If you chow down on wholemeal bread only because you think it’s healthier than white bread, you might be denying your tastebuds for no good reason.
A new study published in the journal Cell Metabolism has sensationally revealed that opting for brown bread provides no significant health benefits over good ol’ white.
Researchers studied 20 participants, who were split into two groups: one group spent a week eating processed white bread, while the other chewed on wholemeal.
When the week was up, the groups switched over and spent the second week eating only the other type of bread.
At the conclusion of the two weeks, scientists took blood tests to measure participants’ fat and cholesterol levels, vitamin and mineral readings, kidney and liver function and to check for inflammation and tissue damage.
Related: Don’t Ditch the Bread Basket – Science Says It’s Good For You
To the scientists’ surprise, there were no significant advantages to choosing brown over white.
What the scientists found was that some participants had healthier blood-sugar readings after eating white, while others had healthier levels after eating brown. The experts concluded that your healthier pick comes down to individual biology and that neither type of bread could be classed as the better choice for everyone.
“The initial finding – and this was very much contrary to our expectation – was that there were no clinically significant differences between the effects of the two types of bread on any of the parameters that we measured,” said lead researcher Eran Segal.
While the evidence seems pretty clear-cut, we have no doubt the debate will rage on for years to come.
