by: David McCarthy

White bread is a subject that is constantly being raised in recent times when such things as intestinal and bowel problems arise. The common belief is that it acts like a glue once inside the intestines and prevents waste taking its normal course. Depending upon whom you listen to it is a cause of digestive disorders, weight gain or even bowel cancer. I am yet to see conclusive evidence but there is a mass of circumstantial evidence to back each prediction.

White bread is by far the most popular because it is mass-produced, specifically for supermarkets, and is usually sold at lower cost than better quality breads. Children love it because it doesn't require so much chewing and can be swallowed en masse. Parents seem to like it because the children complain less about it than they do whole grain breads. However, we live, we are told, in an enlightened age and are becoming more aware of the importance of what we eat today to our future health and well-being; after decades of attempting to shorten our lives through inappropriate diet.

The fact of the matter is that our digestive system does require roughage to function properly. This is even more necessary today because so many people lead inactive lives. Where our grandparents used to toil physically to burn up calories and keep their bodies functioning we, of this generation, do not lead such an active lifestyle therefore we need to rely upon diet to maintain body fitness.

It is necessary to find roughage at every opportunity. This can be achieved by following the advice of the food pyramid and that indicates using whole grain breads rather than white. It also means that we should be increasingly aware of claims that certain white breads are high in fiber; according to USDA we should be eating whole grains in the perfect diet.

Together with your whole grain bread you should include foods from each of the five food groups each day. The groups are:

1. Fruits.

2. Vegetables.

3. Calcium foods.

4. Grains.

5. Proteins.

Detailed information of these food groups can be found in a previous article at:

http://www.recipesmania.com/article-food-pyramid-1.html

Please remember that life is meant to be fun and it cannot be fun if you are unfit or unwell. A healthy diet today means more fun years tomorrow. Only you can make the decision and you should make it today and get started immediately. This is the only life you have it isn't a dress rehearsal.

This article is copyright © David McCarthy 2006 and may be reproduced in its entirety with no additions providing a link back to http://www.recipesmania.com is included.