Have We Been Wrong About White Bread This Whole Time?
According to a new study that blew our minds, white bread may not actually be any worse for us than brown bread, after all.
If you thought that saying no to white bread basically made you a health saint (guilty), we've got some bad news. According to a new study that blew our minds, white bread may not actually be any worse for us than brown bread.
Read more: 10 Ingredients to Always Avoid in Bread (Plus, 7 Bread Brands That Are Your Best Bets!)
As that earth-shattering possibility sinks in, let us break it down for you. Refinery29 explains that, according to a recently released study in Cell Metabolism, scientists at the Weizmann Institute of Science found that, when monitoring the effects of eating a loaf of plain white bread from the supermarket or artisanal whole-wheat sourdough, there was little difference on the body.
To come to this conclusion, scientists conducted a randomized trial with 20 healthy adult subjects comparing differences in how processed white bread and artisanal whole-wheat sourdough affect the body in terms of glucose levels, fat and cholesterol.
During the trial, participants were divided into two groups. One group was asked to eat a higher-than-average amount of fresh whole-wheat sourdough bread for a week, and the second group ate the same amount of white bread. Following the week of "breading out," both groups took a two-week break, then commenced eating the other type of bread for a week.
The Sun reports that at the end of the trial the scientific findings were pretty unexpected. "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," said professor Eran Segal, senior author of the study.
Translation: White and brown bread may be much more equal than we ever thought.
However, it's important to note that this study only lasted for one week and there was also no control group. So while white and brown bread may be a lot more similar than we ever thought for your body, there's still a lot to learn.
Another thing to remember is that this study only measured cholesterol, fat and glucose and how that changed depending on bread consumption. These are important things to consider when it comes to your diet, but eating whole grains (aka brown bread) has lots of other benefits as well that white bread simply doesn't have. For example, the fermented grain used in making sourdough does wonders to balance your gut, which in turn makes you happier and healthier by curbing anxiety and helping with weight management.
So while this study may influence you to pass on the brown stuff for a slice of the white, take a moment to think about what you want your food to do for you, and then make your decision.
Read more: Meet the Women Who Are Changing Health and Wellness
What Do YOU Think?
Do you eat brown bread? Does this study make you consider switching to white? How do you choose which bread to eat? Let us know in the comments!