Miranda McMinn resisted bread for four weeks as part of a diet experiment. Photo / 123rf
Miranda McMinn resisted bread for four weeks as part of a diet experiment. Photo / 123rf
Miranda McMinn ditched her beloved bread to see if she could lose weight and reset her gut health. But can she give it up for good?
Bread is my weakness. Sliced white toast, bagels, sourdough, rye bread, crusty white rolls, I love it all. This does not make me original. We Britons eat 37kg per person per year (the equivalent of 46 large sliced loaves) and we buy 11 million loaves each day, with white bread accounting for 71% of total bread consumption.
Personally, I have no off switch, and what’s worse is that it’s never satiating. Instead it’s like a gateway drug that soon leads to biscuits and then straight into the arms of Mr Kipling (a top UK cake brand).
I’m not allergic or even intolerant to wheat or gluten but I feel I could do with a reset. Caren Richards, a registered nutritionist, agrees that would be a good idea for many of us. “Bread is an easy reach if we are in a rush – a slice of toast for breakfast or a quick sandwich for lunch. I think having a reset can make you think a bit harder about your food decisions with a view to not relying so heavily on bread.”
There’s a good reason we all love bread. Carbohydrate-rich foods such as bread trigger a strong release of the “feel-good” hormone dopamine. Richards explains: “This makes sense from an evolutionary perspective as high-energy foods are valuable and seeking them out would have been beneficial.”
Unfortunately, bread causes our blood sugar levels to spike with knock-on effects, which explains my mini-Battenberg problem – but also how I can get on top of it. “Bread can disrupt our blood sugar balance so getting it back under control means that you will have more consistent, stable energy through the day,” Richards says. “Swapping your lunchtime baguette for a more balanced meal means you are also less likely to have a mid-afternoon energy crash.”
Low-fibre, processed bread like a baguette can cause our sugar levels to spike. Photo / 123rf
On top of all this, most supermarket sliced and bagged loaves are prime examples of ultra-processed foods which are low in fibre and contain a cocktail of additives including preservatives, emulsifiers and stabilisers. Studies have shown low-fibre, processed bread to be among the chief culprits of foods “significantly associated” with increased cardiovascular disease and death. And if you think you can hide behind a wheat-free loaf, beware. These can contain similar amounts of additives “as they are trying to replicate the texture and visual appeal of a wheat loaf”, says Richards.
“If you’re trying to manage your weight and your diet contains high levels of processed wheat products, it’s an easy place to start,” says Richards.
The first week, I swap my lunchtime sourdough and roast beef roll for a green salad, two hard-boiled eggs and an entire packet of Sainsbury’s bresaola. I am still extremely hungry. It turns out I have fallen into a classic trap. Richards points out that giving up bread without replacing it with anything else sufficiently filling is a common error and a recipe for misery. I follow her advice and am soon having porridge oats with banana for breakfast and a hearty soup filled with beans and pulses for lunch. I’m less hungry overall and am managing to give Mr Kipling a swerve. I also lose about a kilo. So why would I lose weight eating porridge oats – a carb – but not bread?
“There are a few reasons why the consumption of bread could contribute to weight gain,” Richards says. “Bread tends to have a high carbohydrate density, which means that per serving we get a relatively high proportion of carbohydrate. And carbohydrates from bread may not be as satiating as those from whole, minimally processed foods. For example, eating root vegetables, beans and lentils tends to promote a longer-lasting feeling of fullness due to their fibre, water content and bulk.”
Miranda McMinn swapped her lunchtime roast beef roll for a hearty bean soup. Photo / Getty Images
As usual, it’s all about the fibre and lack of processing in whole foods.
“Bread is not inherently worse than other carbohydrate sources. However, when compared to unprocessed carbohydrates like sweet potatoes, quinoa or brown rice, bread (even wholegrain) often has less fibre and can be easier to overconsume,” Richards says.
“The key difference is that whole food sources tend to be more nutrient-dense and more filling, which may help with satiety and weight management in the long run.”
How does bread impact your gut health?
So, is it true that bread causes bloating, even for people who are not allergic or sensitive to wheat? I want to know because it certainly has this effect on me. Richards says that gluten can be a difficult protein to digest even for people who are not gluten-intolerant. In addition, the digestive process is affected by stress. “As an example, if you’re on holiday, relaxed and enjoying life, eating French bread, pitta or focaccia might be no problem, but at home if you’re busy, stressed and not taking care of yourself, a sandwich eaten in a rush at your desk might sit in your stomach all afternoon and leave you feeling bloated.”
And gut health, increasingly lauded as the key to so much of our wellbeing, is improved by eating more fibre than the typical slice or two of bread contains. “A lot of the bread that we’re eating is stripped of any sort of fibre. So we’re not looking after our gut with the diversity of foods that we’re eating. By replacing bread with nutrient-dense legumes, beans and root vegetables, you will support your gut bacteria, leading to better digestive health.”
Meanwhile, gluten is more difficult for the body to break down even if you’re not allergic, although more and more people are becoming intolerant. “So if you have these horrible digestive symptoms, taking out gluten just gives the body and the digestive tract a bit of a break,” says Richards.
After four weeks of not eating bread my digestive system feels a lot smoother, the author reported feeling less bloated and losing about a kilo. Photo / 123rf
Does this apply even to posh breads like sourdough?
“Sourdough is going to be easier on the body, in terms of nutrition and digestion, than a processed white loaf from the supermarket,” Richards says. “But if you’re eating a lot of it, you might still find that the body is saying, ‘hang on a minute, I’m really struggling with the gluten content here’.”
The other problem with our over-reliance on bread is that inevitably it is pushing some other valuable nutrients out. “If you’re having bread every morning for breakfast, that means you’re not having oats or chia porridge or an omelette,” Richards says.
It makes sense: a diet which is reliant on one type of food is not likely to be as healthy as a diet that has a broad range of foods and therefore a broad range of nutrients.
My bread reset: What I’m eating now
After four weeks of not eating bread, my digestive system feels a lot smoother, I’m less bloated and I’ve lost a kilo. Once my blood sugar levelled off, I found it easy to maintain and so consumed a lot fewer calories in biscuits and cakes, as well as bread itself. I feel more in control of my afternoon slump and don’t rush to the vending machine for chocolate – I either eat a piece of fruit or wait it out. While I’m probably eating the same number of calories at mealtimes, I can easily avoid the multitude of unhealthy snacks that previously punctuated my day.
It is not realistic to try to be permanently bread-free, however. I know if I set myself that as a goal, I will eventually fail hard and be back to square one.
The key, says Richards, is to choose the right bread and to add protein rather than sugary jams and spreads.
“Depending on our health goals, it might not be necessary to exclude bread completely, just be a bit more mindful of the type of bread and how it’s eaten.”
An example of a bread-free dinner (left). Photo / 123rf
As well as the relatively obvious notion of avoiding processed bread wrapped in plastic, think about how heavy the bread is. Heavier bread like pumpernickel or rye bread is not going to be as moreish as a French stick. “The key is how quickly the body breaks it down,” Richards says. “With a baguette, it’s very easy for the body to break that down to molecules of glucose, and boom, they hit the blood sugar and they’re digested. Whereas the pumpernickel-type bread is very dense and it’s going to take a lot of digesting, so it’ll probably sit in the stomach a little bit longer and it’ll take longer for the body to break down and get to those molecules of glucose. So you get a slower release and you’re not getting such a big whoosh of sugar and dopamine.”
Protein will also help, Richards says. “If you are going to enjoy a slice of sourdough, try to pair it with some protein, for example cream cheese and smoked salmon, scrambled eggs with cottage cheese, edamame and feta, peanut butter and chia, ricotta and walnuts or scrambled tofu and red peppers. Adding protein will slow down the release of the sugar into your bloodstream, which means you are less likely to get the spike and subsequent crash in blood glucose – so your energy stays balanced and your cravings are under control. Protein is also very satiating so your brain gets the message that you are full so you’re less likely to reach for that second piece of toast!”
And her final words: “Eat it as a treat rather than as a staple.”
I ate salads with protein (such as a whole pack of Sainsbury’s bresaola and two boiled eggs). I was starving and miserable and, although I lost 1kg, I suspected it was mainly water, having read that high-protein diets will help shed water weight.
Week 2
Added oats and pulses. I had porridge with banana for breakfast and tuna bean salad for lunch. Even though it was the same calories as a sandwich, I ate a bit too much and felt uncomfortable. On the way back from a theatre trip, I ate a bagel with smoked salmon and cream cheese, using the excuse it was the only food available on the station platform and it was divine but I got back on the wagon the next morning. I didn’t lose any weight.
Week 3
Eating a smaller amount of pulses I was comfortable again and my gnawing hunger was gone. I felt free from bread. I looked at the pictures of biscuits in my calorie book and felt ... nothing. I lost almost half a kilo.
My jeans belt has gone down a notch. I realise I can eat less and wait until the next meal without snacking. This literally never happened when I ate bread. All I wanted to do was eat more bread and/or have some Mr Kiplings. I start to reintroduce bread “as a treat not a staple”, heeding the advice of Richards. But then I have three slices of sourdough and then the next day a garlic naan. The slippery slope. I shall proceed with caution.
My diet without bread
Before
Breakfast
Weekend croissant with homemade jam
Lunch
Olive sourdough roll with roast beef, rocket and horseradish
