The benefits and harms of yeast bread for the human body

Why is the composition of bread so important?

Two years ago, after finishing a major project at work, my immunity also ended.
I ended up in the hospital for a whole year. After this experience, on the advice of doctors, I began to understand nutrition. I started first of all with what I really love and eat often. Topping this list is bread. There are products from which you expect a dirty trick and know that it is harmful: chips, Coca-Cola, fast food. No such suspicions arise about bread. Since childhood, we have become accustomed to eating bread: in a sandwich for breakfast, with soup and salads.

There is a lot of bread on the shelves, we figured it out and will tell you how to choose a healthy one.

Bread is generally healthy. It contains vegetable protein, B vitamins, dietary fiber, and minerals. But the bread sold in stores and bakeries is not always healthy.

Crackers: benefits and harms

Crackers are dried slices of bread alone or with the addition of raisins, sesame seeds and poppy seeds. They are a product that is very rich in fiber, phosphorus, iron, potassium and magnesium. They also contain a lot of easily digestible carbohydrates.

The main positive difference between crackers and fresh baked goods is that they are not capable of causing flatulence, which is very important for older people. Rusks help the body regain strength in the postoperative period. They will be a good analogue of bread for those who want to lose weight.

But along with their positive properties, crackers can also cause harm. Abuse of the product can cause serious problems and negatively affect intestinal function. There are crackers of various types, shapes and tastes on sale. The taste of crackers is given by flavorings or stabilizers, which negatively affect the condition of the human body.

What is flour made from?

The grain consists of the germ, endosperm and outer shell of the grain.

The germ contains vitamins and microelements, which are discussed in articles about healthy bread.

The endosperm is the largest part of the grain and contains a lot of starch and protein.

Bran is the ground outer shell of the grain and is a source of fiber. It swells in the intestines and acts as a sponge for washing dishes. Envelops, scrapes waste or difficult to digest parts of food from the intestinal walls and directs them to the exit.

Bran contains many vitamins, proteins, minerals, carbohydrates, fiber, and fatty acids. Bran contains a beta-glucan component. It lowers cholesterol in the blood and cleanses blood vessels

Liliya Sergeevna Mikhailichenko
Candidate of Medical Sciences, nutritionist, pediatric endocrinologist, Federal State Budgetary Educational Institution of Higher Education Rostov State Medical University Research Institute of Advanced Clinical Medicine

A little history

10,000 years ago, Middle Easterners discovered that crushed wild grass seeds mixed with water produced a nutrient-rich mixture. It can be assumed that the mixture was accidentally poured onto a hot surface or onto a stone near the hearth, and in this way the first bread was made.

The leftover porridge from the day before inadvertently landed on another hot stone, creating a sourdough cake. Over the centuries, the manufacturing process has improved. Originally, flour contained the remains of the grain shell. Thanks to modern technologies, people have learned to produce many types of flour and bread. For example, Borodino - with a sweet and spicy taste.

What flour is bread made from?

Wheat flour according to GOST:

1. Premium quality wheat flour . To produce such flour, the grain is ground several times to small particles, then carefully sifted. The screening process removes the useful parts of the grain—the bran and the germ. All that remains is the endosperm—starch and protein. Sliced ​​loaf and almost all white bread are made from this flour
2. “Extra” is more refined and finer than premium flour. I have never seen it in bread.
3. First grade wheat flour is the same white flour, the grind is a little coarser, it also does not contain parts of the germ and practically no bran.
4. Second grade wheat flour is often called “coarsely ground” flour due to the fact that the particles are larger and there is slightly more bran in it compared to the first and highest grade. This flour is preferable to the first two varieties, but it contains little bran and no germ part of the grain. It can also be classified as white refined flour.
5. Wallpaper flour is the coarsest flour, preserves all parts of the grain, and is the healthiest.

Rye flour according to GOST:

1. Sifted - purified, finely ground flour. It has the least number of useful properties.
2. “Special” is an analogue of premium wheat flour.
3. Peeled is similar to second grade wheat flour - it contains more bran.
4. Wallpaper is unrefined wholemeal flour. To produce it, the grain is ground once, practically without sifting out anything. Wallpaper flour preserves all parts of the grain, it has a high content of bran, and is the healthiest.

During the production of rye flour, useful particles are also crushed and sifted out. Therefore, you need to carefully look at the variety on the label.

Whole grain bread is considered the most useful, both for weight loss and for general health. It contains fiber, which in turn improves intestinal motility and promotes the elimination of heavy metal salts and breakdown products.

Liliya Sergeevna Mikhailichenko
Candidate of Medical Sciences, nutritionist, pediatric endocrinologist, Federal State Budgetary Educational Institution of Higher Education Rostov State Medical University Research Institute of Advanced Clinical Medicine

“Whole grain” is not a type of flour, but a general name for products made using unrefined grain technology (pasta, cereals, flour).

The healthiest flour is wallpaper flour. Since it refers to a whole grain method of preparing products. Flour of the highest grade is the most useless.

An effective antidepressant

Depression occupies a leading position in the list of human ailments. This is a serious and dangerous disease that requires complex treatment, a consequence of oxygen starvation in the human brain. Magnesium, vitamins B, P, C and trace elements contained in rye products are considered especially important for brain cells and act as a natural antidepressant, necessary for the body and its protection. Black bread has a large amount of fiber, which supports the body in the fight against nervous disorders. Fiber helps increase the production of a substance called the happy hormone by up to 80%.

Taking into account the nutritional value of black bread and its beneficial effects on the body, it is rightfully considered part of a healthy diet. Those suffering from celiac disease or gluten intolerance can substitute other types of bread, such as corn or rice. You shouldn't completely rule out such a rich source of health and nutritional value as rye bread. But it is important to understand that you cannot get rid of diseases with bread alone.

Why is refined flour bad?

Chemical composition of flour according to GOST:

From the table we see that the more starch (carbohydrates) in flour, the less healthy proteins and dietary fiber (fiber). Refined flour is inferior in composition to unrefined flour.

A decree on the website of the Russian newspaper confirms the benefits of unrefined flour: “Technological processing of grain crops, including wheat and rye into flour, is accompanied by significant losses of micronutrients, vitamins and minerals, which are removed along with the grain shell.”

How bread made from refined flour affects the body

This bread contains a lot of protein and starch, which turn into a sticky mass in the intestines. If there is no bran in bread, this mass clogs the intestinal walls and prevents the body from receiving useful substances from food. Due to a lack of nutrients, we feel chronic lethargy, our immunity decreases, which can lead to diseases and allergies.

Bread made from refined flour contains fast carbohydrates. They are “fast” because the feeling of fullness does not last long. Thanks to them, we eat more than we need and gain excess weight.

Bread made from premium flour is considered the most “useless”. In bread made from second grade flour, i.e. coarse grinding, such as grain or with bran, is much more beneficial.

Liliya Sergeevna Mikhailichenko
Candidate of Medical Sciences, nutritionist, pediatric endocrinologist, Federal State Budgetary Educational Institution of Higher Education Rostov State Medical University Research Institute of Advanced Clinical Medicine

The more refined the flour, the less nutrients it contains.

Gluten —they write and talk about it a lot. The topic is complex and controversial; I don’t want to draw conclusions superficially. I was unable to find serious scientific articles that convincingly prove the harm of gluten. If you have links to such sources, please share in the comments.

For weight loss

Many people believe that it is impossible to maintain a slim figure by eating flour products every day. This is a false opinion, since there is bread that is good for weight loss.

Completely avoiding baked goods can have a detrimental effect on your health. Once you are determined to eat right, you should just give up wheat loaves and rolls, because wheat flour loses almost all its beneficial substances after processing.

It is harmful for the body to eat bread whose ingredients have undergone long technical processing.

Losing weight consumers are better off focusing on whole grain bread or products with added bran. Bran will fill the body with energy and satisfy the feeling of hunger for a while. And baked goods made from whole grain flour will become a treasure trove of nutrients and vitamins for the body.

In pursuit of a slim body when consuming baked goods, it is worth remembering a few simple rules:

• consume only a couple of slices a day, and in the first half of the day;
• give preference to products prepared without adding yeast;
• Avoid products based on wheat flour.

What else to look for in the composition

Read the ingredients when choosing bread. This will help you recognize obvious inadequacies before purchasing.

Article about sugar: Why and how to give up

Sugar is added to raise the dough and give it a nice, crispy crust. The exact amount is not indicated on the label, but you can guess if you look closely at the composition.

Ingredients are listed by quantity from largest to smallest. According to this principle, sugar should be at the end of the list, next to salt and yeast.

The closer the sugar is to the beginning of the composition, the more there is in the bread.

Pay attention to where sugar is listed in the composition. Next to salt and yeast - in this case, there is not much of it in the bread.

Here, for example, is “Malt” bread. Granulated sugar is in third place. This means that there is a lot of it there. Put the bread in its place and let it stay there.

Margarine is added to bread to make the crumb more tender. But margarine contains up to 20% trans fats. The WHO recommended daily intake is 1%.

“Trans fats: what they are and what they are eaten with” book by Zhuravlev A.V.

Products containing trans fats increase the risk of cardiovascular disease by 2 times. Contributes to the development of breast cancer, infertility, cancer and diabetes.

Bread "Toast". Convenient shape, friends often buy it for sandwiches. Let's read the composition. Premium wheat flour, water, sugar, margarine, improvers, antioxidants. We don’t take this kind of bread.

Toast bread is made with soul and love - now I will cry with happiness, we read the composition: first grade wheat flour, peeled rye flour, sugar, margarine. If we see sugar and margarine in the ingredients, as here at the beginning of the list, we don’t take it.

Our favorite is the sliced ​​one. Let's read the composition. Premium wheat flour, water, sugar, margarine... you don’t need to read any further. White flour, sugar, and also margarine. Hello, diabetes, excess weight, allergies...

Improvers in bread are all additives classified as “E”: oxidizing agents, reducing agents, preservatives. With them, the bread is wadded and tasteless. You can overeat it and not notice it because it does not give you a feeling of fullness.

List of improvers in PDF

Oxidative improvers accelerate the ripening and bleaching of flour. With oxidizing agents, you can prepare bread in 3 hours. But it will not be as aromatic and tasty as bread with 12-hour or daily fermentation.

Restorative action improvers increase the extensibility of dough gluten. The bread with them is airy, with holes, like cheese.

Modified starches are used to make bread go stale more slowly.

Experts say enhancers are not harmful in small doses. But frequent consumption of foods with “E” can provoke allergies or aggravate chronic diseases.

There are many more flavor improvers and enhancers, but you should remember: “E” - should not be in the composition of healthy bread

It looks like this on the label:

E 471, E 475, E 330, E 202, E 200, E 160, flour improver with a very long list...

On the outside of the label are “Premium” and flax seeds. Ingredients: emulsifiers, baking improver... Designed to make you think “well, of course, here it is, healthy bread.” And you won’t read the ingredients.

“Village” bread contains improvers. Manufacturers honestly wrote on the label: E 471, E475, E330, E 202, E 200, and so on.

Here's what I can do with this bread. I squeeze it and it becomes easily deformed. And light in weight.

I bought this bread at a bakery near my house. Let's check it for improvers.

The bread shrinks easily and loses its structure when you press on it. And then it also quickly restores its shape. What was put there and in what quantity can only be guessed.

The additives are not very harmful, but they are not advisable for the diet. High concentrations may cause digestive problems. Make sure that there are no long and unclear names in the composition.

Otrubnoy

It is also worth noting with attention, talking about which bread is the healthiest. Bran bread is enriched with vitamins. It is useful for the following reasons:

• The dietary fiber it contains cleanses the body of toxins and has a preventive effect against atherosclerosis.
• Treats constipation and prevents its occurrence.
• With moderate consumption and a well-designed diet, it helps to lose weight.
• Cleanses the walls of the digestive organs and makes the stomach work.
• Increases hemoglobin levels and improves blood composition. Bran bread is especially recommended for people with iron deficiency anemia.
• Coarse fibers remove excess substances from the intestines. It should be eaten by people with allergies, skin problems, acne, hair loss and fungal diseases.

In short, bran bread is a natural adsorbent. Not without its drawbacks, of course. Many consider its taste to be a significant disadvantage - not everyone likes it. Bran bread is coarser and rougher than regular bread, less fluffy and airy. And sometimes there is even bitterness - but this is if low-quality bran was used.

Which bread is healthier, black or white?

Both wheat and rye bread are healthy if made from wallpaper or whole grain flour. But such bread is difficult to find. Almost all black or dark bread is a mixture of wheat and rye flour. Due to the fact that rye flour does not have enough gluten, wheat is added to it to make the bread rise.

If rye flour:

At the top of the list is bread prepared according to the rules and it is healthier. In the middle or towards the end - its content is low; such bread does not contain enough vitamins and dietary fiber.

Here is dark ciabatta, for example. It is clear that if the ciabatta is not light, then take it calmly and go home. We check: premium flour, water, malt extract. In fact, this is bread made from white flour; it was simply given a different color due to additives.

Wheat flour, malt, yeast... rye flour comes in last place. The baguette is not very rye. Bye, baguette, you won’t come with me.

If the bread is dark in color, this does not mean that it is healthier and does not mean that it is rye. “Rye bread” made from refined flour has the same benefits as a loaf of white bread.

Improves heart function

A study conducted in Finland, one of the largest rye bread consuming countries, shows that a reduced risk of death from heart disease is associated with consumption of rye products. The dietary fiber in rye bran protects against cholesterol, prevents LDL oxidation, which causes atherosclerosis and stroke, and helps reduce the risk of coronary heart disease. It is recommended for people with high blood pressure.

Daily consumption of whole grain foods significantly reduces blood pressure in middle-aged men and women. This is due to the action of dietary fiber, minerals and phytochemicals. Rye phytochemicals, mainly phenolic compounds, lower blood pressure by inhibiting angiotensin-converting enzyme and preventing the formation of atherosclerotic plaques.

With sourdough or yeast

There is a lot of debate about the benefits of sourdough and the dangers of yeast in bread. It is believed that yeast survives after bread is baked and causes a negative reaction in the body. This has not been scientifically proven. I did not find any information in any article about the dangers of yeast that could be used to check the accuracy: a clear name of the study, the date of the study, or a link to the text.

Yeast dies at a temperature of 60 degrees. Bread baking temperature is 220 degrees, inside the bread loaf is 95-98 degrees. There is no variety of yeast that can withstand high temperatures.

It is easier to make quick bread with yeast, since the dosage of yeast can be increased tens of times. An important point regarding the use of yeast and starter cultures. By the end of baking bread, all microflora dies, the bread becomes yeast-free and bacteria-free.

Sergey Kirillov,
ideologist of the Professor Poof bakery, baker and blogger

Product treatment recipes

For sore joints

A crust of rye bread will help relieve pain from arthritis and arthrosis. To do this, you need to separate it, warm it up a little (so that it is warm) and apply it to the sore spot with the cut side down. To prevent the crusts from drying out quickly, you can secure them on top with a damp linen napkin. You need to keep this bandage until the pain subsides.

For radiculitis, it is better to use the lower crust.

For gout

An effective remedy for this disease can be made by pouring 1 glass of kefir into a 0.5 liter jar, and then filling it to the top with crumbled rye bread. Add 1 tbsp to it. l. soda and leave for 5 hours. After this, the mixture is filtered, the pulp is squeezed out and lotions are made from the resulting liquid during the day, and compresses are applied at night. The course of treatment is from 2 weeks to a month.

Let's check everything I told you in the store.

I went through common chains with a wide range of products, which are available in most cities (Magnit, Perekrestok, Green Perekrestok, Auchan, Pyaterochka).

I can’t recommend a specific manufacturer, but I’ll tell you the general principle of what to pay attention to. In different cities, manufacturers and names of bread may differ, but the composition is an indicator that you should focus on when choosing.

1. Baguette with onions
2. Bread Borodinsky
3. Sandwich bun
4. Sliced ​​wheat bread
5. Bread Fitness
6. Merchant Bread
7. Homemade bread
8. Khutorskoy bread
9. Bread Bread

Let's look at the composition: premium wheat flour, improvers. We don’t take classic bread made from white flour.

Okay, you can eat

White flour and a ton of sugar

The first grade of wheat flour is almost the same as the highest grade; in fact, it is classic bread made from white flour. We don't take it.

And again mega-healthy bread. Let's read the composition. Premium wheat flour, water, oat flakes, all sorts of seeds... In fact, the same sliced ​​loaf, some flakes, only without sugar. Cheap and unintelligent scam.

So, it looks like rye. The composition is long, but everything is to the point. No long list E, no sugar, no margarine. In first place is peeled rye flour, in second place is first-grade wheat flour. It's okay, you can take this bread.

Homemade bread. I just want to just pick up and run, it’s clear that everything is fine here. Let's read the composition.

Peeled rye flour, sourdough, first grade wheat flour, molasses, and also sugar. Only the manufacturer knows how much sugar there is for this volume of bread. In general, it’s not the most criminal option. You can take it.

Khutorskoy bread is an excellent name. Let's read the composition. 1st grade wheat flour, peeled rye flour, sourdough, salt, bran, water. First grade flour is almost the same as premium flour, but there is bran. You can take it.

Inconspicuous Otrubnoy bread, no beautiful labels. Let's read the composition. First grade wheat flour, peeled rye flour, water, bran, malt, sugar, salt, yeast. Sugar is next to salt and yeast, which means there isn’t much of it there. Good composition - let's take it.

Tips for making rye

Almost all grains require long-term cooking over low heat. During cooking, rye grains decompose, and the starch they contain turns into dextrin, which is easily digestible. You can cook it in water, but if you cook it in water mixed with milk, in the proportion of 1 part milk and 2 parts water, the taste will be better.

There are several factors to consider before cooking:

• Place the rye grains under cool running water and rinse thoroughly to remove dust and other unwanted particles.
• For softness, soak the washed grains overnight. For 1 serving of rye, add 2 servings of water and simmer for about 180 minutes.
• If using cereal, add 3 servings of water for each serving of rye cereal.
• You can also replace wheat flour with rye flour for pancake, bread, or muffin recipes.
• Use cooked rye grains as a garnish for a variety of dishes.

The grains should be evenly mixed during cooking; they will look much more appetizing while maintaining their shape. Stirring too vigorously will ruin their appearance.

Improperly cooked grains cannot be completely digested by digestive juices, and this will lead to the formation of residues that irritate the walls of the gastrointestinal tract.

About bakeries

Bakeries of large hypermarkets are required to indicate the composition; all other bakeries do not do this. Let's look at the example of “Perekrestok” and “Auchan”. At the beginning of the article there were several examples, now more details.

And here we have a shelf with obviously healthy, dark bread. Okay, let's read the composition.

1. Mini baguette
2. Bread Champion
3. Bread Harvest
4. French baguette
5. Lavash thin

This is a dark baguette, also with seeds. Turn it over. First grade flour is already better than just white flour. In theory, it is possible.

Just health and health. Let's look at the composition. Wheat flour, then you don’t need to be a chemist to understand what is hidden in every E. Sadness.

Just in case, they wrote to you that it contains bran. Okay, let's read the ingredients anyway. Wheat flour, again unknown, most likely premium or first grade, bran, sugar, margarine, then again - interesting chemistry. There is bran in this bread, but it doesn’t make any difference here at all.

Everyone loves a baguette, right? Let's read the composition. Wheat flour, salt, improvers, dextrose, some additives. If you feel that your knowledge is not enough to understand the composition, return it to its place and leave happily without it.

Thin lavash contains no additives, no sugar, no yeast, but the flour in it is of the highest grade.

You can also find this kind of bread in vegetarian and health food stores.

It is made from whole sprouted grains. The taste is unusual, I liked it. It is difficult to swallow in pieces, as I am used to with regular bread. You have to chew and chew and it’s filling. A couple of slices are enough.

Don't panic, gentlemen! We all eat bread, but often not very good bread. We have put together a number of simple rules so that you can minimize the potential danger.

Memo

1. Treat bread as a treat, not as a meal.
2. Sugar at the beginning of the composition, milk powder, margarine on the label say one thing - feel free to pass by.
3. If the bread is light and you can squeeze it with your hand like a sponge, don’t take it.
4. Healthy bread is made from wallpaper flour. Acceptable option: wheat flour of the first, second grade, rye flour - peeled. It is ideal that the composition also contains bran
5. If you haven’t found an option that is acceptable in composition, don’t take anything better.
6. In a large chain store such as Perekrestok, Auchan, Pyaterochka, due to the large assortment, it is easier to find bread with the desired composition than in a small store near your home.
7. When buying bread from bakeries, ask for the type of flour and detailed ingredients. Bakeries must have such documents.
8. Both rye and wheat bread will taste better and be better digestible if you dry the slices on both sides in a hot frying pan without oil.

We have prepared information for you about other safe products and recipes with which you will be confident in your well-being and health. Enter your email and click the download button ↓

Prevents cancer

The characteristics of rye bread, obtained by natural fermentation of yeast, help remove carcinogens from the body. According to Dr. David Hiatt, head of oncology at La Pitié Salpêtrière hospital in Paris, this is possible thanks to fiber cleansing the digestive tract.

Lignans are processed by intestinal microflora into compounds that reduce the risk of cancer. To prevent tumors, it is useful to eat bread with sunflower grains. The linoleic acid contained in it prevents the formation of breast and lung tumors. Experts from the World Research Fund and the American Institute of Cancer Research have found that vitamin E helps protect the body from esophageal and prostate cancer, and colon cancer.

Rzhanik is rich in antioxidants that protect the body from malignant tumors. Therapeutic diets rich in antioxidants are not only immune, but also antitumor.