Freezing bread affecting carbs

[Robval]

A friend who recently retired from being a nutritionist told me that research has shown that freezing bread, defrosting then toasting breaks the carb chains down so less carbs than fresh bread. I haven’t heard this and wondered if true!

 

[rebrascora]

It is called creating resistant starch and works for some people but not for others and the extent to which is works is variable. I think your individual digestive system and gut biome play a big part n whether it works for you as an individual. The only way to find out is to do some strategic testing. It applies to cooked and frozen and reheated pasta too and probably rice. In theory, this would make frozen ready meals better than freshly cooked ones but I have grave reservations about that idea.

 

[Martin.A]

A friend who recently retired from being a nutritionist told me that research has shown that freezing bread, defrosting then toasting breaks the carb chains down so less carbs than fresh bread. I haven’t heard this and wondered if true!

Yes, it's true. It converts some of the starch into what's known as 'resistant starch' which behaves like fibre and isn't digested. The same thing happens when you cook pasta, allow it to cool and then reheat it, for example. How much is converted by this I don't know - I've never seen any numbers attributed to it.

 

[Drummer]

Didn't have any effect for me.
I checked.

 

[Thebearcametoo]

The dietician on my kid’s team says it can help slow the release of the glucose in the carbs but that the carb count remains the same so as others have said the nutritionist is close but not quite accurate in the assertion.

 

[Martin.A]

A friend who recently retired from being a nutritionist told me that research has shown that freezing bread, defrosting then toasting breaks the carb chains down so less carbs than fresh bread. I haven’t heard this and wondered if true!

DUK have a page dealing with this very subject:-

Carbohydrates and diabetes: What you need to know

For many of us carbohydrates are a key source of energy. Carbohydrate-containing foods also provide important nutrients for good health. All the carbohydrates you eat and drink are broken down into glucose. The type, and amount, you consume can make a difference to your blood glucose levels and...

www.diabetes.org.uk

 

[Jodee]

I thought just toasting it will do. I hope not needing to freeze as well as I just don't have room in my small freezer.

 

[Robval]

DUK have a page dealing with this very subject:-

Carbohydrates and diabetes: What you need to know

For many of us carbohydrates are a key source of energy. Carbohydrate-containing foods also provide important nutrients for good health. All the carbohydrates you eat and drink are broken down into glucose. The type, and amount, you consume can make a difference to your blood glucose levels and...

www.diabetes.org.uk

Thank you didn’t know as new to this forum, will look.

 

[Lucyr]

A friend who recently retired from being a nutritionist told me that research has shown that freezing bread, defrosting then toasting breaks the carb chains down so less carbs than fresh bread. I haven’t heard this and wondered if true!

I only eat frozen defrosted bread, as I live alone. Makes no difference whatsoever to my bg whether it’s fresh or frozen

 

[Docb]

Educate me somebody. What is the difference between "digestion resistant starch" and fibre?

 

[Leadinglights]

Educate me somebody. What is the difference between "digestion resistant starch" and fibre?

This gives a good explanation, as usual it is not as simple as it sounds.

Resistant Starch and Fiber: What's the Difference? - Nutrisense Journal

Resistant starches, insoluble fibers, and soluble fibers have a lot in common, but they’re not exactly the same. Read our article to find out more!

www.nutrisense.io

 

[indio02]

Isn't it the same with Pasta? Cooked then allowed to cool.

 

[Martin.A]

Isn't it the same with Pasta? Cooked then allowed to cool.

Yes. Also potatoes and rice. Look at the link in my earlier post.

 

[Lucyr]

How did you determine it made no difference?

Tested my blood sugar

 

[Drummer]

Tested my blood sugar

Me too.
Rather disappointing.

 

[Lucyr]

Of course. But to what extent did you account for confounding variables?

Enough to be confident in my analysis results

 

[Docb]

This gives a good explanation, as usual it is not as simple as it sounds.

Resistant Starch and Fiber: What's the Difference? - Nutrisense Journal

Resistant starches, insoluble fibers, and soluble fibers have a lot in common, but they’re not exactly the same. Read our article to find out more!

www.nutrisense.io

I suspected as much, which is why I asked the question.

So there are easily digested carbs, digestion resistant carbs at different levels and very difficult to digest carbs which are called fibre. The more difficult the carbs are to digest, the further through the gut they have to pass before they are digested.

Fair enough. but as far as I can see, you cannot take a food stuff, and measure these different sort of carbs in that food stuff. You cannot take a loaf of bread and measure the concentration of digestion resistant carbs, then freeze some of it and see if the digestion resistant carbs have increased. Until you can do that it is difficult to assert that freezing anything makes any difference to the levels of different sorts of carbs.

A couple of other points. Freezing things produces disruption of chemical species because of the production of ice crystals. The opposite is required to turn "ordinary" carbs into "digestion resistant" carbs. Also lowering temperature tend to slow down and stop chemical reactions, not speed them up.

Finally, if freezing bread did reduce the effect of bread on glucose production, then the T! community would know all about it. I am constantly amazed at the ability of T1's to calculate insulin needs by carb calculation and as far as I know, none of them take pre freezing into account. That tells me it is not important - the point made by @Lucyr - which I would not question.

 

[Lucyr]

Well, even with exhaustive (exhausting, also) testing, it would be extremely difficult to make such claims.

Just test your blood sugar before and after eating a sandwich, then before and after eating a frozen defrosted sandwich, take same insulin dose and compare the graphs. Do it on normal work days at lunchtime without any difference in activity levels etc. That will tell you whether it’s beneficial to freeze it or not. It isn’t rocket science.

 

[Drummer]

I took a pack of cooked meat, two slices of fresh bread, three of ham, weighed the butter and pickle, and the finished sandwich after adding lettuce. Put the loaf in the freezer meat in the fridge. Ate the sandwich, checked blood glucose levels as normal.
Next day I took the bread from the freezer, let it warm up, did the same thing checking that the parts and whole sandwich weighed the same.
Result - total sameness.
A few weeks later I did the same again, on the same day of the week, with the same results.
Having a scientific background I'm pretty sure that if there was any benefit to be gained by freezing high carb foods, I'd have seen it.

 

[Lucyr]

Would be interested to continue this conversation, but only on the proviso that you're comfortable with me not having to caveat and couch my questions, walk on eggshells etc. for fear of offending you or you getting the feeling I'm calling you dishonest. This is nothing personal. I just want us all to see if we can get a better understanding of this.

No obligation, either way.

I’m not sure what any of this post means sorry. This thread asked if freezing bread makes a difference, I gave my experience that it doesn’t, you seem to be acting like I need to write some kind of full on scientific journal article covering my methodology and controls. It’s just a sandwich.