Bread has been a staple of the American diet for the longest time. The first bread from cornmeal was thought to be brought to the Americas by Christopher Columbus in the late 1400s. Then in 1602, the first wheat crop was planted by British sea captain Bartholomew Gosnold in Massachusetts. More than 200 years later, commercially produced yeast was made available allowing for softer and more flavorful bread products.
Not long after, Edmund LaCroix would release a more improved version of the steel roller which made possible the production of white flour. Fast-forward to 1928, the year when Otto Rohwedder’s invention of the bread slicer was released, and the first sliced bread product was sold to the public in Missouri.
It can sometimes be difficult to shift perspective and see how eating this staple can have detrimental effects to our health. But you have to understand that the wheat or other grain flour and methods of food production used back then are completely different from current standards. Continue reading to know more about the negative effects of bread (and be sure to also check out the recommended soak times for beans, grains, legumes, nuts and rice.)
Bread Health Risks:
As you probably already know, wheat contains the protein gluten. Gluten ingestion is the cause of Celiac disease, a condition more commonly known as gluten intolerance. Severe cases of Celiac disease present with gastrointestinal symptoms such as diarrhea, while mild cases usually exhibit symptoms such as unexplained malnutrition and weight loss.
Grains like wheat contain phytic acid or phytate, long considered an anti-nutrient. Phytic acid binds with crucial minerals like zinc, calcium, iron, and magnesium. When this happens, the minerals become unavailable to the body. Continued intake of any wheat products like bread, then, will eventually result in mineral deficiency.
Bread products come in two basic varieties. There are those that are made with whole wheat flour, and there are also bread products that are made solely of white flour. White flour is called such because of its characteristic white color – a result of bleaching with the use of chemicals like chlorine oxide, nitrosyl, as well as benzoyl peroxide, a typical ingredient in cosmetic and anti-acne products. Having these bleaching products in the food that you eat is harmful to your health as it is. However, there is another danger lurking in your white bread.
Referred to as alloxan, this is a derivative compound from the deterioration of the uric acid in the milled wheat grain during the bleaching process. Having no commercial use whatsoever, alloxan is instead utilized in laboratory tests. This derivative is injected to laboratory rats to bring about diabetes in these rodents. To this day, no studies have yet been conducted on the effects of alloxan on humans. But the fact that it’s being utilized to induce diabetes in rats is in itself an alarming matter.
Bread products, especially those manufactured utilizing solely white flour, are notorious for their high glycemic index as well. In fact, even whole wheat bread has a higher GI as compared to a popular candy bar. Food items with high GI easily get converted to sugar in the body which could bring about insulin spikes. Prolonged eating of food items with high GI such as bread will then eventually result in insulin resistance, a chronic disease called diabetes.
In the next post, I’ll tell you the negative effects of cereals and why you should avoid it to succeed in your quest to Become Superhuman.
In the meantime, if you care to jump ahead, here is a complete listing of the grains and legumes on Superhuman Food Pyramid:
Eat:
• Sprouted, Organic Quinoa, Amaranth Or Millet
• Sprouted Legumes (Beans & Lentils)
Moderate:
• Soaked Legumes (Beans & Lentils)
• Soaked, Organic Quinoa, Amaranth Or Millet
• Soaked & Sprouted Wheat Products
Avoid:
• GMO Corn
• Soy Nuts
• Cookies
• Biscotti
• Scones
• Crackers
• Bagels
• Bread
• Cereal
If you have questions, comments or feedback about the negative effects of bread, the Superhuman Food Pyramid, this website, or other aspects of Becoming Superhuman, then leave your thoughts below, as well as any tips you have on the negative effects of bread.
Author Bio: Ben Greenfield
His credentials include:
Bachelor’s and master’s degrees from University of Idaho in sports science and exercise physiology
Personal training and strength and conditioning certifications from the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA)
Sports nutrition certification from the International Society of Sports Nutrition (ISSN)
Advanced bicycle fitting certification from Serotta, the “Harvard” of bicycle fitting schools
Over 10 years experience in coaching professional, collegiate, and recreational athletes from all sports
Ben hosts the highly popular fitness, nutrition and wellness website at http://www.bengreenfieldfitness.com, which features blogs, podcasts, and product reviews from Ben. He is a frequent contributor to Triathlete magazine and LAVA magazine, Endurance Planet (http://www.enduranceplanet.com), the outdoor sports magazine OutThere Monthly and has been featured in WebMD, the Spokesman-Review, Inlander magazine, In-Health magazine, Fit-Pro magazine, PTontheNet, Prevention magazine, Women’s Running magazine, and Inside Triathlon magazine.
As a public speaker on fitness, nutrition, and training, Ben hosts one of the top ranked fitness podcasts in iTunes, the Get-Fit Guy (http://www.GetFitGuy.com), and has been a keynote lecturer at the Hawaii Ironman World Championships Medical Conference, the Coeur D’ Alene Ironman Medical Conference, USAT Art & Science of Coaching Symposium, Can-Fit-Pro Conference, Pilgrim’s Wellness Center Education Series, Fleet Feet Sports Endurance Sports Clinic and REI Nutrition Clinic. He sits on the board of directors for Tri-Fusion triathlon team, the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and is the official coach for the YoungTri. As a triathlon coach and competitor, Ben competes at Ironman and Half-Ironman World Championships, holds a ranking as of USAT’s top ranked age grouper triathletes, and competes in 15-20 triathlons each year, both nationally and internationally.
