The thought of sinking your teeth into a large slice of warm, crusty bread is great, isn't it? As you do so, you wonder if it's really doing you any good? It tastes good so it must be doing me good - perhaps not.

White bread may be delicious, but we eat far too much of it and it's now becoming a major cause of weight gain, particularly in the Western world.

So what on earth can be wrong with white bread? It's not the bread itself, but what goes into it. White refined flour is the problem. The clue is in the name - 'refined'. Refined means that all the goodness has been extracted. All the essential minerals and fiber have gone. They've all been refined away. What is left is of very little nutritional value. A slice of bread may taste good, but it's not doing you much good - apart from keeping your jaws active.

The fact that white bread contains white flour means that it is no longer behaves like a complex carbohydrate like wholemeal bread, for example. It is more of a simple carbohydrate, like sugar. It has a high glycaemic index which means that it encourages your body to produce insulin which in turn increases your appetite. You could say that white bread actually makes you hungry!

Another alarming fact about white bread - and some other more healthy breads too - is that it contains lots of salt. We get nearly 25% of our daily salt intake from bread - particularly white bread.

In a recent study it was found that in a significant number of cases, nearly 20% of daily energy intake came from white bread. In all cases the daily salt intake was well above recommended levels.

Why is a high level of salt intake harmful? Because it makes us retain too much water which in turn can lead to bloating, high blood pressure and an increased risk of heart attack and stroke. It also makes us thirsty. As the signal for thirst is similar to that of hunger, we often answer a thirst signal with food. The result is weight gain.

If you're trying to lose weight then you need to cut down the amount of white bread you eat. Cutting it out altogether would be the best plan. Adopt a slim habit of not eating white bread and your weight loss efforts will receive a welcome boost.