News
31 August 2006
Switch breads to prevent disease says new nutrition study
Research released today by Oxford Brookes University shows that changing the type of bread eaten for breakfast, lunch and supper can improve your glucose control for the whole of the day. This has ground breaking implications for the prevention and management of cardiovascular disease and diabetes, and is good news for people seeking sustainable weight loss.
'Changing your whole diet can be difficult, but with bread being a staple food in the UK it is easy to swap high GI bread for low GI brands,' says Professor Jeya Henry, Head of Food Science and Nutrition at Oxford Brookes University. Of the 12 million bread and bakery products produced in the UK daily, white bread - typically a high GI food – currently constitutes more than 70% of sales.
Ten subjects were given identical diets on two separate days: toast for breakfast and sandwiches for lunch and supper. The only difference was that the ordinary white bread (high GI) eaten in the first experiment, was replaced by low GI bread in the second - Warburton’s All-in-One and British Bakels’ multi-seed bread.
“Companies boast about their low GI breads, but we wanted to find out if they really work. We found that this small change in diet - eating low GI bread - consistently reduced the blood glucose after meals, through the night, and the fasting glucose level - in the morning of the following day. A lower fasting glucose level is important because it reduces the risk of getting cardiovascular disease and diabetes,” says Prof. Henry who carried out this independent research in conjunction with Dr Helen Lightowler.
The findings, published in the International Journal of Food Sciences and Nutrition, will have important clinical significance for reducing the risk of heart disease, preventing the onset of Type 2 diabetes, and helping diabetics manage their condition effectively. Since low GI foods reduce hunger and leave you feeling fuller for longer, they also play a key role in weight management.
Notes to editors
- For more information or to speak to Professor Jeya Henry or Dr Helen Lightowler, contact: Elaine Bible, Public Relations, Oxford Brookes University, 01865 484452.
- To speak to British Bakels, contact: Alan Gordon, 01474 708855, alan.gordon@merlin-publicity.co.uk
Oxford Brookes’ Food Science and Nutrition Group is internationally renowned for its research on the Glycaemic Index – which rates the effect that foods have on our blood glucose levels, which in turn affects energy levels.. The Group often works in partnership with the food industry and government bodies, but this latest GI study is independent and received no funding from bread companies.
