How good and nutritious is the white bread? How many calories does white bread have? The white bread can provide many nutrients and therefore also many Calories, although the quality and quantity of them depends on where it was prepared.
White bread has a high nutritional value if we see it mainly from the macro point since it provides many carbohydrates per serving, usually a moderate amount of fat (between saturated and unsaturated) and somewhat lower in protein.
Nutritional information and white bread properties.
As for micro nutritional value, white bread prepared with wheat flour usually provides a decent amount of vitamins and minerals although not very varied (not many types) and in very variable amount (depends on the ingredients used to prepare it). That is, every 100 grams of white bread provide calcium, magnesium, iron and vitamin A.
Now, depending on the ingredients these amounts of the micronutrients mentioned may vary, and may possibly also provide some B-complex vitamins.
Which are the nutrients of white bread and how many calories it provides?
According to the information provided by FAO and WHO, every 100 grams of white bread can yield about 270 Calories, more or less, which about 200 are from carbohydrates (between complex and simple), about 40 are from fats (between saturated and unsaturated), and about 30 calories are provided from proteins (yes, proteins also provide Calories).
Is white bread good or bad for my health?
What are the benefits of eating white bread? It's not as if white bread could kill you. Or maybe it does?
Because if you eat a lot of white bread during the day, and if you do not exercise (or sometimes even when you do), because it is a type of carbohydrate with a high glycemic index you could develop diseases such as diabetes, and if you also get hitted by the "devil" of obesity and with this the "nymphs" of hypertension ...
... you could suffer cardiovascular diseases and then the risks of myocardial infarction, cerebral infarcts, among other complications, could kill you at any moment, or in a slow and quite painful way.
And keep this in mind when eating an excess of white bread for a long time instead of eating it sporadically and in moderate portions. I talk about those who usually have breakfast, lunch, dinner and snack with white bread and also do not exercise, or maybe even if they exercise but very rarely, and also have a low vegetables intake in their diets.
Now, when it comes to people with high energy requirements according to their age, sex and all the activities and / or mental and physical exercises they perform during the day, white bread could become a great ally to complement the nutritional part ...
... of course taking into account that they are people who are not allergic or intolerant to gluten (wheat protein) ... If you are allergic to this protein then opt for a white bread prepared based on other ingredients such as rice, quinoa, etc.
Does White Bread Help Me Gain Muscle Mass?
As I already mentioned, those people who usually train hard sports, traditional routines with weights, etc. seeking to improve or maintain their level of muscle mass and also maybe they are looking for something that helps them to supply the energy requirements they need to consume which may not reach to cover with other foods ...
... white bread can become an ideal complement to the diet of almost anyone high performance athlete or even an amateur level, or people who train hard not to compete but to look good and to improve their health.
Remember that I am generalizing the white bread by its color, meaning that not only I mean white bread that is prepared based on wheat flour, but also other types of white bread that are made from other types of flour such as rice, chia, amaranth, quinoa flour, soy flour, among others.
Although of course I believe that you came here looking for the information of the white bread that is prepared with wheat flour, which is the most common and in fact is the bread of which I speak in the second paragraph of this article.
But as for this second subtitle, I want to imply that any type of white bread can become an ideal complement for anyone who has a high energy requirement who also wants to help recover faster by what is known as food overcompensation ...
... or ingest more Calories than spent during a training and during the activities performed before this training, to stimulate an optimal recovery and allow our body to adapt in a positive way and at the same time recover 100% to face an upcoming training session.
Eating only white bread or eating it with vegetables and proteins in the same meal?
The sandwich or indeed the different types of sandwiches have been a great invention. These are fairly complete meals especially when these are prepared with a good amount and variety of vegetables, if we look at the side of the micro nutritional value (vitamins and minerals) ...
... and as for the macro, already depends more on the caloric requirements of each person, so it may be a sandwich with a can of tuna fish, or with two cans of tuna fish, or with 100 or more grams of breast chicken, etc.
NOTE: of course the amounts of vitamins and minerals to be consumed also depend on each person (age, sex, physical activity level, among other variables).
Then, for example, a sandwich with white bread of any kind (Arabian bread, French bread, pita bread, white bread made with other types of flour, etc.), a good portion of a protein source (chicken, meat, , Quinoa, tofu, etc.) and a very varied amount of vegetables, can be converted to an excellent post workout meal.
Of course it can also become an excellent pre-workout meal, and in fact it can be a good option to ingest at some of the main meals or in fact it can also be a good option for snacking.
Of course you should keep in mind that the amounts of white bread from this and other sandwiches and in fact also the amounts of protein, depend on the basal and total energy requirement of each person (about vegetables should not worry so much when consumed in high quantities since they contribute few Calories per serving ... although too much fiber is not good for our help).
Does white bread make me fat (gain weight)?
Many people are afraid of the consumption of white bread, especially that bread which is made with wheat flour and which tends to have a very pleasant aroma and a very exquisite flavor, because it is thought that any amount consumed from it will build up body fat in exorbitant amounts.
While it is true that white bread contains many Calories per serving, especially that one which is prepared in neighborhood bakeries that is made based on wheat flour, any type of food consumed in excess per unit of time could cause fattening in terms of accumulating body fat and perhaps also visceral fat.
Eating lots of protein could also make you fat, and even if you ate bestial amounts of vegetables and fruits.
What happens is that in the case of vegetables, for example, the amounts of Calories that these contribute per serving are very low, ie to consume in vegetables the total Calories that would provide 100 grams of white bread, you would have to eat 2 thousand or more grams of vegetables (more or less).
The case of proteins is somewhat similar. For example to match in Calories what gives you 100 grams of white bread made with wheat flour, you would have to eat about 200 grams of beef, for example.
And 200 grams of beef are not easy to ingest from a single compared to 100 grams of white bread that with coffee or other drinks enters our body very easy.
In addition, there is also the difference that our body tends to metabolize better the protein sources for what they are, or to form more proteins in our body, and very little tends to accumulate in body fat.
Although this does not mean that you should then choose to eliminate all kinds of carbohydrate and start eating only proteins.
Unless it is clear that this contribution by traditional complex carbohydrates such as rice, bread, pasta, among others, could be completely supplemented by vegetables. But are you willing to do this? That is to eat only vegetables and proteins (the type depends on if you are omnivorous or vegetarian)