Are you addicted to bread?

Bread has a combination of flavor, texture, and high carbohydrate content that make it so enjoyable that many people find it hard to stop eating it, especially when it’s fresh out of the oven. In fact, there is a chemical process that occurs within the body when you eat bread that urges you to eat more and more.

Is it any wonder that diets warn us about breads, especially white breads? White bread is made from refined white flour, and while tasty, it is clearly not good for keeping the body in shape.

Could you have an addiction to bread? Ask yourself these questions:

* Do you feel like eating bread products instead of other foods?

* Do you have a strong craving for bread, pastries, cakes and cookies?

* Do you still eat bread often even when you feel full?

* Do you feel relaxed after eating your fill of bread products?

* Shortly after a meal, do you crave more bread products?

If that sounds familiar, you may very well have a bread addiction. Not surprisingly, about 75% of all overweight people are addicted to bread and other carbohydrate-laden products.

Ok… maybe you are a bread addict. Why is bread so irresistible and addictive? Bread is made from cereals. It has fiber which is healthy… although not all carbohydrates. It is made from all natural ingredients, but why is it so addictive to a large number of people?

One answer is that, at least in North American and European societies, we grow up on bread. It is served with most meals and is definitely a comfort food. Toasts, rolls, sandwiches, burgers and hot dogs, brioche. Then, of course, there are the cakes, croissants, muffins, tarts, and the over the top carb donut.

People handle breads differently. Some can take it or leave it. They can enjoy toast for breakfast and that’s it. But if you then have a mid-morning Danish, a muffin or donut, a burger for lunch, cookies in the afternoon, a roll or two with dinner, and maybe even a bedtime snack to satisfy a craving, you’re in! addicted! You’re eating more than you need and it’s probably getting harder and harder to put on your clothes.

If you often find yourself thinking about your next snack or meal, you’re hooked! Bread really can be as addictive as a drug. The problem is that when you eat bread, your body releases insulin. Eat too much bread and your body releases too much insulin. This “hunger hormone” stimulates the appetite. Another problem is that it takes about 20 minutes for the brain to realize it’s full, so the last 20 minutes of eating is really overeating.

Over time, you can develop insulin resistance and your body may stop making insulin. This is an abnormality, and glucose, which normally powers your internal organs, can get trapped in your bloodstream, causing parts of your body to malfunction, possibly leading to type 2 diabetes.

If you have high blood glucose, it can also make you hungry and you will crave foods with a high level of carbohydrates, i.e. breads. More bread = more insulin released. More insulin released = more insulin trapped in the bloodstream = craving more carbohydrate-rich foods. Talk about an unhealthy cycle!

This plus the feel-good feeling of comfort food makes it easy to understand why it’s so easy to become addicted to bread. When people are bored, depressed, angry, lonely, or sad, what happens? They eat! Usually what they crave is high-carb comfort foods because they are looking for that feel-good feeling and believe that eating comfort foods, much of which is bread, will help. Maybe so… but it’s short term. This is a form of self-medication, like taking aspirin to relieve a headache. It only lasts for a while and then you have to take more aspirin. Similarly, breads offer a quick but temporary fix, which can lead to binge eating.

Whole grain, multigrain, and rye breads are not as addictive for most people. When the body eats white bread (or cake), it is broken down into sugar, which causes blood glucose levels to rise. After this quick digestion, blood glucose drops rapidly, leading to hunger and a craving for more carbohydrates.

If you’re a bread addict, it’s not easy to break the habit. However, it is important for your health that you break the habit. You don’t have to give up breads entirely. Of course not. But eat whole grain, multigrain, or rye bread instead of white bread. And it’s not just the bread but what you put on it. Instead of butter or margarine, try brushing on some olive oil. This is great for your body and contains much less fat than the other two options. Also look for jams that have less sugar, or have no sugar at all, but rather maltitol.

Try to limit the amount of bread you eat in a day. Instead of two sandwiches, try one with the same amount of filling as two but half the bread. Slowly, your body will adapt and you will be much healthier. Best of all, you will stop the addiction to bread and control what you eat, it will not control you.