Are you addicted to bread?

Bread has a combination of flavor, texture, and high carbohydrate content that makes it so enjoyable that many people find it difficult to stop eating it, especially if it is fresh and hot right out of the oven. In fact, there is a chemical process that occurs within the body when you eat bread that prompts you to eat more and more.

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

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

* Do you feel the urge to eat bread products instead of other foods?

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

* Do you continue to eat bread frequently even when you feel full?

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

* Shortly after a meal, craving more bread products?

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

Okay … maybe you’re addicted to bread. 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 natural ingredients, but why is it so addictive for such 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, muffins, sandwiches, hamburgers and hot dogs, brioche. Then of course there are cakes, croissants, muffins, pies, and the over the top carb donut.

People handle bread differently. Some may take it or leave it. They can enjoy toast for breakfast and that’s it. But if you then eat 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 quell a craving, you’re addict! You are eating more than you need and it is probably getting harder and harder to put on your clothes.

If you often think of your next snack or meal, you are hooked! Bread can really 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 your appetite. Another problem is that it takes about 20 minutes for your brain to realize that you are full, so your last 20 minutes of food are actually overeating.

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

If you have high blood glucose, it can also cause hunger and you will crave foods that are high in carbohydrates, that is, breads. More bread = more insulin released. More insulin released = more insulin trapped in the bloodstream = craving for more carbohydrate-rich foods. Talk about an unhealthy cycle!

This, coupled with the sense of well-being from comfort food, makes it easy to understand why it is 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 food because they want that sense of well-being and believe that eating comfort food, much of which is bread, will help them. Maybe so … but it is short term. This is a form of self-medication, like taking aspirin to cure 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 ingests white breads (or cakes for that matter), it breaks down into sugar, causing blood glucose levels to spike. After this rapid digestion, blood glucose drops rapidly, causing hunger and a craving for more carbohydrates.

If you are addicted to bread, it is not easy to break the habit. However, it is important to 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 smearing a little 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 that do not contain sugar, but maltitol.

Try to limit the amount of bread you eat each 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 for it. Best of all, it will stop your bread addiction and control what you eat, not you.