When you consume carbohydrate sources such as bread, your body breaks down the carbohydrates into sugars, which then cause an increase in your blood sugar levels. Not all kinds of bread affect your blood sugar levels in the same way, and keeping your blood sugar levels lower can help to prevent health problems like diabetes. Most kinds of whole wheat bread affect your blood sugar levels similarly to white bread, so if you are concerned about your blood glucose levels, you should consider trying other kinds of bread.
Why Is Blood Sugar Important?
Your blood glucose levels affect your risk of developing a number of different health problems, particularly if you already have diabetes or pre-diabetes. Pre-diabetes and type 2 diabetes are caused by problems with responding to insulin, a hormone that is released when your blood glucose levels rise. Elevated blood glucose levels can damage your blood vessels, kidneys, nerves and retinas. Even if you respond normally to insulin, high blood sugar levels can cause your body to become resistant to insulin, resulting in type 2 diabetes.
Bread and Whole Grains
When you consume carbohydrates, your blood glucose levels go up. However, not all kinds of carbohydrates affect your blood glucose levels the same. When you eat carbohydrates made with whole grains, the additional fiber in the carbohydrate source slows down how fast carbohydrate are digested, keeping your blood glucose levels lower. In fact, eating whole grains at breakfast can help lower your blood sugar levels throughout the day.
Whole Wheat Bread and Blood Glucose Levels
One way of measuring how foods affect your blood glucose levels is to look at the glycemic index of different foods. The higher the glycemic index, the higher your blood glucose levels get after eating the food. White bread and whole wheat bread have approximately the same glycemic index, with wheat bread having a glycemic index of 71 and white bread having a glycemic index of 70. This means that the both lead to a similar increase in blood glucose levels. This is because most breads that are labeled as "whole wheat" are still made with processed flour, so whole wheat bread is not the same as whole grain bread. As a result, whole wheat bread is no "better" for controlling blood sugar levels than white bread.
Other Options
If you are trying to keep your blood glucose levels low, there are other types of bread that you can consume that are better than whole wheat bread. For example, pumpernickel bread has a lower glycemic index than most types of whole wheat bread. One of the main benefits of whole grains is their increased fiber content, so try to choose types of bread that have more fiber. No matter what kind of bread you consume, the more that you eat, the higher your blood glucose levels will rise, so moderation is key in controlling blood glucose levels.
