Through the years, thoughts from society and the medical community on the safety of bread-consuming have changed ranging from love to hate, nevertheless the flour dish continues to be popular around the world.
Bread is one of the oldest artificial foods, having been of importance since the dawn of agriculture, but starting the 1990’s, people became aware of its carbohydrate property and it started being targeted by dieters, nutritionists, and doctors along with pastas, potatoes, and other sugary carbs including milk and cookies. Famous diet programs like Atkins Diet even started targeting carbs in fruits.
The argument of Dr. Robert Atkins and many others was that, because low-carb diets reduce insulin in the body, they reduce fat accumulation and eventually lead to fat burning, as reported by CNN. They dictated a way of living where drastically slashing carbs, and consequently consuming more protein and fat, was the only way to lose weight.
But during the last decade, thanks to institutions like the U.S. Dietary Guidelines Committee doctor’s points of view on bread have become more balanced. Now we understand that the right way to lose weight is to cut calories, and that can happen by cutting carbs or fat. Experts nowadays are suggesting that high-protein and high-fat diet help us feel full for longer periods of time and help maintain the diet plan for much longer.
“I think Americans are slowly getting the message that bread and grains are fine as long as they are whole grains so we get fiber and nutrients,” said Joan Salge Blake, a clinical associate professor of programs in nutrition at Boston University when talking to CNN.
Also, recent studies carry evidence that people lose more weight on low-fat diets even when maintaining the same number of calories. From a small group of obese people, those who cut fat in their diet (by 85%) lost about 1.2 pounds in a week, whereas those who cut carbs (by 60%) lost about 0.7 pounds.
Source: CNN