11. White bread and margarine
Who doesn’t love crispy white toast dripping with melted butter? The problem with eating this dish so often for breakfast is twofold.
First, white bread. White bread is made from white flour, which is flour that has been treated to remove the brown part of the whole grain. That way, along with whole grains, beneficial vitamins, especially B vitamins, are also eliminated. A better option is brown bread, made with unprocessed or minimally processed whole wheat, with beneficial nutrients.
Second, if our choice is margarine, we may gain more weight than expected. All spreads contain some degree of fat, even low-fat ones. Margarine is no different, but margarine has also been treated to make it easy to spread straight from the fridge. It is during this process that trans fats can be added, also known as partially hydrogenated oils. There are calls to ban trans fats as they have been suspected of their potential link to a number of health problems such as blood pressure problems and high blood sugar. In the UK, their use is being phased out, but they can still be present in imported food. Butter, although higher in fat, is a better choice because it is unprocessed and contains no trans fats. But either way, keep your brownies and spreads to a minimum.
