I grew up on toast.
You probably did as well. Toast is a quintessential American comfort food. Warm toasted bread with butter is simply irresistible.
I also love a good sandwich . . .
But, could our bread habit be making us fat?
Researchers from Spain looked at data from a Mediterranean cohort called the SUN project. They followed 9,267 Spanish graduate students for about 5 years and surveyed their dietary habits using a 136-item food questionnaire.
When they compared white bread consumption of greater than two portions per day (greater than 6 slices per day) versus those consuming less than 1 portion per day (<3 slices per week), they found a significant difference in the risk for being overweight or obese.
Those consuming than 6 slices of white bread per day were about 1.4 times more likely to be overweight or obese.
This effect was not noticed for whole grain bread.
This suggests that you may put yourself at risk of obesity by consuming greater than 6 slices of white bread per day.
Again, research is never perfect and this type of study does not demonstrate a conclusive cause and effect relationship, but it should give us pause the next time we pull out the Wonder bread to toast and butter.
Best Health,
Nick
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The Evidence:
Image Credit: White Bread by Mitchenall on Flickr