An endocrinologist has shared a surprising method to enhance the health benefits of bread by freezing it, which she claims can reduce inflammation in the body. Bread remains a common item in British households, with nearly all households purchasing it regularly.
The high demand results in approximately 11 million loaves being sold daily, averaging to 60.3 loaves per person each year. While some bread varieties offer nutritional advantages with whole grains and fiber, much of the bread consumed is heavily processed, particularly white sliced bread.
Endocrinologist Dr. Alessia Roehnelt has disclosed a simple storage technique that can improve the health impact of bread. Freezing bread can change the starch structure, creating resistant starch that the body digests slowly, leading to stable energy levels and reduced blood sugar spikes.
Concerns are rising about how processed white bread affects the gut microbiome, crucial for digestion and immune function. Sliced white bread lacks fiber, essential for gut bacteria, and might not promote good health markers.
Dr. Roehnelt suggests that freezing bread can also enhance gut health by providing prebiotic resistant starch that feeds beneficial gut bacteria, reducing inflammation. Similar benefits can be obtained from foods like potatoes, rice, pasta, oats, beans, lentils, or green bananas by cooking, cooling, and either consuming them cold or reheating them.
According to the NHS, starch is a vital carbohydrate for energy found in foods like bread, pasta, potatoes, and rice. Resistant starch, which resists digestion, occurs naturally in whole grains, seeds, legumes, sweetcorn, and green bananas and can form during food processing, cooking, cooling, or reheating.