White Flour, sugar, ect...?

[MikoMarcia]

So I am trying not to eat anything white... rice, flour, sugar...
But I noticed today at the staore that a cheap loaf of bread had 130 cals for 2 slices and my expensive bread almost had 100 per slice. I don't really like bread, byt calorie wise I chose the cheap bread for less calories, and less money- and a sandwich is still a sandwich to me.

So I try not to eat the 'white' stuff only because that's what everyone says to avoid.... but why? What is really so bad about it?

[mandalinn82]

Well, it's kind of a loaded question, and the answer may be different for anyone, but to me, white/refined grains don't fill me up as well, and often times make me hungry again quickly.

Basically, a refined grain is digested and turned to sugar in your bloodstream very quickly (there is a measure called the Glycemic Index which measures how quickly a food is broken down into sugar in the blood). When that surge of sugar enters your blood, your body releases insulin to combat it and bring your blood sugar down. If it gets a big flood of sugar, it may release a big flood of insulin, which then brings your blood sugar back down quickly...sometimes to low levels that signal to your body that you are hungry again (and in severe cases, with something called Reactive Hypoglycemia, to levels that can be dangerously low and/or very uncomfortable). This means your body signals will tell you to eat again sooner than they might if you ate something with a lower glycemic index. Foods that are whole grain have a lower glycemic index because they contain more fiber, which slows the breakdown of the food into blood sugar.

One concern is that repeatedly flooding your body with quickly digested sugar, and the following high insulin release, can be a major predisposing factor for diabetes. Your pancreas repeatedly releases high levels of insulin and over time, is unable to keep up, resulting in a blood sugar level that is higher than is healthy.

Whole grains also contain vitamins and minerals that are removed from refined grains, so you lose out on some nutritional benefits as well.

For me, this is DEFINITELY true...if I eat a refined grain, I'm just not as full as with a whole grain equivalent, and get hungry soon after. Others may experience this effect to a larger or lesser degree, depending on body chemistry...some people are just more sugar-sensitive than others.

[Dawn415]

Well, many say it turns into sugar in your body (ie: body converts it into glucose), but I can tell you the difference for ME.....

Processed foods are foods that do not fill me up. My body doesn't recognize them as actual food, because they aren't! I find that when I eat a slice of Ezekiel 4:9 Sprouted grain bread, for example, it fills me up and makes me feel like I have actually EATEN. If I substitute that with low calorie, low fiber, low health benefit breads, I still feel hungry or will soon after eating it.

I find the same to be true of white rice vs. brown rice. I can eat the same amount (1/2 cup usually) and will feel full far longer on the brown rice.

Dawn

[kaplods]

Jut one of the many reasons:

Processed carbs digest faster and break down into sugar faster. As a result insulin is released earlier and in higher amounts. Insulin causes hunger.

So a sandwhich isn't a sandwhich, because you'll get hungrier faster and it will be harder to stay within your calorie level. Also some of the research suggests that a lower calorie diet of high GI carbs can actually put on more weight than on a lower GI diet of the same calories.

Calories are not the whole picture. Also - sometimes the fiber calories are included in the calorie count on the nutrition labels. Really this isn't right, because humans cannot use any of the calories in fiber.

[nelie]

There are also various breads. I've bought whole grain breads that range from 50 to 80 calories/slice. My favorite type of breads are sprouted grains which are generally 70 to 80 calories/slice. They give quite a bit of nutritional content as opposed to white bread that would give you nearly none.

[Sheila7]

It makes me waaaay hungrier waaaay quicker, that is why I avoid flour and sugar. I do eat brown rice, sweet potatoes and oatmeal. They stay w/ me much longer and my hunger is not as severe.

[Sheila7]

oops it posted twice.

[MikoMarcia]

Thanks! It all makes a lot of sense. And lord knows, I want to feel fuller longer. ^_^ Everything but the bread is super easy for me, but I hate paying such high prices for bread when I don't really like it. Oh well- you win some, you lose some. I actually prefer brown rice over white- much tastier.

[FunSize]

Honestly, there may not be a huge difference in the G.I between the cheap white and the expensive brown bread, heh.
I have a low g.i book and a lot of whole wheat bread is still close to regular white as far as the index is concerned.
It can be tricky.

That's not to say whole grains aren't more nutritious but they can enter the blood stream just as fast.

[FunSize]

Also: "Contrary to popular belief, brown rice does not have a lower glycemic index than white rice."


Resource: http://www.becomehealthynow.com/article/carbs/8/

[MikoMarcia]

Hmmm, interesting...
Thanks for sharing fun size. I will stick to my cheap bread for the occasional sammich then and not worry too much. And like I said before, I like brown rice a little better than white, but rice, regardless of color, always fills me up and I stay full for a long time.