Bread is a staple in many diets. In the Netherlands, the average person eats around four slices a day. This is good for roughly 320 calories, before adding anything on top.
We asked our dietitian Mitch what he thinks about bread and how small changes can make a real difference. What many people don’t know is that the way you prepare your bread affects how your body processes it. With two surprisingly simple tricks, you can make bread friendlier for your blood sugar and slightly reduce the amount of energy your body actually absorbs.
The key lies in something called resistant starch.
You might recognise this: you eat relatively healthy, watch your portions, but progress feels slow.
One overlooked factor is how your food is prepared. In bread, this comes down to something called resistant starch.
When bread cools down or is reheated, part of the starch changes structure. It becomes a type of carbohydrate your body cannot fully digest or absorb in the small intestine.
This has several benefits for your metabolism and overall health.
When bread is cooled or frozen after baking, a process called retrogradation occurs.
During this process, some of the digestible starch turns into resistant starch.
Studies (including research published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition) show that frozen and thawed bread leads to a lower blood sugar response compared to fresh bread.
Toasting enhances this effect.
The heat further changes the starch structure, increasing the amount of resistant starch.
If you combine both methods, freezing and then toasting, the benefits stack.
In some cases, this combination has been shown to reduce blood sugar spikes by up to 39% compared to fresh, non-toasted bread.
Let’s be clear:
The label doesn’t change. 80 kcal is still 80 kcal on paper. But your body doesn’t absorb all of it. Regular starch provides about 4 kcal per gram, while resistant starch provides only 2.5 kcal per gram. In practice, this means your body absorbs slightly fewer calories — around 5–10 kcal less per slice.
That may seem small, but the real benefit lies in what happens beyond calories.
Resistant starch supports your body in several ways:
The best part: this is simple.
Just a smarter way of using something already in your kitchen.
Small adjustments can have a real impact over time. You don’t need extremes or restrictions. Just smarter habits that support your energy, health and long-term progress.
