Bread, according to the explanation given by Dr. Gómez-Guillamón, a specialist in internal medicine and expert in nutrition at the USP Hospital in Marbella is rich in carbohydrates, essentially glucose, along with other macro and micro-nutrients. “People associate bread with obesity, stigmatising it as the factor which causes overweight, while the truth is that bread, being rich in glucose, is essential in our diet,” says the specialist. “Bread gets its bad name from the fact that it causes us to retain fluids. In fact, for every gram of glycogen (the glucose precursor used by the body as an energy store) you take on two grams of water. This means that when you stop eating bread, the body, which needs glucose to function, empties out these reserves, taking with it the accumulated water. That means you lose volume and weight, but not fat, which is what defines obesity,” explains Dr. Gómez-Guillamón in his book ‘Adelgace comiendo pan’ (‘Slim Eating Bread’).

With the onset of summer, many people embark on “miracle” diets in an attempt to shift a few of those surplus pounds. This nutritional expert, however, recommends a customised, ongoing diet as “99% of people will, after two years, have put back on or even increased their initial weight, because they haven’t changed their eating habits”. Along with a balanced diet, the doctor recommends physical exercise daily or every other day.

Dr. Gómez-Guillamón, who has a Master’s in nutrition and is a member of the SEEDO, also makes mention of the many illnesses associated with overweight and obesity, such as hypertension, diabetes, varicose veins, sleep disorders, cardiovascular risks and even cancer.