Why isn’t bread good for us? The high glycemic index of traditional white bread, in addition to causing blood sugar fluctuation, has been found to increase heart disease risk for women. Commercial yeast bread may also contain bromides that are bad for the thyroid and are carcinogenic. Grains in breads made with baker’s yeast are thought to remain poorly digested and to contribute to problems like diabetes, gluten intolerance, diabetes, overgrowth of Candida, and allergies. Associated Content contributor Clinton McMillen has written a nice article explaining why white bread is so bad for you (please right click and open in a new window). My article will discuss the health benefits of sourdough bread.
True Sourdough Bread
Sourdough starter is a mixture of flour and water that has been infiltrated by airborne wild yeast. True sourdough bread contains no baker’s yeast. Adding baker’s yeast to a wild yeast culture overpowers the delicate wild yeast and ruins the flavor and the health benefits of the bread. Sourdough bread takes patience and is generally only available from your own kitchen or the kitchen of someone you know.
According to Mark Sircus (International Medical Veritas Association) sourdough bread contains 18 amino acids, complex carbohydrate, B vitamins, iron, zinc, selenium and magnesium, and maltase.
Gluten Intolerance
Mark Sircus claims that wheat gluten is only safe to eat after it is fermented, such as during the making of sourdough bread, and that fermentation inhibits the growth of Candida (yeast that causes disease) while baker’s yeast is known to promote growth of Candida.
Several research studies are given below (see sources) that point to the potential benefits of sourdough bread for people with celiac disease. Sourdough fermentation under certain conditions has been shown to limit or eliminate toxic peptides from gluten that attack intestinal mucosa.
Mineral Absorption
One study (Chaoui, et al) found that mice that were fed traditional sourdough bread had significantly higher blood levels of hemoglobin, hematocrit, ferritin, and iron compared to mice that were fed bread made with baker’s yeast. Another animal study (Lopez, et al) showed that sourdough bread improves bioavailability of zinc, magnesium and iron.
Glucose Tolerance
Barley bread with added lactic acid has been shown to improve glucose tolerance, even through the next meal. Researchers (Ostman, et al) concluded that the production of lactic acid that occurs during sourdough fermentation likely produces the same beneficial results. Another study (Liljeberg, et al) confirmed that white sourdough bread had better nutritional qualities, improved glucose and insulin response, and satisfied the appetite even better than non-sourdough “wholemeal” bread.
Summary
True sourdough bread improves glycemic response and makes iron and other minerals more absorbable. Sourdough bread fermentation can eliminate toxins from wheat gluten and suppress the growth of disease-causing Candida . The complex carbohydrate makeup of sourdough bread helps to stabilize blood sugar and improve insulin response. Sourdough bread can be made at home with unbromated flour, making it safer to eat. Commercial breads may be falsely labeled “sourdough” due to the addition of substances that impart a sour flavor. These breads do not have the same health benefits of true sourdough bread. If packaged bread lists “yeast” in the ingredients, it is not sourdough bread.
Sources:
No author given. Sourdough Bread Has Most Health Benefits, Prof Finds. University of Guelph.
Kaisa Poutanen, Laura Flander, and Kati Katina. Sourdough and cereal fermentation in a nutritional perspective (abstract). Science Direct.
Asmaa Chaoui, Mohamed Faid, and Rekia Belahsen. Making bread with sourdough improves iron bioavailability from reconstituted fortified wheat flour in mice (abstract). Science Direct.
Mark Sircus. Sourdough Bread and Health. Daniel Reid.
Elin M. Ostman, Helena G. M. Liljeberg Elmstahl and Inger M. E. Bjorck.Barley Bread Containing Lactic Acid Improves Glucose Tolerance at a Subsequent Meal in Healthy Men and Women. The Journal of Nutrition.
Helena G. M. Liljeberg, Clas H. Lonner and Inger M. E. Bjorck. Sourdough Fermentation or Addition of Organic Acids or Corresponding Salts to Bread Improves Nutritional Properties of Starch in Healthy Humans. The Journal of Nutrition.
Raffaella Di Cagno, Maria De Angelis, Paola Lavermicocca, Massimo De Vincenzi, Claudio Giovannini, Michele Faccia, and Marco Gobbetti. Proteolysis by Sourdough Lactic Acid Bacteria: Effects on Wheat Flour Protein Fractions and Gliadin Peptides Involved in Human Cereal Intolerance. American Society for Microbiology.
M. Gobbetti, Rizzello C. Giuseppe, R. DiCagno, and M. DeAngelis. Sourdough lactobacilli and celiac disease (abstract). PubMed.
A. V. Moroni, F. Dal Bello, and E. K. Arendt. Sourdough in gluten-free bread-making: an ancient technology to solve a novel issue? (abstract). PubMed.
R. Di Cagno, M. De Angelis, S. Auricchio, et al. Sourdough bread made from wheat and nontoxic flours and started with selected lactobacilli is tolerated in celiac sprue patients (abstract). PubMed.
Clinton McMillen. Why is White Bread so Bad for You? Associated Content.
Kate Kelland. White Bread Bad for Women’s Hearts. Msnbc.
Olufemi Oshin. Nafdac on Bromide in Bread. Galaxy TV.
H. W. Lopez, V. Duclos, C. Coudray, V. Krespine, C. Feillet-Coudray, A. Messager, C. Demigne, C. Remesy.Making bread with sourdough improves mineral bioavailability from reconstituted whole wheat flour in rats. PubMed.
