While France has chosen to present the candidacy of the baguette for inclusion in the intangible cultural heritage of Unesco, dietician Vanessa Bedjaï-Haddad explains to us how to properly integrate bread into our diet.
– Why doctor – France has chosen to present the application of the baguette for inclusion in the intangible cultural heritage of Unesco. Is bread still one of the essential foods for health?
Vanessa Bedjaï-Haddad – Absolutely, it is even a food that I often reintroduce into the diet of my patients. Bread has been miscategorized as a fattening food, and it’s the first thing people give up when dieting.
– How and when should bread be eaten for a balanced diet?
If we replace starchy foods (rice, pasta, etc.) with bread, we can eat about a quarter of a baguette for lunch and dinner (even if the quantities must be adapted to the sex, age and physique of the person). person). I insist on the possibility of eating bread in the evening: what must be avoided at this time are dishes that are too fatty, which are difficult to digest.
You can also eat one or two slices of bread for breakfast, preferably accompanied by foods that are not carbohydrates: vegetable fats for example (peanut butter, almond puree, drizzle of olive oil, olive, avocado…) or proteins (egg, ham, cheese…). Conversely, combining bread with jam, spread or fruit is not recommended, as the carbohydrate intake will be too high for a single meal.
I would point out, however, that bread is not the most interesting starchy food for health. It is therefore necessary to vary the diet with other starchy foods, such as quinoa for example, which is richer in micronutrients.
– Is the baguette the best way to eat bread?
The traditional white bread baguette is not the healthiest bread. Nutritionally, it is better to favor cereal bread, wholemeal bread or wholemeal bread, which contain more fiber, vitamins and minerals.
On the other hand, the traditional baguette of white bread bought from the baker will always be better than industrial bread, to which we add lots of additives to preserve it better.
– A word on the famous ham and butter sandwich?
Ham and butter can be a balanced meal, provided you add raw vegetables. More generally, a baguette-based sandwich is balanced when it provides vegetables (salad, tomato, etc.), starches (bread) and proteins (ham, tuna, egg, etc.). Chicken and raw vegetables, for example, is very good. The idea is also to limit fat, such as mayonnaise and butter for example.
.
