5 Side Effects of Eating Too Much Bread
If there's something so many of us can agree on, it's just how wonderful bread is. It's often served at restaurants as a way to kick off a meal and when in doubt, making yourself some toast with butter is a classic, quick comfort food. But if you find yourself eating the entire bread basket yourself quite often, you might just be wondering how all that bread is affecting your body.
Bread is often the first on the list to get cut when someone is wanting to focus on eating fewer carbs or is trying to drop some pounds. But what are the side effects of eating too much bread you'll want to look out for? Is it really damaging your health?
We break it all down for you, highlighting the biggest side effects that can come with eating too much bread.
You'll end up hungrier.
This is where it matters what type of bread you're eating. See, bread is obviously high in carbs and white bread specifically is high on the glycemic index. One study has found that consuming foods that have a high glycemic index may actually increase hunger and promote overeating, which is not something you want to be doing after eating a lot of bread.
Your blood sugar levels can spike.
Eating that entire bread basket can end up resulting in raising your blood sugar levels. And it's important to keep in mind that as your blood sugar levels rise, this can potentially lead to an increased risk of type 2 diabetes.
"White sandwich bread is a refined grain, not a whole grain. When eaten as is, it has a high glycemic index and can directly lead to elevated blood-sugar levels," Lori Zanini, RD, CDE told us in a previous article.
You gain weight.
Besides the fact that bread can lead to overeating and cravings which will cause you to pack on more pounds, white bread has been stripped of fiber and nutrients. This means your body breaks them down very quickly, so you're not getting any fiber when fiber is something you want to eat plenty of because it keeps you fuller longer. Instead, you're just left hungry and then consuming more calories. A vicious cycle!
You can get backed up.
Another downside of not eating enough fiber is that your digestive system starts to get a little out of whack and you might end up getting backed up and suffering from constipation. Well, all that bread isn't doing much to help your bowel movements and keep you regular and there's nothing more uncomfortable than that, right?
You'll feel bloated.
White bread can tend to be high in sodium, especially if you're eating a few slices at one time, and the bread that you're given in restaurants is notorious for being loaded with sodium. Consuming all that salt at one time can lead to bloating, which can be painful. No thanks!
