Dietitians have weighed on the bad reputation of bread and the verdict is this: bread is not bad. (Photo: THOMAS SAMSON, AFP / Getty Images)

Latest news: Carbohydrates are not bad for you.

But all the low carb diet trends might make you think that eating a slice of bread is synonymous with lowering a gallon of bacon fat and putting 100 Snickers in your mouth. This is simply not the case.

A low carb diet can help people achieve certain weight loss or fitness goals, but their daily diet does not hurt your diet, experts say.

Of course, if you are allergic to gluten or have other related intolerances, keep running away from these little demons. But if not, go ahead and eat this hamburger without holding the bun and avoid the tasteless cauliflower crust on your pizza. Live life on the edge, everything will be fine.

Why all the bad press?

Kris Sollid, a professional dietitian and senior director of nutrition communication at the International Council for Food Information Council's foundation, said the growing popularity of low-fat diets carbohydrates gave a bad name to carbohydrates.

"Bread is rejected in low carb diets because it is high in carbohydrates and is considered by some to be a useless vehicle for other foods," said Sollid.

Dr. Bruce Hamaker, professor of food science at Purdue University, said the bad publicity of bread is mainly due to how certain carbohydrates are digested.

"White bread has a high glycemic response, and that's the idea behind white bread that's not good for you," Hamaker said.

"If we eat it all the time, its starch component is digested very quickly and glucose is released into the body quickly," he continued. "It's not healthy, it's the reasoning that people give."

More: Paleo, Atkins and Keto are all low carb diets, so what's the difference?

Tessa Nguyen, dietitian and food blogger, says that every year there is a scapegoat in the world of nutrition. Sometimes it's fat or dairy, but carbohydrates and bread always seem to be at the top of the list.

"I think that one of the main reasons why bread has a bad reputation is that bread can quickly fill you up without necessarily being nutrient dense," Nguyen said.

All carbohydrates are not created equal

Although carbs do not affect your diet, there is a difference between the types of carbohydrates you eat.

Hamaker said that there was something called "carbohydrate quality" and that it is not correct to label all carbohydrates as "bad". Some carbohydrates are better than others. He added that although eating a slice of white bread does not kill you, it is advisable to stick to long-term breads that are whole grain options fortified with fiber.

"You're going to eat a big piece of cake or white bread, you will not die, but if you eat it every day, it's probably not the kind of healthiest carbohydrate to consume regularly, "said Hamaker.

The professor explains that, although it is a little more complicated than classifying some carbohydrates as "bad" and others as "good", carbohydrates that tend to take longer to digest are preferable.

More: Eating carbohydrates before bed can help you lose weight

"Take a loaf of sourdough bread against a whole-grain baguette, for example.A piece of crispy leavened bread with a knob of butter or a slice of cheese is a paradise," said Nguyen. "However, you can do the same thing with a whole-grain baguette and get the added benefit of healthy fats and fiber from whole grains, nuts and / or seeds mixed with the dough."

Can you eat bread every day?

Hamaker thinks we're not able to go on a carbohydrate-free diet for the rest of our lives and says that in fact we need a number of them.

Nguyen says that there is absolutely nothing wrong with eating bread every day if it is something you like to eat – as long as you reconcile it with a variety of foods. other fruits, vegetables, proteins and whole grains. In other words: do not just eat bread all day, every day.

"The only way to eliminate bread can be beneficial for your diet, if you are allergic to it and / or have an intolerance," Nguyen said. "Our bodies (and our brains) need carbohydrates to function properly.Remove bread and carbohydrates from your diet simply because of a fashionable diet that is not worth it."

More: Jillian Michaels slams the keto diet: "Why would anyone think it's a good idea?"

Sollid added that by removing the bread in your diet, you could be depriving yourself of other healthy nutrients such as fiber, whole grains, B vitamins, thiamine, riboflavin, niacin and folic acid, all of which play an important role in the digestive, metabolic and nervous processes. systems.

Most people use low-carb diets as a form of calorie control that facilitates weight loss, he said. If it suits you, do not hesitate to do it in the short term, but be sure to look for fiber and whole grains in other foods like nuts, seeds and legumes. make Eat bread still do not get enough fiber each day.

"All in moderation, but also choosing foods that in the long run could be better, and for bread, I think those with more fiber and whole grains are better at consuming in the long run," said Hamaker. .

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