Many people love a warm, fluffy slice of sourdough bread. You can toast it with butter, use it to make a sandwich, or dip it into your favorite winter soup. Whichever way you choose to eat it, it’s a type of bread full of flavor and fairly easy to make at home. Just ask anyone who has made it a hobby in 2020.
The flavor of sourdough sets it apart from many other types of bread, and this is achieved through a unique fermentation process. Instead of using traditional yeast, which is how other breads rise when baking, sourdough is made with a “starter”, which is flour and water combined and left to ferment for a few days at least.
Due to sourdough’s unique fermentation process, it has long been considered potentially healthier than other more refined types of bread, but why? Is it true to believe that sourdough is actually healthier than regular bread?
To find out more, we spoke with Lauren Manaker, MS, RDNdietitian and author First Time Mom Pregnancy Cookbook and Fueling Male Fertility. Keep reading to find out his expert take on whether sourdough is a healthier bread choice than the alternatives — and for more expert advice on this delicious staple, also be sure A major side effect of eating bread, dietitians say.
Sourdough may be better for blood sugar management
The short answer is yes, when it comes to your blood sugar, sourdough may be better for you.
“Sourdough bread may have a slight edge over refined white bread for several reasons,” Manaker says.
For one thing, sourdough bread often has a lower glycemic index (GI) than other types of bread, which Manaker says makes it “a better choice for people who are focused on blood sugar management.” “.
The GI is a way of measuring how quickly your blood sugar can rise with certain foods using a scale from zero to 100, with sugar being 100. According to Clinical and experimental research on agingan average sourdough bread has a GI of around 54, while a more refined white wheat flour bread has a GI of 71.
Sourdough may be better for gut health
Another benefit of sourdough is that it can help with gut health, again due to the fermentation process.
“Sourdough bread can contain prebiotic fiber, which is the result of fermentation,” Manaker says. This can support the live, beneficial bacteria that live in your gut by acting as a selective fuel.”
“Selective fuel is important because it means that prebiotic fiber is used as fuel by some beneficial bacteria, but not by less desirable bacteria, like E. coli,” she adds.
Finally it depends on each
Unfortunately, some recent research has suggested that the health benefits of sourdough may actually depend on the individual, meaning it may not be healthier for you. everybody.
A small 2017 study in Cell metabolism looked at the effects of sourdough and white bread on various participants. While some people had better blood sugar management after eating sourdough on white bread, there were also people who saw a higher spike after eating sourdough.
“To our shock and surprise, we found no significant difference between the two breads on any of the parameters we collected,” Eran Segal, one of the lead scientists in the study, reportedly said. Atlantic.
Takeaway meals
Sourdough almost always ranks lower on the GI than refined bread, and it has the potential to help your gut microbiome. Other than that, there aren’t many notable differences between these types of bread, and current research (although small) suggests that it really all depends on the individual.
“Ultimately, different breads provide different health benefits to an individual. And for some, sourdough bread can be a great choice for their unique needs,” Manaker says.
Samantha Bosch
Samantha was born and raised in Orlando, Florida and now works as a writer in Brooklyn, NY. Learn more about Samantha
#sourdough #healthier #regular #bread