In recent years gluten and bread have gotten a bad rap. One camp tries to convince you that bread causes inflammation and a host of internal disease. The other tries to explain why gluten is the devil and shouldn’t be consumed by any human being ever!
You also usually hear that alternative carb options such as rice - are much healthier because rice is a whole food that is less processed than bread (despite rice still being slightly processed to turn it into “white rice”).
A study from Kyoto University in Japan compared the difference in metabolism and gut microbiota with people who ate a balanced diet consisting of a protein source (meat, fish or eggs), vebetables and a carb source.
The carb source is the only variable that changed: white bread for one group and white rice for the other group. This continued for 21 meals straight.
Macronutrients
You’d be surprised to hear that in terms of macronutrients, bread is much more balanced.It has double the protein than white rice and has some digestive fiber and fat. White rice consists almost exclusively of carbs.
*I must add that even though bread has more protein, it IS NOT considered high quality protein source as most of it’s amino acids are non-essential. STILL a better choice than rice if your goal is fat loss because protein has a higher thermic effect than carbs alone. Meaning you’ll burn more calories eating protein vs carbs.
Gut Microbiota
This may not be as much of a surprise but it is a very interesting case for bread over rice.
The white bread group had significantly more probiotics than the white rice group. The type of probiotic is called Bifidobacteria. It may sound bad, but a meta-analysis of probiotics state that “It is well established that bifidobacteria confer positive health benefits to their host via their metabolic activities.“
What Does This Mean for You?
If your goal is to lose fat and lean out - bread is probably the better choice for you pound for pound vs white rice. This is of course if you equate for the same calories. It’ll make you fuller, for longer than white rice due to its protein and fiber content. It also has more protein to increase your metabolic rate.
If you’re trying to build muscle, both are good choices however white rice might be a better choice. This is because muscle building diets typically require much a higher caloric intake and the quicker digesting foods you eat, the easier it becomes to eat those meals.
If you’re working hard at the gym and still not seeing results there’s a chance that nutrition may be your missing link. At Clear Cut we do more than just teach you to workout. We teach nutrition as well. If you need help in this department, drop us a line and we’d love to help!
References
Mano, Fumika, et al. "The effect of white rice and white bread as staple foods on gut microbiota and host metabolism."Nutrients10.9 (2018): 1323.
Arunachalam, K., H. S. Gill, and R. K. Chandra. "Enhancement of natural immune function by dietary consumption of Bifidobacterium lactis (HN019)."European Journal of Clinical Nutrition54.3 (2000): 263-267.
Russell, D. A., et al. "Metabolic activities and probiotic potential of bifidobacteria."International journal of food microbiology149.1 (2011): 88-105.
