Just how bad is British (Chorleywood) bread for you?

Processed foods are known to be one of the major causes of cancer.

Are they?

“it’s because it tastes like shite, or more accurately, nothing”

The question/thread title is how bad are they for you, not do they taste great or not.

I suspect whatever you put on the bread has far more significance than the bread itself.

I could start a thread about how bad is butter/saturated fat/animal fat etc for you and I guarantee nobody would start talking about how disgusting it is, even though similar health arguments could be made.

The question/thread title is how bad are they for you

it’s junk food, of course it’s bad for you vs. not eating it. Why is this even a question? High in salt, promotes insulin resistance, poor gut health, no nutritional value.

Ultra-processed foods have been getting a lot of coverage recently….in the second ref they specifically call out “industrially made snacks and breads”

https://www.theguardian.com/food/article/2024/may/19/academic-and-doctor-chris-van-tulleken-ultra-processed-products-are-food-that-lies-to-us

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10644600/

Mass produced bread is classed as an ultra processesed food (as are quite a lot of “everyday” foods people eat, like breakfast cereals, vegan meat and cheese, chicken nuggets, Pringles and margarine)

Ultra processesed foods aren’t good for you (as a general statement)

https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/the-10-worst-ultra-processed-foods-you-can-eat

https://www.bhf.org.uk/informationsupport/heart-matters-magazine/news/behind-the-headlines/ultra-processed-foods

https://www.bmj.com/content/384/bmj-2023-077310

Ultra processed and full of seed oils, no thanks.

Supermarket bread in a packet is crap, as it 99% of other supermarket stuff in packets.  It is full of stuff that is not required with majority of it in UPF category.  Even the fresh baked stuff in supermarkets can have things added that are not required.

Go to baker, ask them what they put in bread but/don’t buy based on that.  (If you are bothered of course otherwise just add to your daily UPF intake)

I’ve always found some bread being labelled as “artisan” curious, as surely its actually just normal bread made simply with minimal ingredients? It’s the supermarket/CWP process products that have gone all unnecessarily complicated.

I can be down with pricing criticisms, certainly a large loaf from my high street baker can be 4 times the price of even the mini markets base price loaf. But it’s the cheap loaf that’s gone all relatively complicated in terms of production, its just done in a factory process with ingredients that result in a cheaper unit price.

Proper sourdough is supposed to be better for your gut. Even to the point that people that get bloating/IBS type reactions to ‘bread’ can eat it fine (sorry no link to a source).

I suspect whatever you put on the bread has far more significance than the bread itself.

Maybe if you’re eating shite bread. Good bread, you would eat just on its own.

@HoratioHufnagel I think the problem with CBP stuff is that it is mechanically developed rather than worked, rested and then worked again. The speedy development doesn’t allow the gluten content to take on water properly and it then becomes a tough, less digestible protein for those with susceptible gut activity.

can you freeze ‘proper’ bread and still separate the slices when frozen?

That’s what I do. The rest of my household will only eat the awful Hovis white sliced shite. So Dad’d bread goes in the freezer.

One simple thing that shows how much sugar they put in it. See how fast that white sliced crap toasts in the toaster vs a slice of sourdough..

This thread is a bit like stodgy porridge oats made with a spurtle and a pan you can’t clean very easy compared to paper sachet poured in to your plate popped in the microwave with the milk level marked on the side

Ordinary porridge rolled in Cupar by a guy in a kilt needs either sugar and salt or preferably scraped into the bin

Both products coming out the same factory

This thread is a bit like stodgy porridge oats made with a hand-crafted spurtle I picked up direct from the artisan at a little place just outside Limoges (No you wouldn’t know it) when traveling and a small battered Le Creuset pan, it was my wife’s godmother’s, we like to use it on the range as it’s more authentic and you can actually taste the difference,  you can’t clean very easy compared to paper sachet poured in to your plate popped in the microwave with the milk level marked on the side

ftfy

@dmorts from your link….

“A meta-analysis by Chen and colleagues (2023), included in our review, established a clear link between overall consumption of ultra-processed foods and a higher risk of type 2 diabetes, consistently observed across multiple cohorts.47 However, while certain subcategories of ultra-processed foods further showed higher risk, others were inversely associated, such as ultra-processed cereals, dark/wholegrain bread, packaged sweet and savoury snacks, fruit based products and yoghurt, and dairy based desserts.4”

There’s not a simple causal link between *all* ultra processed foods and poor health, including bread.

OP here. I find the jesting at this being along the lines of a snobbish coffee thread or some sort of foodie nonsense both intriguing and saddening (because I think we’re being conned)

For reference, the bread we had in Italy was Pane Comune, literally translating as common bread. It’s white, you can toast it if you really wanted and it’s available in abundance. Nothing special about it from an Italian point of view.

That BHF link ^ is a good read.

There’s not a simple causal link between *all* ultra processed foods and poor health, including bread.

Yes, that’s evident in the articles as well, back tracking on the headline statements some what.

I wanted to find out just how bad mass produced bread is. The ultra-processed classification doesn’t really help determine that.

@Sandwich raised a point about it being less easy to digest. I think that is my experience. That’s a short term immediate effect, long term it likely depends on what else you eat too.

Processed foods are known to be one of the major causes of cancer.

Are they?

Yup cougar, especially processed meat. I once read that eating a bacon roll was the equivalent of smoking three cigarettes, in terms of increased risk of cancer. I have no idea how accurate that is but the link between processed foods and cancer is well established.

OP here. I find the jesting at this being along the lines of a snobbish coffee thread or some sort of foodie nonsense both intriguing and saddening (because I think we’re being conned)

I find the pretentiousness and distasteful looking down on people who choose to / have to buy supermarket products and can’t stroll around to a traditional bakers to spend a fiver on a loaf displayed here saddening.

I think you are mixing up processed breads and meat. Meat has sodium nitrates added which I think is the main issue…

https://www.webmd.com/diet/is-sodium-nitrate-safe

people who choose to / have to buy supermarket products

if you choose to eat supermarket bread then fair enough, some people like to smoke, who am I to argue? But no-one is forced to eat it in order to survive… it’s actually very poor nutritionally, plenty of other cheap things in the same supermarket you could choose instead which would be way better for you.

I think you are mixing up processed breads and meat.

Not at all. I made a very clear distinction between processed bread and other processed foods. Here is my full post:

No but cancer is increasing very significantly as people live longer. Processed foods are known to be one of the major causes of cancer.

Having said that I wouldn’t worry too much about the health consequences of cheap white sliced bread. As long as you eat it in moderation of course, just like everything else.

It was in response to someone downplaying the health implications of processed foods claiming that life expectancy wasn’t falling in the western world.

But no-one is forced to eat it in order to survive… it’s actually very poor nutritionally, plenty of other cheap things in the same supermarket you could choose instead which would be way better for you.

Who knew food poverty was just a lifestyle choice.

<eye rolling emoji>

Who knew food poverty was just a lifestyle choice.

Aldi sell a sourdough. £1.69 and not full of sugar and “stuff”.

https://groceries.aldi.co.uk/en-GB/p-specially-selected-white-sourdough-loaf-500g/4088600065991

Ingredients Wheat flour (wheat flour, Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin), Water, Rye Flour , Salt, Fermented Wheat Flour.

That looks to be heathier than the normal white sliced.

I find the pretentiousness and distasteful looking down on people who choose to / have to buy supermarket products and can’t stroll around to a traditional bakers to spend a fiver on a loaf displayed here saddening.

Who’s doing that?

That looks to be heathier than the normal white sliced.

Are you familiar at all with the concept of “off label” ingredients? Flour (for example) is allowed to be improved by the addition of enzyme treatments. Additional vitamin and mineral ingredients generally counteract the formation of gluten in bread that makes it fluffy and light, enzymes reduce those effects. If the bread label contains additional vit and minerals (good) then it almost automatically will have enzymes added to it (not so very much), but as it forms part of the bread flour, it doesn’t have to be labelled separately.  Some of the more common enzymes found in bread are industrially produced from non-food sources.

It seems only yesterday since the good stuff was almost the same price as the rubbish bread.  Then someone discovered the word “artisan”.    Mind it was still hard to find.

paper sachet poured in to your plate popped in the microwave with the milk level marked on the side

That you can suck through a straw?

Why does porridge need to be made with milk?

We have oats, a few nuts, sultanas and maybe a sliced apple or pear and just add hot water.

Who knew food poverty was just a lifestyle choice.

Aldi sell a sourdough. £1.69 and not full of sugar and “stuff”.

I think you have made the point which you were trying to challenge…… Aldi sliced bread is £0.45 a loaf.

https://groceries.aldi.co.uk/en-GB/p-everyday-essentials-medium-sliced-white-bread-800g/4088600011820

A family who gets through a loaf a day and are counting the pennies to work out what they can afford is likely going to choose which one?

full of seed oils, no thanks.

What is wrong with seed oils (generally, not specific ones).

Alpin, buy some Alpen and add some water to that

Not easy to get kids to eat gruel sorry porridge without milk , cinnamon some sugar to make it palatable

 the link between processed foods and cancer is well established.

Show your working?

It’s near-impossible not to eat “processed foods.”  From that BHF link earlier,

“Unprocessed or minimally processed foods: Fruit, vegetables, eggs, meat and grains.

Processed culinary ingredients: Sugar, salt, butter, lard, oils, vinegar.

Processed foods: Freshly made, unpackaged bread, tinned fruits and vegetables, salted nuts, ham, bacon, tinned fish and cheese.

Ultra processed: Ice cream, ham, sausages, crisps, mass-produced bread, some breakfast cereals, biscuits, carbonated drinks, fruit-flavoured yogurts, instant soups, and some alcoholic drinks including whisky, gin, and rum.”

Are you really asserting that tinned fruit causes cancer?

It’s no good just relying on eating unprocessed stuff either.

The nutrional value of vegetables depends has been decreasing over time as soil quality has decreased and they selected large veg that makes more profit rather veg with higher nutritional quality.

Really, you need to grown your own and prepare your own soil or get it from your local soil merchants. I have 3 within 500 yards of my front gates. It’s not hard

Really, you need to grown your own and prepare your own soil or get it from your local soil merchants. I have 3 within 500 yards of my front gates. It’s not hard

I’d argue with anyone on here about cooking being easy, etc, but growing enough of your own food to feed your whole  family really is quite difficult, regardless of how many soil merchants you have nearby. But then you also use the phrase ‘front gates’ which may suggest that you aren’t living in a terraced house with a 10’x10′ back yard to keep your chickens in.  Also, you seem to have more soil merchants than some posters have bakers. 😀

Ordinary porridge rolled in Cupar by a guy in a kilt needs either sugar and salt or preferably scraped into the bin

Don’t waste it, redo the grouting!

@nickc When I was milling we added just 2 things to all our white flour, a vitamin (niacin) and ground chalk both required under the regulations for any white flour sold in this country for bread-making. Occassionally we would add alpha amylase as this helped with browning the crust in plant baking. Everything else is added at the bakery as it’s too much trouble at the mill when running a continuous flow process. The Niacin mix and amylase was added at 10 – 20g per minute in 8000kg an hour, the chalk at about 400g per minute. If either of these ran out due to muggins being up to his knees is milling products somewhere it isn’t a disaster for the final bread product.(Folic acid improvement is after I left milling so I have no idea of addition rates).

The fancy improvers need to be added in specific amounts per dough batch to avoid producing something that won’t fit the wrappers or making odd-shaped things that won’t sell. All that stuff in the bakery is declared on the wrapper.

I wouldn’t have the first clue where my nearest bakers is…Google say just over 3miles away and whilst it opens super early it’s not on my way to work and I am not getting up before 6 to buy bread and it’s not open when I finish work….guess I’ll stick to being lazy

regardless of how many soil merchants you have nearby.

Make your own soil. How difficult can it be?

Edit: Not that difficult:

https://www.fastcompany.com/90688286/this-gleaming-machine-turns-human-poop-into-fertile-soil