Bread contains gluten, will eating too much make you fat? Experts explain three major questions

The fluffy and soft bread, when you take a bite, the aroma of flour is so tempting that you can't help but eat it bite by bite! In addition, its easy storage and carrying characteristics make it the first choice for many people as an afternoon snack or to satisfy their hunger. But recently there have been rumors on the Internet: "If you want to be healthy, eat less bread!", "Bread contains a lot of gluten and will make you fat." Is bread really so evil?

Bread contains a lot of gluten, so should you eat less if you want to lose weight? Experts explain 3 bread questions

In recent years, with the rise of health awareness, the public has gradually become more concerned about food safety. Among them, bread, which has a complicated cooking process, is the most affected. People often worry that its pure white appearance and fluffy texture are made by adding a large amount of extra food additives, and they are afraid that eating it will affect their health.

However, Huang Ruimei, former associate professor of the Department of Food Science at Fu Jen Catholic University, mentioned at a lecture held by the Fengshi Education Foundation that this concept is not entirely correct! In fact, as long as people learn to choose and judge correctly, they can enjoy bread while taking into account nutrition and health. The following is an explanation of the three major bread nutrition questions circulating on the Internet:

Q1/Is a gluten-free diet good for weight loss? Bread contains a lot of gluten, so should we eat less?

Former Associate Professor Huang Ruimei pointed out that the gluten-free diet that has become popular in Europe and the United States recently is mainly suitable for patients with celiac disease who are allergic to gluten and then develop symptoms such as diarrhea or skin allergies. This disease is common in Europeans and Americans (about 1% suffer from this disease) and is less common in Asians.

Therefore, if ordinary people rashly implement a gluten-free diet, it will not only be unhelpful in losing weight, but it is also likely to cause nutritional imbalance. It is recommended that everyone should understand their own physical condition and then choose a weight loss diet that suits them.

In fact, if you want to enjoy the deliciousness of bread without gaining weight, just try to avoid eating sweet bread with high fat and sugar content; choose multi-grain bread, whole wheat bread and other bread instead, and eat them with fresh fruits and vegetables in moderation, which is a balanced and nutritious choice.

Q2/The production process of whole wheat flour is difficult, so are the whole wheat breads on the market fake?

In this regard, former Associate Professor Huang Ruimei explained that the structure of wheat can be mainly divided into three parts: bran, germ and endosperm. However, if flour millers directly grind the whole wheat into flour, the flour may oxidize quickly and deteriorate due to the high fat content in the wheat germ. Therefore, most of the flour available on the market is indeed made by grinding the remaining endosperm after removing the bran and germ.

In addition, although flour ground directly from whole wheat is called "whole-grain flour", whole-grain flour requires special equipment to grind and is relatively difficult to obtain. Therefore, most common whole wheat breads in the market are made with ordinary flour, and then bran and germ are added to adjust the whole grain ratio to more than 51% as required by regulations. Only then can it be called whole wheat bread. While retaining the nutrition of wheat, it avoids the situation where whole grain flour is difficult to obtain and preserve.

Q3/In order to make the finished product more beautiful, is it necessary to add bleaching agents and ripening agents to bread?

Former Associate Professor Huang Ruimei admitted that the production process of a loaf of bread, from the flour raw material (wheat) to the finished product, requires a very tedious process. Therefore, it is not easy to fully retain the nutritional value and original taste of bread ingredients while meeting commercial value.

Current domestic government regulations also stipulate that flour producers can add bleaching agents (<60ppm) and ripening agents (<45ppm) within the permitted range. However, in recent years, with the rise of health awareness among Chinese people, almost all flour factories no longer add additional bleaching agents and ripening agents.

Want to eat bread in peace? Learn 2 steps to correctly read food labels and nutrition labels

In addition to explaining the common rumors about bread, Lin Fangyan, deputy executive director of the Fengshi Public Welfare Food Culture Education Foundation, mentioned: "The Good Food Pulse Lecture hopes to be based on science and make food information transparent, so that people can better understand how to choose the food that suits them and take the power of eating into their own hands." And former associate professor Huang Ruimei also mentioned that if you want to ensure that the bread you eat is safe, it is even more important to learn two steps to correctly read food labels and nutrition labels:

Step 1／Read food labels: Check food labels to see if the ingredients with high content in the product meet the requirements. In order to make food ingredients and nutritional information transparent, Taiwan's "Food Sanitation Management Act" has clearly stipulated that all types of packaged foods and beverages must have detailed food ingredients and nutritional labels, and their ingredients must be arranged in order of quantity.

Step 2／Read the nutrition label: Confirm whether the nutritional content and ingredients of the product meet your needs.