A healthy diet is paramount to a healthy body—especially when it comes to weight management. While a number of different factors contribute to your metabolism, the food you eat can certainly make a difference. And it’s not just the obvious culprits like potato chips and ice cream you should look at for. As it turns out, there are a few types of bread that experts warn against if you’re trying to keep your waistline slim and your metabolism fast—including some that could be pulling the wool over your eyes.
White bread is a notorious culprit, and many multi-grain options aren’t much better. Despite their unassuming appearance, these breads could be doing more harm than good, thanks to their refined and processed ingredients. Learn more about the risks of each, according to experts, below.
1. White Bread
Let's face it: white bread is delicious, and it's a staple in many kitchens. However, Nutritionist Lisa Richards, creator of The Candida Diet, says that if you're trying to lose weight, it's important to limit your intake of this carby, processed food.
"White bread is made with refined carbohydrates and lacking in fiber and other beneficial nutrients," she explains. "Refined carbs are highly inflammatory and turn to sugar quickly causing a quick rise in glucose." Say it ain't so! All of those refined ingredients are loaded with calories but take little energy for your body to process, which over time, that can take a serious toll on your metabolism.
Additionally, keep in mind that since processed foods like white bread offer virtually no nutritional value, they won't keep you full for very long, which will likely lead to overeating later in the day—and that can, of course, be detrimental to your weight loss goals as well.
2. Whole Wheat Imposters (Like Multi-Grain)
Most people already know that white bread is the worst option out there—but that doesn't mean you're in the clear when you add multi-grain bread to your cart. There are lots of breads on shelves that appear to be made with whole wheat, but could actually be useless for your health.
"Multi-grain breads claim that they have many grains. The key question is: Are they whole grains?" writes Erin McCarthy, MS, RD. "Often, multi-grain breads are full of processed versions of oat, wheat and barley." Yikes! As with white bread, consuming these processed gains could lead to blood sugar and insulin spikes, which can affect metabolism negatively over time.
To make sure you're choosing actually healthy breads, McCarthy says you should "Look for breads labeled '100% whole grain' or '100% whole wheat.'" She warns that "Whole grain products should not be listed as enriched or fortified because whole grains still have all of their nutrients intact. They will also be naturally higher in fiber." Noted!
