‘Bread for a Healthier and Toner Body.’
by Sandy Dover / @SandmanSeven
In the NBA world, athletes in that particular universe are subject to physical rigors most laypeople cannot comprehend. For the elite basketball player, his/her body is his/her literal temple and principal livelihood, and while the roughly 400 players in the NBA put their bodies and minds to the test daily and yearly, those outside of that realm (in the so-called real world) also have become just as conscious about their fitness and health. The FIT is a series that will concentrate on the Fuel, Information, and Training (F.I.T.) that it takes for both NBAers and laypersons to be at their very best in the world, as well as focusing on the literal Food, Intelligence and Technology that also comes into play in our physical fine-tuning — because after all, without having the vital fuel, guidelines, and tech advancements to feed our bodies, help us better absorb and process what’s necessary, and make the labor efficient and effective, we don’t have much to advance our collective health and performance. The FIT is here to bring to light what can make us all the uniquely tuned creatures that we presently are and can continue or aspire to be.
Whether you’re a pro athlete or someone who’s getting hip to nutrition, one of the first things you’ll read up on is the nature of simple and complex carbohydrates. To quote Ron Burgundy, “It’s science.” Simply, the simple carbs like white bread, can
dy and other foods that are dominated by sugar and/or high fructose corn syrup, and normally your body will store the sugar immediately if it’s not used (many times it stores in excess as fat) and sending your blood sugar levels sky high — those are good reasons why Los Angeles Lakers forward Lamar Odom was probably dissuaded from binging on the junk food last year. In most cases, the best alternative to a simple carb is a complex carb, which is easier on the body to process and helps maintain blood sugar levels and longer-lasting energy (by comparison to the quick high and precipitous low of candy, Lamar). Pairing high protein food and complex carbs is the formula that 2009 Hall of Famer Michael Jordan particularly used for his famous steak and baked potato dish before every game he played in the NBA. One such food that fits the bill is P28 High Protein Bread.
Formulated by baker brothers who sought to vastly improve their health (and who later became impressive weightlifters), P28 High Protein Bread by NutriBreads has a variety of great features that make eating it worthwhile. The name of the bread comes from two slices of the bread together equating to 28 grams of protein content — an outstanding measure for a dough of any kind, let alone a processed bread. Full of different mixes of whey protein, flaxseed, whole wheat content and other important grains, P28 is noted to be “a rich source of the seven essential amino acids, cholesterol free, a good source of fiber, excellent for people who are trying to lose body fat, 100% whole wheat” and more. In short, it’s a good thing to eat…and I’m inclined to agree.
In my own testing of the P28 bread, I was optimistic about it. I’m personally a big fan of whole wheat for its nutritional value and high fiber content, but I also loved the idea of a bread that has more protein to carbs per slice (14g protein to 12g carbs). Throughout my fortnight of testing, I tried the bread in a variety of ways — toasted, plain out of the bag, with butter, with peanut butter and as the carrier of grilled chicken breast in a sandwich. All of the ways were outstanding, and the bread proved to be versatile in taste and usage, without the guilt associated with traditional low-protein breads.
When toasted, P28 was crunchy, yet chewy still, and it was hearty. When it was in its regular state from the bag, the bread was incredibly fresh. Not only that, P28 was very strong…remarkably strong. I say this because I tried a slice in two, and was surprised that I actually was aware that I needed a little bit of shoulder power to activate the tearing, so surely the protein content was thoroughly bonded within. Yet and still, the bread was very tender and soft, and it had resilient elasticity; this I noticed especially when I was chewing as it seemed to almost rebound in my mouth
as it was being broken down, but this is not to be mistaken for everlasting gum. It’s delicious in flavor, being pleasant and mildly sweet in that unique oat-y kind of way.
Above all, it was filling, I was able to easily meet my daily fiber intake, and I kept trying to think of ways to implement the P28 bread into my daily meals — and it’s no coincidence I that made a yummy chicken rotini dish for it to be featured with. In short, it’s a real value for people who supplement their diets with nutritional products like protein powder or fiber drinks, because it means that you’re saving money and saving your supplement supplies.
In short, it was (as Borat might say) “Great successsssssss!” When you can burn fat and help build muscle just by eating an all-natural food, it’s a score–and these days, every bit of useful muscle on the hardwood helps.
(For more information about P28 High Protein Bread, key attributes and nutritional facts, and where to find it or order it, go to HighProteinBread.com.)
A special thanks goes to Jeff Prince and the P28 Bread group for their generous help in my testing.
Sandy Dover is a novelist/writer, artist and fitness enthusiast, currently working toward getting board certification as a fitness trainer. You can find Sandy frequently here at SLAMonline, as well as at Facebook and Twitter.
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