Many of us fall into the bread trap daily, either with ourselves or with our kids. Seems that for many, everything has to be put between two slices of bread. But it’s funny though, whenever you ask people about their bread consumption they say they rarely eat bread…which really makes me wonder, who is consuming all the bread in the world?!
How many times have you polished off the bread basket at a restaurant and feel bloated before your meal even gets there?! How many times have your kids filled up on just bread? Give them the option and they’ll gladly eat it. I mean it tastes so darned good, can you blame them?
Is bread really bad for you? I mean what’s the big deal right?! It is a big deal when your life revolves around it and you can’t seem to have a meal without it.
You can hugely improve your health by just giving it up and instead focusing on eating more of what would typically go inside your sandwich. Granted, what you put into your sandwich has to be healthy too! Not bologna or processed cheese.
Just think how your waist would shrink, if you focused more on whole foods and took bread out of the equation – except for once in a while. Here are the main reasons to take bread off your grocery list:
- When you consume bread you are just filling up on generally empty calories, and you end up eating less real food as a result – real foods that could boost your metabolism, energise you, improve digestion, and provide REAL nutrition.
- Gluten, especially bread, bloats and causes all sorts of inflammation in the gut. Leaky gut, autoimmune disorders, skin issues, poor digestion, need I list more!?
- Most bread, gluten free or not, are loaded with terrible ingredients: dough conditioner, preservatives, bleach, sugar, artificial colors and flavours, artificial vitamins and nutrients that we can’t absorb, GMOs. The junk is just over the top really!
Bread was once a staple in traditional societies, but not the bread that we eat now. It doesn’t compare! Grains were once fermented and sprouted naturally, so that they could actually be digested and absorbed by our bodies. Few and simple ingredients of flour from sprouted, non GMO grains, water, yeast, and healthy animal fats, were kneaded together to make something that was actually nutritious.
To reiterate, because it’s important to realize, most bread today can barely be considered REAL food. Loaded with ingredients you can’t pronounce and just filling us up with empty calories.
I’ll be honest. I’m not a big bread eater at all, but sometimes you just feel like a good sandwich, not in a lettuce wrap, or stuffed into some other vegetable (which is delicious!), but between two slices of good old fashioned bread.
Fortunately, for those times, there are some companies and bakeries out there going back to traditional good old-fashioned bread making. Look for sprouted non-GMO grains, such as Ezekiel, sour dough organic grain breads, and breads made without canola and other vegetable oils. Remember the least, most simple ingredients, the better. Brands to look for: ShaSha Bread Co, Ezekiel and other Food for Life Breads, St. Johns Bakery, Silver Hills, Dimpflmeier.
So, give it up! Your body will thank you, I promise! And for those days where you just want real bread, choose a great brand.
Yours in health,
Daniela