Is Bread Good for Diabetes? White, Wheat and Agege Bread

Bread is everywhere in Nigeria. Bread and tea in the morning, bread and akara on the way to work, bread and beans on a Saturday. So when you are told you have diabetes, one of the first things you ask is: can I still eat bread?

If that is you, you may be wondering: is bread good for diabetes?

The short answer is that bread is not a good food for diabetes, but you do not have to stop it forever. White bread and agege bread push your sugar up fast, so keep them to one thin slice (30g), about once a month. Wheat bread is a little better, but not by as much as most people think. And bread should never be eaten on its own. This post explains why, and what to eat with it.

Why Does Bread Raise Blood Sugar So Fast?

Bread is made from wheat flour. Most bread sold in Nigeria is made from white flour, which is wheat with the rough outer part taken away. What is left turns into sugar in your blood very quickly.

Scientists measure this with a number called the glycemic index. It tells you how fast a food raises your sugar, on a scale where pure glucose is 100. A number of 70 or more is fast.

In the international glycemic index tables, white wheat bread measures 75. That puts it in the same group as eba and pounded yam. Our post on which Nigerian foods raise blood sugar the most shows how the common starches compare.

Is Agege Bread Good for Diabetes?

Agege bread is soft white bread, made from white flour, often with sugar added to make it sweet and soft. Sugar bread, milk bread, honey bread and raisin bread are the same story, with even more sugar.

So agege bread is one of the breads that push your sugar up fastest. If you have diabetes, it is best kept for a rare day:

• How much: one thin slice at most (30g)
• How often: about once a month
• How: never on its own

One thin slice of agege bread carries about 15g of starch. Three slices with sweet tea give your body more sugar than half a cup of cooked white rice (90g).

The same goes for French bread (baguette) and garlic bread. They are white flour too.

Is Wheat Bread Better Than White Bread for Diabetes?

A little, yes. But much less than the packet makes you believe.

In the same international tables, whole wheat bread measures 74. White bread measures 75. That is almost no difference.

Why so close? Because most "wheat bread" is made from flour that is ground very fine, just like white flour, so it still turns to sugar fast. And many loaves sold as wheat bread or brown bread are mostly white flour with a little wheat and some colour added.

Wheat bread is still a better choice than agege bread. It has more of the rough part of food, which keeps you full for longer, and usually less sugar. So you can have it more often than white bread:

• How much: one slice (about 30g)
• How often: about 2 times a week
• How: never on its own

When you buy it, look at the packet. Pick a loaf where whole wheat is the first thing written in the list of what is inside. If the first word is just "flour" or "wheat flour", it is mostly white flour.

What Can a Diabetic Eat With Bread?

This is the part that matters most. Bread on its own pushes your sugar up fast. Bread eaten with the right food rises slower.

A study in south-west Nigeria showed how much a food beside a starch can help. Boiled yam on its own measured 94, but with fried egg it measured 84. Bread works the same way.

Eat your slice of bread with one of these:

• An egg, boiled, or fried in very little oil
• Moi moi
• Beans
• Avocado (pear), with wheat bread

The best plate is bread with an egg and moi moi. The egg is what makes the biggest difference.

Is Bread and Beans Good for Diabetes?

Beans are very good for diabetes. Our post on whether a diabetic can eat beans every day explains why.

But beans do not make white bread safe. White bread is too fast for beans alone to slow it down enough. So agege bread and beans is still a meal for a rare day.

Wheat bread and beans is better. Keep it to one slice of bread, and if you can, add an egg.

Is Bread and Tea Good for Diabetes?

Bread and tea is one of the most common breakfasts in Nigeria. It is also one of the hardest on your sugar, because of what usually goes into the tea.

Two spoons of sugar, a spoon of condensed milk or a scoop of chocolate drink, plus two slices of white bread, is a lot of sugar in one sitting.

If you love bread and tea, change it like this:

• Drink your tea with no sugar and no condensed milk
• Eat one slice of wheat bread, not two or three of agege bread
• Add a boiled egg

Our post on what a diabetic can eat for breakfast has more Nigerian breakfast ideas.

Is Bread and Akara Good for Diabetes?

Akara is made from beans, so it helps a little. But it is fried, and it is often eaten with pap or with two or three slices of bread.

If you eat bread and akara, keep it to one slice of wheat bread, and do not add pap on the same morning. Pap pushes your sugar up fast too, as our post on whether pap is good for diabetes explains.

Is Bread Good for Diabetes and High Blood Pressure?

Bread has a hidden problem for people with high blood pressure: salt. You cannot taste much of it, because the bread is soft and a little sweet, but it is there.

One thin slice of agege bread carries about 150mg of sodium, the part of salt that raises blood pressure. Four slices, which many people eat at one sitting, carry about 600mg. That is a big part of the salt you should eat in a whole day, before you have added any stew or soup.

So if you have high blood pressure as well as diabetes, one slice is even more important. Our post on food for diabetes and high blood pressure shows how to cut salt from the rest of your plate.

If you also have high cholesterol, watch what you spread on your bread. Butter and margarine add fat your heart does not need. Avocado or nothing at all is better.

Which Bread Is Best for Diabetics in Nigeria?

Better choice:

• Whole wheat bread, where whole wheat is the first thing on the packet, one slice
• Eaten with an egg, moi moi, beans or avocado
• Tea with no sugar

Less suitable choice:

• Agege bread, sugar bread, milk bread and honey bread
• French bread and garlic bread
• Two or three slices at one sitting
• Bread on its own
• Bread with sweet tea, condensed milk or chocolate drink
• Bread with jam, honey or chocolate spread

If you are not sure how much bread is right for you, you can check GluFloat for personalised food guidance. It tells you whether your bread breakfast is green, yellow or red, and exactly what to add to make it better.

Should a Diabetic Stop Eating Bread Completely?

No. You do not have to stop bread forever.

Bread is not poison. The problem is the amount, how often, and what goes with it. One slice of wheat bread with an egg, twice a week, is very different from four slices of agege bread with sweet tea every morning.

What you should not do is make bread your everyday breakfast. Oats, beans, moi moi and eggs are better foods to eat most mornings.

The Bottom Line: Is Bread Good for Diabetes?

Bread is not a good everyday food for diabetes. White bread and agege bread push your sugar up fast, and most wheat bread is only a little slower.

But you can still enjoy bread if you keep to a few simple rules:

• One slice, not two or three
• Wheat bread over agege bread
• Never on its own: add an egg, moi moi or beans
• Tea with no sugar

For the rest of your plate, see what is the best food for diabetics in Nigeria.