Calorie Count and Glycemic Index of Different Breads

Bread is a staple of American cuisine. It can be homemade, or made by machine or all by hand. It can be purchased from a bakery or store, in so many varieties, from slices to rolls. People who are careful about their food intake watch the calorie counts of their breads. Those who are prediabetic or diabetic may have been told to eat foods with low glycemic index values, and must pay even closer attention to their bread intake.

What is a calorie?

• A calorie is a unit of energy, basically the amount of energy it takes to raise the temperature of 1 gram of water by 1 degree Celsius. A food calorie is really 1,000 calories--a kilocalorie, or kcal--though they are commonly just called calories. Calories burned in exercise are also kilocalories, but still called calories. So when you burn 100 calories exercising, you are really burning 100,000 calories; when you eat 100 calories, you are really eating 100,000 calories. Taking off that 1,000 multiplier makes it a lot simpler!

Bread calories

• Calories on a slice of bread can be anywhere from 70 to 110 calories, depending on the variety of the bread and the size of that slice. Calories in food servings are the calories of the fats, carbohydrates and proteins of that serving. There are 9 calories in a gram of fat, 4 calories in a gram of carbohydrates, and 4 calories in a gram of protein. It does not matter what type of fat, carbohydrates, or protein, this is the caloric measurement.

  The label from a loaf of Orowheat Buttermilk Bread reads that one slice, with a weight of 38g, has 100 calories. That 100 calories is made up of 1g of fat (the label allows 10 calories), 19g carbohydrates (76 calories), and 3g protein (12 calories). This adds to 98 calories, and rounds to 100.

  Homemade bread calories must be calculated using the entire recipe, and noting how many servings are taken from it. Nutrition information can be found at the U.S. Department of Agriculture Nutrient Data Laboratory. Find a link in the Reference section.

Glycemic Index

• The glycemic index ranks foods on how quickly they raise the blood glucose levels in the body. The index was determined by comparing the specific foods (with 50g carbohydrates) and how they raised the test subjects' blood glucose levels with those subjects eating a 50g serving of pure glucose. Glucose is the simplest, quickest-digesting sugar, and has a glycemic index of 100.

  Also to be considered is glycemic load, which is not just the glycemic index, but also the amount of carbohydrates eaten. The glycemic index is based on 50g of carbohydrates, which, depending on the food, may or may not be a realistic serving size. Eating less that 50g of a high-glycemic index food will have less of a glycemic load on the body. That, and mixing foods with varying glycemic indices has varying results of glycemic load.

  Those with diabetes or prediabetes are often told to choose foods lower in glycemic index, to help lower their blood glucose levels. Other diseases related to insulin response my benefit from from lower glycemic index foods as well.

Glycemic Index and Breads

• Glycemic index for various breads:
  Bread, white: 70
  Bread, whole wheat: 69
  Bread, rye: 65
  Bagel, small: 72

  In general, the more refined a food is, the higher the glycemic index.

Conclusion

• Healthy eating includes eating the right portion sizes, as well as choosing quality foods with simple ingredients. Breads fit into almost all meals in some way, and reading nutrition labels for calorie content and other information is a way to start knowing what to eat. At this time, nutrition labels do not include glycemic index or glycemic load information, but that can be found on the Internet.