Toasting bread has long been a tradition around the world but how many of us actually stop to think why we do it? For many people, they do it just so that the bread will melt the butter that you put on top of it. However, there are many benefits to eating toasted bread. Part of this comes because you actually change the nutritional value of bread when you toast it.
How It Affects Diabetics?
Toast has two major benefits when it comes to helping those with diabetes. It lowers the glycemic index and it lowers the amount of fat in the toast. Both of these are crucial chances for anyone who has diabetes.
Lower The Glycemic Index
For those that have diabetes or are trying to lose weight, eating bread can be very bad indeed. When you toast your bread though, it lowers the glycemic index. That means that the bread will have less effect on your blood sugar than if you were to eat non-toasted bread. For many people, they will enjoy this because it means that you can have bread with less worry.
Lowered Amounts of Fat
Everyone knows that bread contains a decent amount of fat. Just like the glycemic index, it can cause you to gain weight and affect any diabetes that you might have. When you toast bread it actually lowers the fat content of the bread. It may not be lowered significantly, but it is enough to make a difference if you eat bread every day.
Diarrhea
Toast has been found to be a great way to help those who are suffering from diarrhea. It does this by adding bulk to your stool. This bulk makes your diarrhea more likely to stop and more likely to come out as a normal bowel movement. In fact, toast is part of one of the biggest anti-diarrhea diets out there, BRAT. BRAT stands for bananas, rice, applesauce, and toast. All of these foods together make the perfect diarrhea killer.
Provides Energy
One of the benefits of toasted bread is that it contains starch without a high glycemic index. Starch is a great way to get energy. That is why many people eat it at the start of the day, the starch helps you to wake up and get the energy that you need to succeed during the day. Increasing your energy levels is needed when your body is dispelling waste constantly. Your body isn’t taking the time it needs to process the foods.
Upset Stomach
The same BRAT diet mentioned in diarrhea is used to treat upset stomachs. All of these foods are pretty plain, especially toast. As such, you can still get some of your nutritional value and the starch that you need to power through the day. Eating non-plain foods tends to aggravate the stomach because they are harder to break down.
Nausea and Vomiting
It is never fun to be nauseous or to vomit. One of the lesser-known treatments for both of these conditions is to eat toast. Milk toast is one of the most effective types of toast to create. Using 1 cup of milk, 1 piece of toast, and butter, you can create an acid absorbing and stomach coating treatment from items you already have around the house. This is not a good treatment for the stomach flu because dairy based products do not react well with your body when you have the flu.
When you go to pick your bread to create toast with it is a good idea to look for one of the healthier options out there. Wonder Bread, and other big chains that create refined white bread take the nutritional value out of bread when they create it. Go for whole-grain bread that still has a lot of the nutritional benefits to it. It is also a good idea to look for local bread because there is a far smaller chance that a local seller has augmented the bread in any way.
Toasted bread is almost a different food than non-toasted bread. It becomes healthier for you, the nutritional profile changes, and the taste changes.