Eat the bread. Right here’s why…
Bread usually will get a nasty rap, blamed for blood sugar spikes, cussed weight achieve, and normal carb overload. However right here’s the excellent news: not all bread is created equal, and the way you retailer it may well make a stunning distinction. That sourdough loaf in your freezer? It may very well be more healthy than a freshly baked slice.
The key lies in one thing known as resistant starch—and sure, freezing and toasting your bread may also help increase it.
What Is Resistant Starch, Anyway?
Resistant starch is a sort of carbohydrate that resists digestion within the small gut. As an alternative of rapidly breaking down into glucose (sugar), it travels to the big gut, the place it ferments and feeds your useful intestine micro organism. That fermentation course of delivers a handful of highly effective well being advantages, together with:
- Improved insulin sensitivity
- Diminished blood sugar response after meals
- Assist for a various and thriving intestine microbiome
Consider resistant starch as a slow-burning carb that helps your metabolism and intestine fairly than a fast-burning sugar bomb.
How Freezing (and Reheating) Will increase Resistant Starch
Registered Dietitian at MyHealthTeam, Avery Zenker, explains, “The rise in resistant starch content material of cooling or freezing bread is because of the technique of retrogradation. When starches like wheat flour are cooked with moisture, they gelatinize and grow to be extra digestible. When starches are cooled after cooking, a course of known as retrogradation begins. Throughout retrogradation, a few of the starches realign and kind crystalline buildings which are tougher for the physique to digest and take in. The starches are proof against digestion, therefore the title, “resistant starch”. As a result of much less of the carbohydrates within the bread are absorbed, the affect on blood sugar is decreased, successfully enhancing the glycemic impact of the bread.”
Following the retrogradation course of, toasting or reheating your bread then maximizes these glycemic results. That reheated slice finally ends up with extra resistant starch—and a decrease glycemic affect—than when it was freshly baked. Which means, because of this course of, freezing and toasting bread slows down how rapidly your physique turns it into sugar.
So when you’ve been skipping toast to maintain your blood sugar regular, you would possibly wish to convey it again, with a number of inventive tweaks.
Why Sourdough Is Its Personal Sport Changer
Whereas a number of kinds of bread present starch-resistant advantages, when you’re going to freeze one, think about prioritizing a loaf of sourdough bread.
Sourdough is created by way of pure fermentation, giving it a leg up nutritionally by producing acids like lactic acid and acetic acid, leading to a decrease bread pH. Not solely does this sluggish gastric emptying, nevertheless it additionally “slows the absorption of the carbohydrates into the bloodstream, serving to cut back the glycemic impact of the bread,” Zenker says.
“The fermentation course of additionally helps break down a few of the fructans, which is a sort of sugar in wheat. Fructans are a sort of FODMAP, that are fermentable carbohydrates that trigger some people digestive signs when consumed in extra, akin to these with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). By breaking down a few of the fructans, sourdough bread might trigger much less digestive signs than different kinds of bread.
There may be additionally potential for elevated bioavailability of the vitamins in sourdough bread. Wheat comprises phytic acid, which may bind to important minerals like iron, zinc, and magnesium, stopping their absorption within the physique. The fermentation technique of sourdough bread may also help degrade a few of these phytates, making the minerals extra accessible to be absorbed within the digestive tract.”
Whenever you freeze and toast sourdough, it combines two digestion-friendly hacks: fermentation + resistant starch. Meaning higher blood sugar regulation, much less bloating, and extra steady power.
Not All Breads Are Equal
Nonetheless, don’t count on miracles by throwing simply any loaf of bread within the freezer with out first trying on the label. Similar to with different meals, some breads are much better decisions than others relating to dietary worth and starch construction. Many commercially-baked breads are beforehand frozen; subsequently, re-freezing at dwelling might present considerably much less advantages from resistant starch. Alternatively, do-it-yourself or bakery bread made with minimal components is extra prone to have a extra substantial impact.
“It is because many business breads comprise components like emulsifiers, conditioners, and preservatives to stop bread from going stale, which additionally impedes the retrogradation course of and formation of resistant starch,” Zenker explains. “A number of examples that you simply would possibly see on the ingredient listing embrace monoglycerides and diglycerides, alpha-amylase, or sodium stearoyl lactylate. In distinction, bread made with just some components, like flour, yeast, water, and salt, has much less limitations to resistant starch formation.”
As a result of not all kinds of breads are created equal, you’ll wish to search for one which helps resistant starch and general well being. Your greatest guess is to examine the dietary label and components listing first and hold the following pointers in thoughts:
Select these:
- Naturally fermented sourdough
- 100% complete grain breads
- Sprouted grain breads that embrace spelt, oat, or rye (akin to Ezekiel bread)
- Breads which have a excessive fiber content material
Be careful for these:
- Extremely-processed white bread
- Excessive-sugar sandwich loaves, bagels, and brioche
- Enriched or “delicate” breads loaded with preservatives and components
(Professional tip: If it’s shelf-stable for weeks and has 15+ components, it’s in all probability not doing all your physique any favors—freezer or not.)
Maximizing the Advantages of Your Bread
“Resistant starch content material begins to extend the second the bread begins to chill,” Zenker says. “The size of time that bread is frozen doesn’t seem to have a major affect on the quantity of resistant starch shaped. One examine discovered that there was minimal distinction within the quantity of resistant starch in bread frozen for 3, 5, or 7 days. In different phrases, freezing bread for an extended period of time doesn’t seem to repeatedly enhance the resistant starch content material. The quantity of resistant starch will probably peak after a number of hours, and plateau as soon as the bread is absolutely frozen.”
Wish to take advantage of your frozen bread? Listed here are a number of tricks to strive:
- Slice earlier than freezing: In case you have an unsliced bread, slice it earlier than you throw it within the freezer. Grabbing and toasting particular person slices is way simpler than thawing your complete loaf first.
- All the time reheat or toast after freezing: Reheating your bread after freezing helps preserve the resistant starch advantages.
- Pair your bread mindfully: Maximize your dietary advantages by topping the bread with a wholesome fats (like avocado or almond butter) or a protein (like eggs or cottage cheese) to curb blood sugar spikes.
- Take pleasure in it guilt-free: Bread can completely be a part of a nutritious diet when eaten with intention. Reasonably than feeling responsible for consuming a carb, use the chance to your benefit in managing wholesome blood sugar ranges.
Bread doesn’t must be the enemy. In reality, with the precise loaf, the right prep, and a bit of freezer magic, it may be a device for higher metabolic well being, improved digestion, and better satisfaction.
So go forward: freeze it, toast it, find it irresistible. Your physique—and your style buds—will really feel extra steady, energized, and nourished.
