Freezing bread

[Spudz]

Hi all, somewhere lurking in my 'mind palace' (which nowadays is more of a shed than a palace), I remember seeing that if you freeze bread it is better for us with regards to carbs and affecting blood sugar levels. Is this true or was I imagining it?

 

[PerSpinasAdAstra]

This is true - cooling and then thawing/reheating cooked starchy foods turns some of the starch into 'resistant starch', which is harder to digest and won't raise your BG quite so high in the hours immediately after eating. The effect isn't massive but it's there. Experiments have been done that showed that freezing was more effective than just cooling in the fridge. I've read of people cooking pasta or rice, letting it cool, putting it in the fridge and then reheating it later, and they claim that this has a noticeable effect.

 

[beating_my_betes]

This is true - cooling and then thawing/reheating cooked starchy foods turns some of the starch into 'resistant starch', which is harder to digest and won't raise your BG quite so high in the hours immediately after eating. The effect isn't massive but it's there. Experiments have been done that showed that freezing was more effective than just cooling in the fridge. I've read of people cooking pasta or rice, letting it cool, putting it in the fridge and then reheating it later, and they claim that this has a noticeable effect.

It is a studied phenomenon. Unfortuanately, there're far too many variables that make it difficult for people outside of a lab to test.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Hi all, somewhere lurking in my 'mind palace' (which nowadays is more of a shed than a palace), I remember seeing that if you freeze bread it is better for us with regards to carbs and affecting blood sugar levels. Is this true or was I imagining it?

I’ve got into the habit of freezing bread since lockdowns (when I was trying to have a ‘buffer’ of food in the house just in case). I think there has been a very slight difference in the potential spikiness of bread, but I still have to pre-bolus for it, and allow the same carb count, so the ‘effect’ you just be psychosomatic!

 

[AndBreathe]

Some find that works for them. Others less so.

I'd think one of the big wins in freezing bread is less goes off, and/or there is less temptation to eat "just that last slice".

(I don't eat bread, and haven't for well over 10 years, so I can't give you my personal findings. Life without bread is possible. 🙂 )

 

[grovesy]

I personally find it makes no difference,

 

[beating_my_betes]

Some find that works for them. Others less so.

How would that be?

 

[AndBreathe]

How would that be?

I'm only report what I see people report.

I haven't eaten bread in over 10 years, so I have nioskin in the game on this one.

 

[rebrascora]

Makes no difference to me either. Just defrosted my fridge and found a couple of wholemeal bread buns at the very back that have been well and truly frozen for at least 6 years since I am coming up to my 6 year diaversary in a few days and not bought bread buns since then. I hate waste so I defrosted and treated myself to butter and marmite on them and had to use slightly higher amounts of insulin than I would expect to need rather than less and I do occasionally eat bread when out even if I don't buy it anymore. I ate them over 2 days with similar result each time, ie a correction needed afterwards, even though I injected for the full carb amount to start with.

I just think that there is sufficient difference in metabolism and gut biome between individuals that any guidance on these sorts of tricks needs to come with advice that it doesn't apply to all in the same way that glycaemic index doesn't apply to all, hence some people find porridge like rocket fuel and others find it lives up to it's slow release reputation. The benefit of modern technology is that we can now see our own individual reactions to these things and figure out what works and what doesn't for our body.

 

[beating_my_betes]

I'm only report what I see people report.

I haven't eaten bread in over 10 years, so I have nioskin in the game on this one.

Not having a go at you, or even asking for you to explain it.

My point in this, and similar topics, is that there is a distinct lack of data granularity and so many confounding variables in home-testing, as to be nigh-on impossible to disprove. This is a question of food chemistry, first, with the addition of in-lab human experiments, where tight controls and the availability of more accurate testing equipment can help to rule out a (hopefully) good amount of those confounding variables.

It's about stacking known chemical phenomena and repeatable lab-testing, with great equipment and tight controls, against random or sporadic testing with a cheap plastic monitor and nary a control in sight. That's not to say that there exists no variance in between different people's reactions, just that we can't get a clear enough signal to determine by how much. We certainly cannot say we aren't affected at all.

 

[AndBreathe]

Not having a go at you, or even asking for you to explain it.

My point in this, and similar topics, is that there is a distinct lack of data granularity and so many confounding variables in home-testing, as to be nigh-on impossible to disprove. This is a question of food chemistry, first, with the addition of in-lab human experiments, where tight controls and the availability of more accurate testing equipment can help to rule out a (hopefully) good amount of those confounding variables.

It's about stacking known chemical phenomena and repeatable lab-testing, with great equipment and tight controls, against random or sporadic testing with a cheap plastic monitor and nary a control in sight. That's not to say that there exists no variance in between different people's reactions, just that we can't get a clear enough signal to determine by how much. We certainly cannot say we aren't affected at all.

I can certainly state that freezing bread has zero impact on me, on the basis I have not eaten any bread in over 10 years. 🙂 😎

 

[Satan’s little helper]

Makes no difference to me. Dispite what some say regarding the “GI?”. I’ve learned to “let it go” if it’s Frozen.

 

[beating_my_betes]

I can certainly state that freezing bread has zero impact on me, on the basis I have not eaten any bread in over 10 years. 🙂 😎

I've conferred with the elders, and it seems we're in agreement that you have a pass.