Sliced white bread is ‘JUST as healthy as brown, shock findings reveal
Scientists compared 20 clinical measurements, including fat and cholesterol levels, and found no difference between white and brown bread
WHITE bread is just as healthy as a brown loaf, experts said today.
A new study found sticking to wholemeal did not boost wellbeing compared to chomping down on more processed types of bread.
Scientists, who compared more than 20 clinical measurements, said they were surprised by the findings.
And warned brown bread should not be labelled as a “healthier” alternative to a white loaf.
In a trial, 20 participants were split into two groups.
One spent a week eating processed white bread, while the rest ate whole-wheat sourdough.
Then the groups were switched.
Scientists used blood tests to measure vitamin and mineral readings, fat and cholesterol levels, kidney and liver function, and look for inflammation and tissue damage.
And they also checked their balance of healthy gut bugs.
To their surprise, there was no significant difference in the group readings.
But around half the participants had healthier blood sugar readings when eating white bread, while others did better on brown.
Experts concluded each individual reacted differently to what they ate, but no one type of bread was better.
Researcher Eran Segal, a computational biologist at the Weizmann Institute of Science, said consumers should avoid a one-size-fits-all approach.
He said: “The initial finding, and this was very much contrary to our expectation, was that there were no clinically significant differences between the effects of these two types of bread on any of the parameters that we measured.
"We looked at a number of markers, and there was no measurable difference in the effect that this type of dietary intervention had.
“The findings for this study are not only fascinating but potentially very important - different people react differently, even to the same foods."
The initial finding, and this was very much contrary to our expectation, was that there were no clinically significant differences between the effects of these two types of bread
Eran Segal
The study is published in the journal Cell Metabolism.
Adults get around 10 per cent of their calories from chowing on bread.
Bridget Benelam, from the British Nutrition Foundation, said Brits would still do better choosing wholemeal bread for its high levels of fibre.
She said: “Researchers were expecting to see differences in the rise in blood sugar after the participants consumed the white bread versus the wholegrain sourdough bread and they also looked to see if subjects’ gut flora changed.
“However, they didn’t find any differences in either case.
“While these results are interesting, this work is at a very early stage and we need bigger studies to look into it further.
“Going for wholegrain bread and other wholegrain foods is important as, in the UK, we eat much less fibre than is recommended.”
Oxford Professor Susan Jebb, the government’s former obesity tsar, said: “The findings are clear - there was no effect of the type of bread on over 20 clinical measurements.
“It may be that this is too small a group to detect potentially small differences but the fact remains that there was no measureable effect on health.”
But she warned it was difficult to draw any firm conclusions from such a small trial.
Dr Elizabeth Lund, Independent Consultant in Nutrition and Gastrointestinal Health, said Brits should not give up on wholegrains.
She said: “It should not be forgotten the health benefits of whole grains may be much longer-term than a one week study can show, especially in relation to gut health and prevention of conditions like bowel cancer.”
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