Why is bread so problematic?

For most of the last 5000 thousands of years bread was made using only 2 or 3 ingredients (flour, water and perhaps salt), naturally fermented. For perhaps 10000 years before that, bread was unleavened and flat. In an evolutionary timescale this is quite a short time – although bread is considered a staple, we have not really evolved to digest it well, so we rely on the fermentation to essentially pre-digest the bread by starting the process of breaking down the proteins structures such as gluten for us.

Fast forward to the present day, and much of the bread we eat is white and fermented for a very short time using the Chorleywood process, with extra yeast and sugars added to speed things up. Extra ingredients are added to make the product palatable and help production – yeast inhibitors to stop the fermentation once the bread has risen, extra gluten, emulsifiers, preservatives and so on.

Unless the bread is wholemeal, most of the nutritional value of the wheat (fibre, vitamins and mineral) is stripped away with the germ and the bran. Some vitamins and minerals are put back, but not all, and they may not be as easily absorbed as those found naturally in whole grains. It may require more nutrients to digest sliced white bread than we can take from it.

If the wheat is not organic, it might well have been sprayed with the herbicide glyphosate just before harvest.

So it’s no wonder that more and more people struggle with bread. We often put it down to gluten intolerance, and for some people that might indeed be the reason, but it could be at least in part because of the missing long fermentation plus added gluten. Many ultra processed foods contain added gluten.

Some people are sensitive (or allergic) to wheat itself. For others, particularly if there is underlying dysbiosis, some starches in the bread may ferment in the gut causing discomfort, gas and bloating. As a herbicide, it is perhaps no surprise that glyphosate can disrupt our gut microbiome, causing dysbiosis, leaky gut and inflammation – potentially increasing the risk of food intolerances. A recent scientific publication also confirms that glyphosate causes cancer even at EU “safe” exposure levels.

What then to look for in bread?

• Choose bread that specifically says it is “wholemeal” so you know you are getting the fibre and nutrients of the whole grain.

• Consider trying spelt instead of wheat bread

• Choose real sourdough bread – the long fermentation time is important, and supermarket bread that “contains sourdough” is not sourdough. If in doubt, check the ingredients list – it should be very short.

• If possible choose organic to avoid glyphosate.

If you want to avoid gluten, good bread can be even harder to come by, but one option is to make your own! If you would like to find out how, come to one of our workshops or get in touch to find out more.