As I sit down for brunch with my husband and kids, I find myself watching them enjoy buttery bread alongside their eggs, feeling a pang of envy. A lifelong aficionado of all things bread, I’ve decided to nix it from my diet this month. It’s the Sunday brunches that test my resolve the most.

For those navigating the end of a disciplined January, I have to admit, having previously attempted months without alcohol, sugar, or social media, abstaining from bread has been the toughest challenge yet.

You might wonder why I’m doing this, especially since it’s the season for health resolutions. Let me clarify—I don’t intend to vilify bread. It’s been a staple of human diets for millennia.

However, the bread and many foods we consume today would be unrecognizable to our ancestors.

If you’ve just emerged from a prehistoric slumber, let me define ultra-processed foods (UPFs) for you: these are products containing industrial additives you wouldn’t find in a home kitchen, including emulsifiers, preservatives, stabilizers, and artificial sweeteners.

They’re cheap, moreish and inevitably we gobble them up. At least we did. Until the super-popular doctor and broadcaster Chris van Tulleken published his book Ultra-Processed People and used compelling science to make us realise that many everyday foods are actually designed to make us eat more and feel worse.

UPFs have been linked with many modern issues including anxiety and insomnia, but also a higher risk of chronic diseases such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular illnesses and some cancers.

When it comes to cancer, I have skin in the game.

When I was 40, and my children were just six and three, I was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer. It was a huge shock and treatment was brutal but, after months of chemotherapy, radiotherapy and mastectomy surgery, five years on, I am now cancer-free.

My determination to avoid a recurrence means I will try anything to reduce my risk. 

I’ve mostly given up alcohol and force myself to exercise regularly, but I was interested to read a new meta-analysis of 17 observational studies in the National Library of Medicine, showing a significant association between the consumption of UPFs and an increased risk of breast cancer, with high intake linked to a 25 per cent greater risk.

Some UPFs are obvious; nobody thinks a bag of Haribo is a healthy option. But some look very close to real food. And the most commonly eaten ultra-processed food in the UK? Bread.

An astonishing 99.8 per cent of British households regularly buy bread, with nearly 11 million loaves sold each day. White bread accounts for 71 per cent of total bread consumption, with Warburtons white sliced by far the most popular.

Anyone who has been through cancer treatment knows there are nights when you lie awake running through everything you have ever done (from binge drinking in my 20s to the odd social cigarette), wondering if it might have contributed to your diagnosis. Could changing this one thing make all the difference to my health?

Rather than relying simply on how I look or feel, I test some metrics. First, I have a metabolic health blood test, which checks cholesterol, blood sugar levels and inflammation in the body. 

My results show raised cholesterol, particularly the ‘bad’ type of LDL cholesterol which, at 3.2mmol/L is only just above the normal range, but higher than you’d expect for a healthy 45-year-old. (Excess LDL cholesterol can form plaque and stiffen arteries, increasing the risk of heart attacks and strokes.)

Next, I wear a Hilo band – one of those trendy wearable gadgets that use optical sensors to monitor my blood pressure – throughout the month on my wrist.

And finally, I step on a good old-fashioned set of scales. Weight loss is not my priority, since I generally hover around 9½st at 5ft 6in.

Having not weighed myself in a while, I’m surprised to see the number is actually closer to 10st, which brings me to my diet. I don’t have much of a sweet tooth, and can resist cakes and biscuits, but savoury snacks are my downfall.

As a freelance journalist who works from home, my toaster is right next to the kettle, and an 11am cuppa is often accompanied by buttery toast.

In fact, once I cut out bread, it’s alarming to notice just how toast-based my diet is. Beans on toast is a quick, easy work-from-home lunch, and I’ll often eat cheese on toast with the kids after school (albeit with lots of chopped up veg, too).

For my experiment, I’m avoiding anything bread-adjacent such as breadsticks, cakes or pastries. But bread also hides in non-obvious places.

For instance, my smugness at rejecting the brioche bun with my veggie burger is tempered by the realisation that the burger itself contains breadcrumbs.

And I have the odd slip-up, such as when my husband makes black bean quesadillas for dinner. Just as I’m biting into the cheesy tortilla pocket, my eight-year-old daughter asks: ‘Aren’t these wraps kinda like… bread?’

Erm, yes, I suppose they are. I have the rest of the filling in a bowl with a fork, which is actually delicious.

One of my biggest struggles, besides brunch, is soup. It’s a go-to winter lunch, but soup without bread is like Ant without Dec. It feels like something is missing.

I ask Dr Federica Amati, head nutritionist at personalised nutrition app Zoe, for some tips.

‘The key is to prioritise fibre, protein and whole foods to keep you energised through the afternoon,’ she says.

‘Good options include grain or lentil-based salads with plenty of vegetables, soups containing beans or pulses, veggie-packed omelettes or frittatas, and wraps using leafy greens instead of bread. You can also build a “deconstructed sandwich” with vegetables, a protein source, healthy fats, and bold flavours – just without bread.’

Hmm… I’m not sure I fancy a wrap using leafy greens, or a sandwich without bread, but I do love a frittata, and the advice to amp up soups with beans is helpful. 

I also start adding toppings such as toasted seeds, to give my soup some bite. Dr Amati insists there’s no need to fear bread; it’s about making smarter choices.

‘Some supermarket loaves are highly refined and contain added sugars, emulsifiers, or ultra-processed ingredients,’ she says. ‘But others are genuinely wholegrain, meaning the grain is intact, and provide fibre to support gut health and blood sugar control.’

Seeded bread is, she says, ‘a bonus, but only if the bread is wholegrain at its base. A white loaf with a few seeds doesn’t deliver the same benefits as true wholegrain or rye bread.’ Sourdough is another example where a ‘health halo’ doesn’t necessarily translate into benefits.

‘Traditional sourdough is made using a long, slow fermentation, which supports gut health,’ she says. ‘However, many supermarket “sourdough” loaves take shortcuts, using additives to mimic sourdough taste. Look for simple ingredients and minimal additives.’

At the end of my bread-free month, I reassess my metrics. I’m back to my fighting weight, having lost 5 lb. My blood pressure was already in the ‘normal’ range, but it’s now ‘optimal’. 

Most impressively, my LDL cholesterol has dropped from 3.2 to 2.5mmol/L (a healthy range is under 3.0).

Nichola Ludlam-Raine, registered dietitian and author of How Not to Eat Ultra-Processed, says there are a number of factors at play with my bread-free month. 

For a start, I’m eating less cheese and butter, which may have had a greater impact on my cholesterol than the bread itself.

‘It’s not that bread is a “bad” food,’ she explains. ‘It’s about the volume, what we have with it, and why we’re eating it.’

She describes three different types of hunger: head, heart and stomach. When I see the toaster and think ‘ooh, toast’, that’s head hunger. When a comforting bread-based snack powers me through a stressful day, that’s heart hunger. It’s actually pretty rare that I feel true stomach hunger, since I’m generally so full of bread.

‘It becomes a problem if it’s displacing whole foods in your diet,’ she says. ‘Your microbiome needs lots of different, colourful vegetables, enough fibre, and fermented foods. It’s hard to get enough of those things if you’ve got a diet high in HFSS (high fat, salt and sugar) ultra-processed foods.’

She explains that most additives in the UK are safe for consumption in reasonable amounts and, without preservatives, we would have a food crisis with spoiled goods and empty shelves.

So I certainly don’t want to be alarmist about all bread, or even about all UPFs. Wholegrain cereals such as Weetabix can be healthy, despite being ultra-processed. 

And Ludlam-Raine tells me about a study calling for wholegrain ultra-processed foods to be removed from the UPF classification because of their health benefits.

For most people, simply switching from white to wholegrain bread will improve their fibre intake, bringing real benefits. 

But in the UK, white bread is cheap and accessible. It’s also fortified (with iron, calcium, B vitamins and folic acid starting this year), so consuming it in reasonable amounts isn’t a disaster.

Interestingly, Jason’s Sourdough (a proper sourdough, rather than a supermarket ‘sourfaux’) has now overtaken Kingsmill as the third biggest bread brand in the UK by sales, behind Warburtons and Hovis. 

Also, Warburtons recently launched a Fibre Fix range with added seeds and grains, reflecting a consumer trend toward healthier bread options.

For me, the biggest change after my month off bread is how I feel. I’ve got more energy, and I’m less inclined to reach for a carby snack at 3pm.

I’ve eaten plenty of oats and potatoes while avoiding bread, but these wholefood carbs are naturally denser, more filling and harder to over-consume than bread.

As a result, I feel more in tune with my hunger cues. When it comes to that 11am slice of toast, I’ve realised that not having bread doesn’t mean I scour the kitchen for an alternative snack – suggesting I’m not actually hungry, I just fancy a slice of toast.

To reduce my risk of getting cancer again, cutting down on ultra-processed foods is one part of the strategy, along with eating more veg, reducing alcohol and staying active.

Previously, I may have chosen bread over more nutrient-dense options. I now snack on walnuts, and eat more fibre-rich beans and root vegetables, which support gut bacteria, leading to better overall health. 

But I’m relieved to learn that giving up bread completely does not have to be part of my anti-cancer lifestyle. A wholegrain loaf can be a really healthy part of a balanced diet.

In fact, I sometimes make my own soda bread from my mum’s recipe: it’s just flour, yoghurt and bicarbonate of soda. If you like dense bread, it’s quick and easy, and fills your kitchen with the beautiful smell of a freshly baked loaf.

I’m definitely going to bake more often because, although I could manage a month, I’m never going to be bread-free long-term. Not only does it make brunch a misery, but there are also so many healthy options – even on days when I don’t have time to make my own.

So I’m going to keep enjoying my seeded loaf with scrambled eggs every Sunday, but give up the mindless hits of buttered toast at 11am on a random Tuesday. As with most things in life, quality and quantity are key, and I’ll be paying more attention to both.