Bread is a food product that is obtained by thermal processing of dough. It can be baked, fried, steamed. In order to prepare the simplest bread dough, just mix the flour with water. This is how the very first flour product was prepared many centuries ago. A little later, in ancient Egypt, people learned how to make yeast dough and began to add products such as eggs, milk, butter. What bread is good for adults and children? This is what will be discussed in the article.
Types of bread
Before you figure out which bread is the most low-calorie and wholesome, you need to figure out what it is at all. This is the most common food product, so there are a great many types of it, but the main groups can be distinguished.
- White bread. The most popular type made from wheat flour.
- Black bread (rye). It is obtained from rye flour. This bread is less calorie, therefore, it is considered more useful than white.
- Gray bread. It is the result of mixing wheat and rye flour. It is recommended to use it in diet food.
- Whole wheat bread. It is obtained from wholemeal flour, due to which it contains a large amount of fiber. This bread is gaining popularity all over the world.
- Bran bread. A mixture of flour and bran. It is used in the diet for various types of diseases, including cancer.
- Yeastless bread. Instead of yeast, yeast is added to the dough, which greatly increases the benefits of bread.
The benefits of bread
What are the beneficial substances in bread? It contains vitamins vital for the body, in particular - groups B, P, D, E, as well as potassium, zinc, iron, iodine, phosphorus. In combination with a large amount of fiber, this leads to the fact that bread is an indispensable product for cleansing the body. Also, the consumption of this product charitable effect on the nervous system, the condition of the hair, skin, nails. Bread is a source of carbohydrates that a person needs for energy. It quickly relieves hunger and saturates the body.
The benefits of bread products largely depend on their composition. It is very important what kind and type of flour the bread is made of and what additives were used in the cooking process.
Black or white?
Which bread is healthier: rye or wheat? Let's try to figure this out. Wheat grain contains a huge amount of nutrients that are in the shell of the grain and in its germ, but in the process of obtaining white flour of the highest grade, they become waste. As a result, such bread has almost no benefit, while it has a very high calorie content.
Brown bread is obtained from rye flour. It is slowly absorbed by the body, which contributes to a longer feeling of fullness. In addition, bread from such flour is less caloric than its white counterpart.
Whole grain or regular?
Which bread is good for the intestines? Of course, a whole grain product is much healthier than a processed one. Indeed, it retains much more useful substances and vitamins, it has a lower calorie content and contains more fiber, stimulates the intestines, therefore, it cleanses the body better and faster from decay products. Such bread is recommended to use in diet, obesity, heart disease, diabetes.
Live or bio?
These two types of bread have gained popularity recently, and not everyone knows what they are.
The “live” flour product contains freshly sprouted grains. Therefore, it has a high content of useful elements, however, such bread is stored only a day.
"Organic bread" does not contain baking powder, yeast and preservatives. Coarse rye or whole wheat wheat, as well as natural starter cultures are used for its manufacture. But such a product is practically not produced and its share in the market of flour products is not more than 2%.
Fresh or yesterday?
Which bread is healthier: white or rye, yesterday or fresh? These questions concern all those who care about their health and beauty. For the digestive system, it is better and more beneficial to eat dried bread, because it has less stickiness. A freshly baked flour product can clog the stomach and cause intestinal torsion because it settles on the walls and is digested very slowly.
The harm of bread
There are not so many contraindications for bread.
The biggest health hazard is the white yeast flour product. Yeast entering the body continues to ferment, affecting the chemical composition of the blood. In addition, bread from premium flour contains practically no useful substances. In scientific terms, this is a simple carbohydrate, "empty calories" that do not bring any benefit. The daily use of such bread with a sedentary lifestyle most often leads to obesity.
If you abandon the yeast wheat product and choose any other, be it rye, bran or yeast-free, then the main contraindication remains high calorie content. It is advisable to consume no more than 3-4 slices of bread per day.
In addition, unscrupulous manufacturers add all kinds of improvers, preservatives, flavorings and other chemicals to modern bakery products . You need to carefully study the label, but it is better to look for a home bakery or purchase a bread machine.
Rye bread also has its contraindications. It is not recommended for people who suffer from ulcers and gastritis, and also have problems with the gall bladder. Using this product may cause flatulence and disrupt the digestive system.
Slimming bread
In order to lose weight, the diet is primarily revised. High calorie foods are naturally excluded from the menu. Therefore, when losing weight, you can not eat white and rye bread. However, nutritionists do not recommend completely eliminating it from the diet.
What flour is the most healthy bread made of when it comes to a figure? Every day, you can eat several slices of whole grain products, with bran or yeast from wholemeal flour. Their caloric content is much less, and the amount of nutrients is high. If you eat no more than 2-3 small slices of such bread per day, you can balance your diet when losing weight.
Bread in baby food
Many parents wonder what kind of bread is good for their child. In baby food, flour products should be treated with caution. You can introduce the baby to this product starting from the age of 8 months, but give no more than 15 grams per day. You can’t offer kids up to three years old fresh and rye bread. The bran product should also not be introduced into the baby's diet, except in cases of constipation and only after consulting a doctor.
After 3 years of age, the number of flour products can be increased to 100 grams per day. You also need to carefully study the composition of the purchased bread, which should not contain dyes, synthetic additives and preservatives.
The most useful for children over 6 years old is bran and rye bread. These species contain all the necessary substances for the normal growth of muscle mass, the work of the nervous system. The lack of thiamine, which is rich in flour products, leads to rapid fatigue, irritability and general weakness of the child.
Despite this, the amount of bread consumed by the child should be controlled, avoiding overeating. Products from white flour of the highest grade should be excluded from the diet of the baby or give in small quantities.
How to choose bread in the store
Which bread is healthy, you already know. And how to choose it? The store offers a huge assortment of various bakery products. There are several rules that will help with the selection of quality and healthy bread. So, what should you look for when buying in the first place?
- Label. The first thing to learn is the expiration date. If it is more than 48 hours, the composition can not even be read; preservatives are guaranteed to be present there. If everything is in order with the deadline, you need to carefully familiarize yourself with the ingredients. There should not be any “improvers”, “stabilizers” in the bread and other things. Manufacturers add these substances to protect against mold, thus prolonging the shelf life and, accordingly, increasing sales. And the end user is forced to eat bleaches, sulfates and other chemicals. High-fat bread, margarine, sugar, and salt should also be avoided.
- Appearance. The product must be in the correct shape, without cracks, bumps or chips. When pressed, quickly restore to its previous shape. In this case, white bread should have a golden surface, black - a dark brown crust. When cutting, it is worth paying attention to the bread crumb, if there are lumps and voids in it, and the crumb is sticky to the touch, then, most likely, mold has already wound up there and it is impossible to use such a product.
If there is white coating on the surface of the bread, then do not confuse it with flour, this is a sign that expired dough was used in the manufacture.
How to store bread
Of course, in every kitchen there is a breadbasket, and few asked how to store flour products properly. However, there are some points you need to know.
- You can’t store rye and white bread in one bread box because they have different humidity. It is better to purchase a bread box with several sections or pack each item in a plastic bag with holes.
- Every day the bread box should be cleaned of crumbs, and once a week washed and thoroughly dried.
- A slice of sugar or an apple will help reduce moisture inside the bread box.
- It is better not to store bread in the refrigerator, because it stale faster at temperatures from 0 to 2 degrees. But, on the other hand, bakery products are perfectly stored in the freezer.
- To keep the crust on bread longer, it is stored in a paper bag.
- You can also dry the product and use it as crackers.
How to eat bread
We figured out the question of which bread is healthy. Now it’s worth talking about what you can eat with. Well bread products go well with vegetables. Onions, zucchini, spinach, peppers, beets, carrots, cucumbers, pumpkins and eggplant, green lettuce - this is not a complete list of vegetables that can be combined with flour products.
It is useful to combine bread with dairy products, such as kefir, fermented baked milk, yogurt and milk.
You can not combine flour products with proteins, such as eggs, meat, fish, cottage cheese. All your favorite sandwiches are very harmful to your health. Such products are best consumed separately.
The traditional combination of bread with butter or cheese is not so harmful, but leads to a set of extra pounds.
If you combine bread with sugar, jam or jam, you can get bloating, increased gas and inflammation of the intestines. The same reaction will cause a combination of flour products with pickles.