic texture. Without gluten, bread will be crumbly like cake - which is why bread needs to be made from high gluten flour. Gluten is also used by the Chinese to make "vegetarian meat".
For some reason, many people in modern societies are sensitive or intolerant to gluten. For them, taking gluten can lead to a wide range of health problems including tiredness and fatigue, poor digestion, intestinal bleeding, etc. Many children with autism and ADHD are also found to be intolerant to gluten (and casien, or milk protein.)
If you happen to be gluten intolerant, is bread healthy for you? Obviously not!
Sprouted wheat bread
Sprouted wheat bread is made from whole wheat berries that have been soaked in water and then sprouted. The sprouts are ground, formed into a loaf, and baked.
The original recipe came from the Essence, a mystical sect which lived near the Dead Sea around the time of Jesus.
They “baked” this bread in the sun but modern versions are baked in a low heat oven. Both sprouting and low temperature baking makes this bread more yin and so more suitable for warm climates.
I won't eat this everyday, but compared with regular bread, it is much better. Also, this bread is very pure. It is made from just sprouted wheat and perhaps one or two other natural ingredients for flavour, like ginger, raisins, dates or nuts.
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