Choosing the Right Bread – for Diabetes Meal Plans

Food may be one of life’s simple pleasures, but for people with diabetes deciding what to eat can get complicated. The first person to ask is your doctor or your nutritionist who can best advice you based on your particular condition. Generally food that contains a lot of carbohydrates can cause fluctuation in your blood sugar levels. Carbohydrates are found in many kinds of food, including desserts, grains, and bread. Giving up carbohydrates completely is not realistic, healthy or even necessary as your doctor will advise. What is important is the type of carbohydrates you select based on the advice of your endocrinologist. It is also important to be aware of the different types of carbohydrates especially refined and complex carbohydrates to control your carb intake and make nutritious food choices. Bread can often be high in carbs. Most bread is made with refined white flour, high in sugar and filled with empty calories. Healthier bread options can be a part of a satisfying meal plan for people with diabetes. It is useful to know about the glycemic index to manage your diet. The glycemic index or GI rates food on a scale of 1 to 100 based on how they affect your blood sugar. Low-glycemic index foods have a glycemic index less than 55. These foods take a while to digest resulting in a gradual release of sugar. Foods with a glycemic index of over 70 are high on the scale and cause your blood sugar to surge and then suddenly drop. If you are managing diabetes or following certain weight loss diets selecting low glycemic index breads may help keep your blood sugar under control. Generally eating bread made with whole grains instead of white processed wheat flour is better. Moreover, eating healthy food does not mean that you have to compromise on taste.

Paan Paan makes a variety of health breads and has two breads in particular that can help you to manage your diet to control diabetes:

Low GI Multi Seed Bread

This bread is made with a formulation from a Dutch company and the Glycemic Index of this bread is 54 which will help you manage your diet to prevent sugar surges. This wholesome and delicious bread is made with whole meal flour, wheat bran, rye, oats flakes, wheat flour, pumpkin seeds, flax seeds and sunflower seeds. There is no added sugar nor fat added in making the bread. This bread is classified as 54 on Glycemic Index and may help you plan your diet. As always it is best to consult your doctor to get specific advice based on your condition. Paan Paan bakes this bread every day. The bread can be kept up to three days at room temperature and longer if frozen. At Paan Paan this bread is pulled out if not sold within 24 hours to ensure that the customer can enjoy the bread for a longer period of time. If you freeze the bread, let it thaw well and then toast the bread. Microwaving the bread is not recommended as it changes the texture of the bread. A toaster or an oven works best.

100% Atta Flour Chapattis

Paan Paan makes chapattis with 100% Atta Flour. Atta Flour is made by grinding the whole kernel of wheat making it rich in fibre and having all of the natural nutrients of the wheat kernel. Only a minimal amount of vegetable oil and salt is added to make the dough. The thinly rolled chapattis are made to a traditional recipe and cooked on a skillet. The chapattis are 90% cooked and at home you just have to heat it on a skillet or a frying pan with a thick base on medium heat to make it 100% cooked and ready to eat. Avoid thin base frying pans since this would tend to burn the chapatti. Just a few seconds on medium heat on each side is all it takes to have a nice warm healthy chapatti. These chapattis can be kept air tight in ambient temperature for a whole day. It is best kept in the fridge and can be kept for a whole week. If you freeze it can be kept for about a month. If you freeze the chapattis then let it thaw for about 45 minutes before cooking. Avoid thawing in a micro wave since this tends to cook the bread and it would distort the taste of the chapattis.

Also equally important is what you eat with the Low GI bread or the chapattis. Ensure that what you eat with the bread is also healthy for you. Sometimes for a diabetic patient it is a lonely experience even if they are eating with others since they cannot consume what the others are eating. The temptation to spread some butter and jam on the bread is high especially when it is on the table. It is a mindset that has to be developed and one can enjoy delicious food that is heathy. Healthy food can be delicious if you make the right choices. Health is wealth and eating good nutritious food, drinking plenty of water, taking adequate exercise and having a positive mental attitude are habits to develop and to make it a lifestyle.

Apart from the Low GI bread and Chapattis, Paan Paan makes a variety of breads that are healthy if the goal is nutrition and preventive health. We make the multi seed brown bread, brown sandwich bread, rye bread and submarine buns made with multi grain flour which are good to have for preventive health.