Is white bread bad for you?

I love it. Its not that its bad for you in itself (unless it contains strange additives), Its simply that it doesn't contain as many nutrients and roughage as some other types of bread. So long as its simply flour, salt, yeast and water its a pretty neutral product. Its what it doesn't contain that is the issue.

I mean it isn't going to harm you unless you have a gluten intolerance. But if you have gluten intolerance you can't eat any bread made from wheat and quite a few other grains in any case.
 
I love white bread and don’t really like the way it’s viewed as inferior.
Pasta is bland, potatoes are bland, rice is bland. Bland is a good blank canvas and white bread with it’s open texture is a delight for carrying flavours. I don’t think butter gets showcased anywhere better than on a piece of white bread.
I like brown/wholemeal/seeded for certain things but for me white bread is King of the castle.

Eaten in small quantities it’s not bad but like Barry said it does have a high glycemic index, that causes blood sugar spikes and dips which isn’t good for you especially if you’re at risk of diabetes or suffer with rebound hunger when your blood sugar abruptly drops back down.
But it’s not a straightforward topic. It depends on the form, quantity and content. For example sourdough bread is further fermented so a lower GI, a wrap is thin and takes longer to digest so isn’t bad at all and then theres the type of grain thats used.
A lot of gluten free flour and bread is rice flour based and thats a real shocker on the GI front.
 
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I don't like the white bread we have here.
It's very soft. If you would half it, then take out everything but the crust, and squeeze, you end up with the amount of less than a golf ball.
I do like baquette, sourdough, ciabatta and another couple of types though
 
I like white bread for some things. It has its place.

I’ll say, though, whenever someone says “white bread,” I assume they mean supermarket white bread, the mass-produced stuff that’s super-soft and yeah, nutritionally void. I don’t consider that bread and the bread I make at home with white flour to be in the same category at all.

Saying that, though, supermarket white bread also has its place - bologna-and-cheese, grilled cheese, egg sandwich…those (and others I’ve not mentioned) I prefer on that marshmallowy supermarket stuff.
 
Barriehie said:
I see it from a GI thing so, not for me is all.
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Interesting, I have Crohns disease and whenever it is active whole grains are hell on my digestion so I have preferred white bread for years.
So what GI perspective do you have?

However since I have become stable on my Crohns medication ( fingers crossed) I have started loving whole grain bread because it's so much more flavorful! And it doesn't hurt me now.
 
I don't eat a whole lot of bread in general, but when I do, I usually reach for cheapo supermarket airy white sliced loaves with soft crusts whereas my wife is the complete opposite and likes heavy, crusty, brown, chewy (and I think 'dry') loaves.

I know there is some derision towards that, but to me there's nothing like a soft white bread sandwich, slathered with butter and then some roast chicken mayo and salad inside it.

And then I like French (white) baguettes (again with plenty of butter and then some ham and cheese inside) and also white breakfast rolls like Vienna rolls which when I'm at hotel breakfast buffets I fill with salted butter then add in salami/cold cuts and cheese.
 
TastyReuben said:
I like white bread for some things. It has its place.

I’ll say, though, whenever someone says “white bread,” I assume they mean supermarket white bread, the mass-produced stuff that’s super-soft and yeah, nutritionally void. I don’t consider that bread and the bread I make at home with white flour to be in the same category at all.

Saying that, though, supermarket white bread also has its place - bologna-and-cheese, grilled cheese, egg sandwich…those (and others I’ve not mentioned) I prefer on that marshmallowy supermarket stuff.
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Allright, I don't mean that kind of white bread. I always eat white sourdough or similar.

Though indeed, supermarket white makes the best grilled cheese..
 
This may be of interest. Is bread bad for you? and ZOE Podcast: Can Bread Be Healthy?

Here is one extract from the ZOE podcast.

[00:35:57] Tim Spector: Well, it's just to reiterate that you know, bread is still a good source of fiber and proteins, but if you get the wrong ones, it's going to cause you really bad sugar spikes always choose rye and whole grains and bread with mixed flours and added seeds, when you can. And remember to look at a label when there is a label to try and get as lower a carbohydrate to fiber ratio as possible and a really simple ingredient list. And if you have those two things will give you an idea that if you are buying bread, rather than making it yourself, you've got a chance of getting it right.

And wherever possible do go to a specialist baker, artisan baker be prepared to pay more money for it because you know, you can't make it in half an hour. So it is worth paying that extra money for the slow fermented sourdough bread that we've heard so much about.
 
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