What Happens to Your Body When You Eat Pancakes
Pancakes are a staple breakfast item—especially on the weekends when you have time to go out for brunch or host a gathering at your place. However, making them your top breakfast option on a regular basis could cause you to feel a number of undesired symptoms.
Below, you'll see just a few of these side effects as well as one potential benefit. After, be sure to read The One Breakfast Food To Eat To Lower Your Cholesterol, Says Dietitian!
You may become bloated.
If pancakes make you bloated, it's possible that you're dealing with a gluten sensitivity. Remember, traditional buttermilk pancakes are high in refined wheat flour, which contains the protein gluten. If you find yourself getting majorly bloated after eating a small stack of pancakes, it's possible that you are unable to properly digest the protein. Consider trying a gluten-free mix instead, such as Bob's Red Mill gluten-free pancake mix. The texture is fluffy and tastes just like the real thing!
You may consume your day's worth of added sugars.
Is your go-to breakfast a stack of pancakes? If it is, then it's very likely that you're consuming all of the recommended daily allowance of sugar in one sitting. One serving, or two tablespoons of Mrs. Butterworth's Regular Syrup, contains a whopping 22 grams of sugar. We can bet you're putting more than just two tablespoons of syrup overtop your flapjacks, which means you could be consuming well over the recommended consumption of sugar—and all before lunch.
For context, the American Heart Association says that women consume no more than 25 grams or 6 teaspoons of added sugars daily to maintain good heart health. For men, the recommended cap is 36 grams or 9 teaspoons.
You may feel like you need a nap.
The thing about sugar is that, while it will initially give you a surge of energy, a crash will shortly follow. That's because consuming all of that sugar will cause your blood sugar levels to abruptly spike, which inevitably leads to a dramatic fall. It largely has to do with the glycemic index of certain foods. For example, sucrose has a high glycemic index as does white flour. This crash may cause you to feel sluggish like you need to lie down and take a little nap.
They could give you a boost in fiber.
If you make pancakes using whole wheat flour or even better, with oat flour, this could help you boost your fiber intake. In part, this can also help you become more regular. Another bonus of oat flour? It contains a specific type of fiber called beta-glucan, which has been shown to help people with diabetes decrease their blood sugar levels.
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