3 ways to eat bread for cancer prevention and stable blood sugar

Want to eat bread for breakfast but afraid it will raise your blood sugar? A doctor recommends 3 methods for eating bread that can actually help stabilize blood sugar and even aid in cancer prevention. Furthermore, pairing it with 2 other types of foods can enhance these health benefits.

Radiation oncologist Dr. Liao Chih-ying stated on his Facebook page that reducing sugar intake is closely related to cancer prevention. This is because long-term high blood sugar and high insulin levels promote chronic inflammation, insulin resistance, activate tumor growth signals, and increase cancer risk. Research confirms that high-sugar diets are associated with an increased risk of several cancers, such as colorectal, breast, and pancreatic cancer. Therefore, controlling blood sugar has become a key part of fighting inflammation and preventing cancer. However, cutting sugar doesn't mean eliminating carbs entirely; it's about eating smarter. Thus, he shares 3 tips for eating bread, which can serve as a reference:

How Can Eating Bread Help Stabilize Blood Sugar & Prevent Cancer?

1. Freeze the Bread Before Eating:
   • A study published in the British journal European Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that freezing white bread and then toasting it significantly reduced the post-meal blood sugar response.
   • Another study in Nutrition & Metabolism confirmed that the process of cooling and reheating white bread alters the starch structure, thereby reducing blood sugar fluctuations and insulin burden.
   • Multiple studies have found that after starchy foods are cooled or frozen, some of the starch converts into resistant starch. This type of starch is digested and absorbed more slowly, leads to more stable blood sugar rises, and benefits gut microbiota.
2. Pair with Protein and Healthy Fats:
   • For example, combine bread with foods like eggs, nuts, or olive oil. This helps further stabilize blood sugar levels.
3. Avoid High-Sugar Spreads:
   • Opt for sugar-free jams, low-sugar jams, or whole foods as toppings.

He explained that through these simple dietary adjustments, one can effectively reduce blood sugar fluctuations, thereby decreasing chronic inflammation, improving the metabolic environment, and creating bodily conditions less favorable for cancer cell growth.

What Blood Sugar Level Indicates Prediabetes? Watch for These 8 Early Symptoms

According to Hong Kong's Hospital Authority, diabetes is a chronic metabolic disorder. Blood sugar rises when insulin secretion is insufficient or the body cannot properly use the insulin it produces. Persistently high blood sugar disrupts fat and protein metabolism and, in the long term, damages the function of multiple body systems and organs, including the cardiovascular system, retina, nerves, and kidneys.

• Prediabetes is indicated by:
  • A fasting blood glucose level ≥5.6 to <7 mmol/L (impaired fasting glucose).
  • A 2-hour post-meal (oral glucose tolerance test) blood glucose level ≥7.8 to <11.1 mmol/L(impaired glucose tolerance).

Common Early Symptoms of Diabetes:

• Frequent thirst
• Frequent urination
• Feeling hungry
• Unexplained weight loss
• Easy fatigue
• Blurred vision
• Slow-healing wounds
• Skin itchiness; women may experience genital itching