No More White Bread Guilt

Before i begin with this post, I want to thank everyone who shared blessings of comfort for me last week in the comments and on social media on the passing of my dog.  It really did help as I made my way through the week.  His energy is still everywhere, however, I can think of him with out tearing up every time.  Time will continue to heal.

Those of you looking to heal your relationship food have to travel this world with all the conflicting and misleading claims about food being healthy or not.  It’s easy to want to compartmentalize food into “good” vs “bad” food in a way to make  it easy to make a decision with our heads, hoping black and white food rules will keep away the food anxiety.

I get these emails from the University of Hawaii’s Nutrition Department that inspired this post.  It literally made me smile, as it depicts what you and I know (or that you are learning, wink).  

That it matters more how you eat over the course of months,  not one meal.  It matters more from a health perspective your meal mix than one particular food being good or bad.  

As writers at the U of Hawaii state:

“As we learn more about the mix of microorganisms living in our lower intestine, it grows increasingly evident that investigating the effect of the whole diet is more applicable than studying the effects of individual foods.”

Consumer Related Article:
White bread helps boost some of the gut’s ‘good’ microbes 
Research Related Article:
J Agric Food Chem. 2014 Jun 11. [Epub ahead of print]TO LEARN MORE ON THIS TOPIC
www.manoa.hawaii.edu/gotnutrients

What science cannot prove is how YOUR body utilizes the food you feel called to, for whatever reason.  It is up to you to pay attention to what foods work for you and how much of certain ones don’t .

If you have a diet of all white bread, I think we can all say you might be missing some nutrients right?

A diet of a mix of 2 slices of white bread a day, 5 days a week, with other grains with more fiber plus other fibers from fruit and vegetables sounds like a good mix of carbohydrates.  

Now if you don’t like white bread, no need to add it.  There will be other occasions where you eat some luscious french bread or something more refined. 

I also understand that if you have celiac, all kinds of wheat products aren’t an option.  So if you live with celiac, your meal mix will be different but still based on what gluten-free foods work for you.

If you are interested in learning more about this study on white bread go to:

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/278131.php

 “Scientists are now reporting that this much-maligned food seems to encourage the growth of some of our most helpful inhabitants – beneficial gut bacteria. In addition to this surprising find, their study in ACS’Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry also revealed that when looking at effects of food on our “microbiomes,” considering the whole diet, not just individual ingredients, is critical.”

Here’s to enjoying what foods work for you and realizing that it is not restriction to leave out foods that make your stomach hurt, leave you feeling bound up,  make  you feel lethargic or according to some medical testing aren’t helping you manage a medical condition.

Please share the peace with eating love!

Best
Tracy