The No-Bread Diet: Common Sense or Fad?

Neither common sense nor fad ... it's stupidity. The only thing that works is a 'life style' (intelligence) that recognizes excess calories eaten will translate into weight gain; that processed food with its excessive sugar and/or HFCS, unhealthy fats, and salt will translate into addiction; that sedentary behavior translate into not using any excess calories; and finally, that all of the above translate into early, preventable, and costly diseases.

I don't eat bread for the most part. To me, it's a waste of calories. I don't eat many sandwiches, but when I do want a sandwich, I use whole grain bread and I only use one slice so I don't get as many calories. My husband will eat slices of plain bread with dinner and I never understood that. He said that's what his folks did when they were kids to make the food budget stretch. I think you could probably eat bread in moderation, but I do think that most Americans probably eat too much of it.

I guess since I have counted calories I have become aware of how energy dense bread is. That means it has a lot of calories per weight volume. The other sources of carbs, such as oats, beans, rice, and corn etc. don't have nearly so many calories per weight volume. I find these sources promote more satiety than the bread. I don't eat too much bread now. I hardly ever eat sandwiches anymore. For instance, I mix my peanut butter with my oatmeal, rather than making a sandwich out of it. I don't avoid bread altogether, but I do go easy on it.

I don't eat much bread. I don't find it filling. Even heavy whole grain/whole wheat breads I don't find filling anymore. For carbs I will eat oats, oat bran, low sugar fruits, beans, and vegetables. Bread just seems like a waste to me. There are so many more nutritious sourcesof carbohydrates. Sprouted bread is totally different though! For example when I go to a restaurant like Subway, or Quiznos, I will get extra veggies and my sandwich wrapped in lettuce instead.

I switched from white bread to brown or whole grain bread. And it does help in keeping you full for a longer time and reducing weight.

I now also eat oats, muesli and whole grain biscuits as a substitute to breads.

Hello, I'd like to comment about bread. Its ok to eat bread, in moderation. Whole grain and low glycemic is best. Natural and close to organic is best. I agree with Lana about oat bran. I have it every morning with flax seed meal and fresh fruit. Of course its ideal, but maybe a little impractical to always eat super healthy. Therefore, I take and recommend high quality Nutritional Supplements, such as the Usana Essentials and Biomega fish oil, taken with a meal. They give me energy, and help me digest and utilize all the nutrients in my food.

"you should eat at least 120-130 grams of carbohydrates each day. This is likely the minimum that the brain needs to function"
Does anyone actually still believe this? Your brain works just fine on ketones if you go low/zero carb.

That said, I grind spelt kernels into flour to make sourdough bread. It's worked well as a staple for me.

As it turns out, glucose is the ONLY source of energy the brain uses. "The body breaks carbohydrates into glucose, which it uses to fuel brain activity. Proteins break down into glycogen, which can also be used for fuel by the brain, but not as efficiently as glucose." says webMD. Glycogen breaks down into glucose much faster than protein. It is also easier on the body.
My thoughts, the skinny little, pretty girls who starve themselves are not always the brightest. Why? They lack the fuel for the brain.
Why are the nerd's who reside in the basement and drink mountain dew as a stable so smart? They have carbs.
It is shown in a study in the American Journal of clinical Nutrition that carb supplementation increase the cognitive function of elderly people. (http://www.ajcn.org/content/72/3/825.short)
Carbs are great for the human body but do contain a lot of calories. Just keep most of your diet good, whole, and healthy. See nutrition labels to ensure they are whole grains.
There is a great list of good things on this article. Use them!
Bri

Um, in case anyone didn't notice, there are masses of carb foods you can eat without resorting to bread. Think every type of vegetable, salads, fruit, nuts, dairy products, milk, ginger, herbs, spices, cocoa, dark chocolate - it's all carbs, people. Good luck getting it below 130 grams! Just drink one glass of red wine and you've burned your entire carb allowance for the day!