FOOD THAT IS HEALTHY AND HARMFUL (2)

Hello! Lets continue our healthy and safe eating drive. So in this blog you will get to know some interesting information about BREAD.

BREAD 

It is a staple food in every society since pre-historic times.This simple food require only flour and water. Over the years each society discovered its own unique type of bread. There is a huge variety of bread available all over the world like made using different flours-different shape-different baking techniques.Bread section probably is the most popular section in super-markets.We often get confused by reading those fancy and eye-catching labels--Multi-Grain bread, Whole-wheat bread, High Fiber bread, Organic Bread etc etc.So lets try solve this confusion.

BENEFITS:-

• It is a good source of carbohydrates.
• Wheat and flour contains Folate, which is needed for the formation of healthy Red Blood Cells.
• High in Riboflavin.
• High in Fiber, ( especially whole- grain breads )
• Some kinds of bread provides good amount of Iron.

Some other benefits--It is versatile. You can have it in breakfast, main course, snacks anything. Mainly it is cost effective. 

DRAWBACKS:-

• Increases bad cholesterol.
• Dangerous for patients of Celiac. As they cannot tolerate the Gluten present in it.
• High in Sodium.
• Causes Constipation and obesity.( specially white bread).
• Have high glycemic index.(increases blood sugar)
• contains a large amount of a protein called gluten.
• lacks essential as vitamins A,B12,C and D.

[GLUTEN:-This protein has glue-like properties (hence the name glu-ten) responsible for dough’s elastic properties.]

NUTRITIONAL VALUE:-

• One slice of regular sized bread contains 70-80 cal.(approx)
• Breads with nuts and seeds are higher in fat.

HEALTHY AND UNHEALTHY BREAD:-

In India we have a variety of flat breads.Made using different grains (wheat,maize flour,pearl millet, sorghum etc) and all of them are full of good nutrients except breads made from All-Purpose flour. Likewise White Bread which is made from refined flour is the most unhealthiest bread. It is said"Whiter the bread, sooner you are dead". It contains high amount of sodium, increases blood sugar level, because of high carbs content it is difficult to digest and thus causes constipation.

TIPS FOR BUYING A BREAD:-

Never go on those fancy names pick the one which have correct nutrients.

• Look for "Whole-wheat bread" or "100% Whole- grain bread".
• First ingredient listed in label should be- Whole Wheat Grain.
• check the sodium. (each slice contains approx.200 milligrams of sodium.

Recommended once in a week. But you can consume Indian flat bread-Chapatti daily without any fear.

Here is a Healthy bread recipe for all Bread lover's. Check this out:-

https://cookpad.com/in/recipes/1055788-herbed-wheat-bread