A basket of bread on the table fits perfectly in the picture of a pleasant evening at the restaurant or a good start to the apéro. But what does it do to your body if you eat bread while you wait for the real meal? And is it best to choose bread with or without butter or olive oil? Nutrition scientist Amandine De Paepe and liver doctor Anja Geerts explain.
Do you associate an overloaded liver only with alcohol? Then you are not quite up to date yet. Carbohydrates can also unbalance this natural detox machine. That is what food scientist Amandine De Paepe brings to light in her new book, ‘There is more to your liver than you think’. Remarkable: in it she criticizes eating bread before a meal at a restaurant. “This would overload your liver and lead to – in the average person who does not exercise enough – a continuous sugar craving, difficult fat burning and dips in your energy level, just to name a few typical ailments,” says the expert. Is that right?
“There are two types of carbohydrates: simple and complex sugars,” explains gastroenterologist Anja Geerts (UZ Gent), when we asked her for a response to this statement. “The simple sugars are in white flour and raise your blood sugar very quickly. So when you eat white bread, white rice or white pasta, you get a spike in your blood sugar. Insulin from your pancreas brings the level back down quickly, leaving you hungry again after one or two hours.”
What is the impact of eating white bread on your body?
Eating white bread once is not harmful to your health, but it can maintain an unhealthy diet. “After eating white bread, you will soon feel hungry again. And when your pancreas has to release insulin all day long, your body cells become insensitive to insulin in the long term. The insulin will then work less well, so that your blood sugar level remains high and type 2 diabetes can develop. That process plays a key role in fatty liver disease, the most common chronic liver disease. 25 to 30 percent of the Belgian population suffers from this, as a result of an unhealthy lifestyle with insufficient exercise and too many fast sugars. Fatty liver can lead to liver scarring and eventually, after 20 or 30 years, to liver cirrhosis and an increased risk of liver cancer. That is the connection between unhealthy diet and damage to the liver.”
You can eat something with fiber first. Only then eat the bread. Or if you do want to start with bread, be smart and add a source of fat, such as butter or olive oil.
Amandine DePaepe
Why is bread before a meal (not) a good idea?
“There is no such thing as a ‘liver-sparing’ diet,” concludes Dr. Geerts. “You need carbohydrates to make an effort. A healthy and varied diet – where you choose complex carbohydrates from wholemeal bread or pasta, vegetables and fruit – make the difference.” Still, there are some tips that limit the fluctuations. Amandine De Paepe explains: “For example, you can eat fiber first. With a vegetable soup as a starter, the peak in your blood sugar level will be smaller. Only then eat the bread. Or if you do want to start with bread, be smart and add a source of fat, such as butter or olive oil. That also stabilizes your blood sugar more.” Also dr. Geerts confirms that.
The type of bread you enjoy before a meal also makes a difference. “Wholemeal bread ensures that you will not want to eat again soon,” explains Dr. Geerts. Amandine De Paepe adds: “A basket of wholemeal bread therefore works to the disadvantage of the restaurant – and also to your disadvantage – because you will no longer have room for a dessert or for the meal that has to follow.” Only if you ate white bread will you still have a hole. It is certainly tasty, although it is not a good idea to make this a habit every day.
Read also:
Cutting out carbohydrates to lose weight is less harmless than you think: “Worst case scenario, it damages your brain” (+)
“Breads that are made correctly are indeed nutritious”: baker and dietitian separate 9 facts from fables about bread (+)
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2023-08-01 14:00:00
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