White bread is perhaps the most widely consumed carbohydrate source in the United States today. Almost all the sandwiches ordered on a self-serve chalkboard contain white bread, just like the sides in any fancy restaurant. Americans love their white bread and consume a lot without a second thought. Bodybuilders, on the other hand, have a responsibility to examine common, everyday foods to determine whether these carbohydrate sources have a place, or a limited place, on the bodybuilding menu.
There are two schools of thought when it comes to white bread as a bodybuilding food. The first opinion is that white bread is ideal for bodybuilding goals. It is digested quickly, providing calories quickly to trainers looking to gain mass. These fast-digesting carbohydrates, consumed after a workout with a good source of protein, create the desired hormonal environment, resulting in higher insulin levels and increased testosterone absorption into tissues. White bread is available, either sliced, or more commonly, in the bread format in restaurants. Maybe a chicken breast on a bun is the quickest and easiest way to get protein and fast carbs into the body after a workout? The carbs are there, the calories are there, the flavor is there, the speed is there, and the convenience is certainly there. The perfect carbohydrate?
The other school of thought is that white bread has no place in the bodybuilding diet. Rapid delivery of your calories results in an insulin spike that helps create an anabolic environment, but creates a greater likelihood of adding body fat as well. The enrichment process removes most of the valuable vitamins and minerals from the bread. White bread also contains complex carbohydrates processed with starch, which the body does not use efficiently. A bag of flour could also be consumed. While bread packaging can claim good micronutrient content, up to half of these are removed during fortification and processing. Also, the lack of fiber means that the bread’s journey through the body will be slow at best.
The answer, as with many things in life, probably lies in the middle. If the coach does not have access to any other carbohydrate source, white bread provides a quick insulin spike and the necessary calories. After all, bad calories are better than none, when you’re wasting valuable muscle tissue. For trainers looking to gain mass, any source of carbohydrate calories can be good at once. However, optimal gains will be achieved with liberal use of white bread and more frequent use of quality carbohydrate sources such as brown rice, oatmeal, oat bran, oat bran cereal (IE Cheerios), whole wheat pasta , baked chips, low fat. popcorn, potatoes, sweet potatoes, whole wheat bread, some fruits (berries are best), and vegetables. Bodybuilders looking to gain mass should eat white bread from time to time, and bodybuilders who monitor body fat levels should rarely eat white bread.