Bread has received more than its fair share of condemnations from the natural health community. And more often than not, the criticisms leveled against it are well-warranted.
For starters, bread and similar food products are processed as sugars in the body, meaning that their consumption creates insulin spikes (and the inevitable crashes that follow). We’re finally learning that the Food Pyramid many of us were taught as kids—featuring 6-11 daily servings of bread, pasta, and similar carbohydrates—is not exactly a map for achieving optimal health.
On the contrary, making simple carbohydrates our primary fuel source can lead to chronic inflammation (the “root of all disease”), obesity, erratic mood and energy levels (because of constant blood sugar fluctuations), diabetes (because excess glucose in your body leads to insulin resistance over time), and other serious health issues.
And to make matters worse, many breads contain added sugar, which ensures that they even more strongly contribute to the undesirable conditions mentioned above.
By now, you’re probably also familiar with the dangers of consuming gluten, which we’ve discussed at length in other articles. Gluten impairs brain function,[1] suppresses the immune system,[2] riddles the body with mycotoxins, and can even work on opioid receptors in the brain much like heroin.[3]
And don’t think that gluten-free bread is the solution—all of the same sugar issues still apply, and many gluten-free products contain toxic ingredients that make them even worse than their gluten-rich counterparts.
Toxic Contaminant Discovered in Over 80% of Popular Breads
In case you still need more reasons to minimize your bread consumption, the vast majority of pre-packaged breads contain all sorts of additives that are downright toxic (an unfortunate truth made even more absurd by the fact that perfectly good bread can be made with four simple ingredients—water, salt, yeast, and flour).
One additive that’s raising a lot of red flags is potassium bromate, which is used to improve the texture of dough, to speed up the baking process, and to give the final product a pleasing, white appearance. Naturally, food manufacturers claim that it’s harmless, but the results of multiple studies say otherwise—early research demonstrated that potassium bromate causes DNA damage, is acutely toxic to the kidneys, and even that it causes cancer in laboratory animals.[4]
Further research confirmed that potassium bromate disrupts the genetic material in cells and damages chromosomes, easily breaks down into highly reactive free radicals that damage every part of the body,[5] acutely damages the liver and the intestines, and significantly increases the risk of cancer (especially in the thyroid and kidneys).[6]
And none of this should come as a shock: The International Agency for Research on Cancer labeled it a potential human carcinogen as long ago as 1999.[7]
For these reasons, the chemical has already been banned in many countries, including the UK, Brazil, Canada, China, and the EU. When the entire European Union and even China (a country not known for its scrupulousness when it comes to safe manufacturing practices) bans something, it’s safe to assume that you shouldn’t be putting it into your body.
Here’s the bad news, though: recent testing revealed that potassium bromate is in over 80% of popular bread brands. And you won’t even find this noxious chemical listed on ingredient labels.
You should still always read the ingredients of the bread you’re purchasing, though, in order to be on the lookout for added sugars (including high fructose corn syrup), artificial flavorings, artificial coloring, azodicarbonamide (a chemical used in yoga mats and shoe rubber), and preservatives.
Sadly, potassium bromate is just one of many chemical contaminants in bread that won’t be listed as ingredients.
Companies are allowed to treat flour with over 60 questionable chemicals—including bleach—and none of them are disclosed as ingredients. Recent tests even revealed that some popular brands of bread contain worrying levels of glyphosate, the horrendously toxic active ingredient in Monsanto’s RoundUp pesticide.
How to protect yourself
First and foremost, try to break the dreaded blood sugar cycle mentioned above by replacing some of your simple carbohydrate intake with vegetables (especially lots of dark, leafy greens), low-sugar fruits (like strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, grapefruit, and kiwi), healthy fats (like coconut oil, avocados, and grass-fed butter or ghee), and clean sources of protein.
When you do eat bread, make sure it’s of the highest quality. The ideal choice is freshly baked bread made with freshly milled flour (this will minimize the wheat’s mycotoxicity, but you’ll still have to deal with gluten’s other drawbacks).
If you must eat pre-packaged bread, just make sure it’s made with organic ingredients, made with whole wheat flour, and doesn’t contain added sugars, potassium bromate, or any of the other toxic ingredients listed above.
Conscious shopping and eating can be a bit tedious, but it’s well worth the effort, especially when even the foods we consider basic staples are laced with cancer-causing chemicals and other contaminants.
References
[1] http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/06/20/gut-brain-connection.aspx
[2] http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19332085
[3] http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/6099562
[4] http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1567851/
[5] http://www.epa.gov/iris/toxreviews/1002tr.pdf
[6] http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9789944
