Is Sourdough Bread Good for Diabetics?

Bread seems like an easy option for people with diabetes. However, anyone with a low-carb diet understands that carbs are sugars. The type of bread might make a difference, like sourdough. Is sourdough bread good for diabetics?

Blood sugar is the name of the game for diabetics, so bread can be tricky, but is sourdough bread good for diabetics? Living with diabetes is not easy, even if you have a registered dietitian or nutritionist in your corner.

The name of the game is blood sugar levels and keeping them low. This usually means nothing more than eating food with a lower glycemic index. However, it can be hard to avoid the best bread.

Bread is part of a healthy diet and can even be part of a healthy diabetic diet. It is important for people with diabetes to understand why bread is a touchy subject for blood sugar.

The most important thing diabetics need to know is that eating anything will raise blood sugar levels. This is why they must closely monitor their blood glucose levels, especially while eating.

A gradual increase isn’t terrible, but that doesn’t mean we want it to go high, even for just a bit. They can use this information to learn if they can go back for seconds or need to stick with their meal plan.

Of course, these plans should be put together with the help of medical professionals. However, bread is so prevalent that diabetics must be able to decide on their own and fast.

When looking at bread options, diabetics may ask themselves, is sourdough bread good for diabetics? The answer is a bit more complicated than a simple yes or no, just like everything else with diabetes. 

Can a Slice of Bread Raise Blood Sugar?

Yes, eating anything can cause blood sugar to rise. However, a little rise is okay. In fact, this is why we have a glycemic index at all. This index ranks food based on how high and how quickly they can raise blood sugar.

For example, food with a high glycemic index will rapidly increase blood sugar levels because they digest quickly. Food with a low glycemic index is digested more slowly, meaning there won’t be a sudden spike in blood sugar.

This isn’t to say that diabetics can’t eat food with a high glycemic index. Otherwise, those foods would just be a simple no. Instead, portion control can help diabetics eat high-glycemic food.

A good idea would be to talk to your doctor to learn where your levels should be and where they can be to keep your overall health in a good place. Understanding your glycemic response means getting away with more than most.

The question remains: is sourdough bread good for diabetics? Eating a slice of bread or anything at all will raise blood sugar levels, but why is bread so challenging to fit into a healthy diabetic diet?

​What Are Healthy Carbs for Diabetics?

Carbs are part of a balanced diet, even for diabetics. However, carbs are broken down during digestion, turning them into sugars. Those sugars then cause a rise in blood sugar levels.

Diabetics must learn about carbohydrate-rich food to better avoid a sudden unexpected spike. Bread is a carb-heavy food. A single slice of white bread contains 15 grams of carbs; that’s one slice!

Of course, different types of bread have different amounts of carbs. How can carbs be healthy if they can cause a bigger spike than most other foods? The answer is in what we combine those carbs with and how digestion works.

For example, whole-grain breads are definitely a better choice for diabetics. Those breads are high in fiber, a carbohydrate but one the body has a tough time digesting.

Slowing digestion down means there will be a slow and steady increase in blood sugar rather than sudden blood sugar spikes that can be hard to plan for.

This means fiber is a healthy carb that diabetics can enjoy simply because our bodies have a tough time digesting it. Is sourdough bread good for diabetics? Is it a better option than bread made with white flour? 

Checking Sugar Content in Bread

Traditional bread is a combination of flour, yeast, water and salt. Yeast is a living microbe that eats the natural sugars in flour and releases carbon dioxide gas in the process. That gas is what makes dough rise.

Unfortunately, bread makers are often in a hurry to get more bread out more quickly. The only way to speed up the process is to give the yeast more food; more sugar.

Companies will add more sugar for that very purpose, but sometimes, they add more than is needed. We can find the nutritional value of a slice of bread right on the package.

Regular bread, such as white bread, requires about 1-3 grams of sugar to rise; anything over that adds unnecessary sugar. Diabetics should skip the bread if a slice has more than 3 grams of sugar.

Whole grain bread is precisely the same. However, the fiber content in the whole grains slows the digestion process down, making it much healthier. In fact, the health benefits of fiber in bread can make a big difference for diabetics.

Diabetics should seek bread with multiple grams of fiber in each slice to reap those benefits. Just like there are healthy fats, there are healthy carbs, and it is simply fiber.

So, is sourdough good for diabetics? White bread is definitely a pass; whole-grain sounds better, but is sourdough a high-fiber bread? 

Is Sourdough Bread Good for Diabetics?

We now know that carbs in bread can be bad for diabetics, depending on the type of bread. There is also the added benefit of fiber, which can help reduce blood sugar spikes.

White bread is high in carbs, with more than 15 grams per slice, but the fiber in whole wheat bread balances out those carbs and makes it a better choice. Sourdough has 10 grams of carbs per slice, not much lower than white bread.

In fact, a slice of sourdough bread only has about 1 gram of fiber, which helps but not as much as whole wheat bread. Still, sourdough is a great option for diabetics.

This isn’t because of the lower carb count or the higher fiber content. Instead, it is because of the fermentation process. A sourdough starter exists because of the slower rise and the slow fermentation process.

The fermentation process produces organic acids that slow digestion, just like fiber does. The best bread for diabetics will always be whole-grain bread, with sourdough being a close second.

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