Can we eat bread with every meal?

Toasted bread for breakfast, along with sauces, cheese… For some, the traditional baguette is the real star of the dining table and a part of every meal. But we accuse it of many evils: too high in calories, too salty, a source of bloating… For our own good, should we not use up our consumption? Should this pillar of our food culture be relegated to the occasional indulgence?

Pay attention to the quantities

Dietitian Nina Cohen-Kubi immediately reassures. we should not demonize this food and removing it from our diet would be wrong. Like rice, pasta or even legumes, bread also belongs to a large family of starchy foods. And the doctor encourages us to reduce our relationship with them. “Our bodies need it as much as vegetables and protein to form a balanced plate,” she says. They are also an important element of the Mediterranean diet, known for its health benefits.” Whole-grain breads provide an important source of satiating fiber, which is essential for microbiota and transit regulation, as well as vitamins and minerals that give us energy and strengthen our immunity.

In fact, the problem is not so much eating bread at each meal, but the amount we eat. He is the one who makes poison. “If you eat a lot, bread, like everything else, of course, can make you fat,” admits the nutritionist. As a general rule, I recommend paying attention to your own sense of satiety to know what the right dosage is. In the morning, for example, a menu consisting of two slices of buttered bread with fruit and yogurt can be a good breakfast.’

As for the rest of the day, at lunch and dinner, however, it should be remembered that the bread consumed is added to the other starchy foods consumed during the day. “If you eat bread with your meal, you should avoid accompanying it with pasta, quinoa, or rice, it’s one or the other,” summarizes Dr. Nina Cohen-Kubi.

Choose your flour wisely

The type of bread chosen also has an effect. The nutritionist advises not to buy ultra-processed industrial products, such as the famous white bread, most of which is made from white flour, consisting of starch, therefore glucose molecules and additives. According to the nutritionist, it is better to buy from a bakery to ensure a quality product without flavorings and thickeners.

As a general rule, breads made from semi-finished to completely wholemeal flour in bakeries are preferred. “This flour is less refined than white flour and has a lower glycemic index, which helps to slow down the glycemic peak that is responsible for the feeling of hunger after a few hours.”

However, wholemeal flour also means more fiber in the finished product, which can disrupt transit and cause some discomfort in people prone to digestive disorders, the nutritionist warns. In this case, the bread that comes close to perfection in terms of taste and digestibility is spelled flour. “It’s a low-gluten flour that’s easier to digest and has a more pronounced flavor,” he reports.

As a reminder, people who are truly intolerant to gluten, the stretchy protein found in some grain foods such as wheat, barley, rye, soy, and butter, have a variety of symptoms, such as bloating, abdominal pain, or diarrhea. If you are concerned, and only if this is the case, Dr. Nina Cohen-Cuby recommends turning to these protein-free flours (rice, buckwheat, corn, chestnut) and ideally artificial products to avoid industrial products rich in additives. .