The Glycemic Load of Grains
People often ask, "Isn't bread the " ‘Staff of Life’ "? Why are we told now that we must avoid bread to reclaim our health?
Contemporary wheat has a much larger and sweeter kernel than ancient grains.
Contemporary processing methods turn grains into a fine powder.
Commercial bread products often include added sugar.
Our habits are to fill our bellies with grains as they are cheap food, due to the USDA agricultural money subsidizing the cost of wheat, corn and rice.
Imagine the difference between chewing on a chunk of sugar cane to get some sweetness vs eating powdered sugar by the spoonful. This is analogous to chewing on a hand-ground wheat berries, vs. eating fine white bread.
Kernels of grain are like sugar bombs on the inside with a tough wrapper on the outside. It takes a while to digest that tough wrapper, so it slows down our digestive access to the sugar inside. Once we grind or blend or even pop a grain, the digestive access to the sugar inside is immediate. The impact on blood sugar of white sugar and white flour is THE SAME, except that the sugar is digested about 20 minutes more quickly.
Modern "whole wheat flour" is so finely milled from kernels with such a large endosperm that it also has a big impact on blood sugar. The bran, that tough wrapper protecting the endosperm, is ground into a fine powder. You wouldn't decide a bowl of sugar was wise to eat just because you'd stirred in some wheat bran flakes. Whole wheat flour is analogous to this.
What is the answer? All things in moderation. Eat smart. Consume higher glycemic foods only as the add-on to an otherwise low glycemic meal that includes ample protein and fat that will mediate the impact of the bread on your blood sugar. Putting butter or olive oil or avocado on bread is a good way to ensure that you are eating it with fat. And make a small serving of bread be the "topper" to a meal that is otherwise complete with a solid serving of protein, some yummy fats, and an abundance of non-starchy vegetables.
This post has focused on "bread" and "wheat," but the same goes for all products made out of grains...pasta, crackers, cookies, etc. And all grains...especially corn and rice which are the next most popular in the USA after wheat. Eat grains in their intact form...the whole kernel steamed...like a pot of brown rice, an ear of corn, or less common, a serving of cooked wheat berries or oat groats. And consider 1/2 cooked cup as a serving. Yes, that's right, 1/2 cup of brown rice is the serving size that works for individuals who benefit from eating a low to moderate glycemic diet. Fill the plate with vegetables and a hefty serving of protein. Be sure you've got fat in there too...a nice sauce, cooking with olive oil, including nuts and seeds. And then enjoy a small amount of hot steaming aromatic brown rice. This simple shift in how you fill your plate can make a big positive impact on your health.