Many dieters avoid bread because of its high carbohydrate and therefore sugar content.
But researchers now claim to have created a bread that could theoretically help people lose weight – by making the body feel full.
They made flour from chickpeas which, in the form of a sandwich with jam, resulted in greater feelings of satiety than after eating a regular bap.
Replacing wheat flour with its chickpea version could limit overeating and ultimately reduce obesity, the scientists believe.
However, experts warn that changing meals alone won’t be enough, as staying active and sticking to an overall healthy diet is necessary for better long-term health.
Scientists say they have developed a bread (pictured) that can actually help people lose weight – by making the body feel full. They made flour from chickpeas which, in the form of a bun with jam, made people less hungry than after eating a regular bap.
The researchers made three different types of sandwiches. One was made with plain white wheat flour (left), while the other batches replaced 30 or 60 percent of that flour with PulseON Foods chickpea flour (center and right)
Researchers from the Quadram Institute, a nutrition and health research center in Norwich, and King’s College London made bread using “cellular chickpea flour” instead of regular wheat flour.
The study is the first of its kind to investigate the new ingredient developed by PuseON Foods, a company founded by the Quadram Institute.
Fashionable flour made from chickpeas, lentils and beans is ground and crushed in the traditional way Fibrous structures are key to the health benefits of legumes.
WHAT SHOULD A BALANCED DIET LOOK LIKE?
Meals should be based on potatoes, bread, rice, pasta or other starchy carbohydrates, ideally whole grains, according to the NHS
• Eat at least five portions of different fruits and vegetables every day. All fresh, frozen, dried and canned fruits and vegetables count
• Alkaline meals based on potatoes, bread, rice, pasta or other starchy carbohydrates, preferably whole grains
• Thirty grams of fiber per day. This is equivalent to eating all of the following: five servings of fruit and vegetables, two whole grain granola cookies, two thick slices of whole grain bread, and one large baked potato with the skin on
• If you have some dairy products or dairy alternatives (such as soy drinks), choose lower fat, lower sugar options
• Eat beans, pulses, fish, eggs, meat and other proteins (including two portions of fish a week, one of which is fatty)
• Choose unsaturated oils and spreads and consume them in small amounts
• Drink six to eight cups/glasses of water daily
• Adults should consume less than 6g of salt and 20g of saturated fat for women or 30g for men per day
Source: NHS Eatwell Guide
However, the chickpea flour used in the study was made using a new milling process that preserves the fiber structure of the legumes.
The scientists say this offers a new way to add additional nutritional benefits to flour-based foods.
They wanted to know if the exchange made people happier and affected their satiety-regulating hormones, insulin and blood sugar levels.
Scientists made three different types of sandwiches.
One was made with plain white wheat flour, while the other batches replaced 30 or 60 percent of that flour with PulseON Foods chickpea flour.
20 healthy individuals between the ages of 18 and 45 were recruited.
They ate each of the sandwiches, which were served with sugar-free strawberry jam and a glass of water, on three different days after a 12-hour fast.
A blood sample was taken before eating the sandwich, followed by a further eight in the four hours after the meal.
Participants were asked about their level of hunger before and after eating the bread.
However, they did not comment on how it tastes.
The results, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, show that those who ate the bread baked with the special chickpea flour had “significantly” higher levels of satiety hormones in their blood.
This sends signals from the gut to the brain that make people feel full, meaning participants felt less hungry after eating the chickpea-enriched bread, the researchers said.
The results suggest that people would feel less hungry if food manufacturers made the “simple switch” to the cellular chickpea mix, “which in turn could help prevent overeating” — reducing the risk of obesity, the team said.
Around two-thirds of adults in England are obese or overweight, with one in three 10- and 11-year-olds obese.
In addition to the potential impact on weight, the bread, which is 30 percent chickpea flour, lowered blood sugar by up to 40 percent compared to regular bread.
The researchers explained that this is due to the slower breakdown of starch in cell meal during digestion.
Therefore, those who eat the bread may also have a lower risk of type 2 diabetes.
The team noted that more research is needed on whether regular consumption of foods made from chickpea flour can help maintain a healthy body weight and manage diabetes. They are planning larger studies to investigate this.
Professor Peter Ellis, Food Scientist at King’s College London, said: “At a time when we are all being encouraged to increase our fiber intake, this study highlights the importance of the physical form of fiber as intact cell walls to slow down starch digestion. , improves blood sugar levels and simulates satiety hormones to make us feel full.’
DR Duane Mellor, a registered dietitian and researcher at Aston Medical School in Birmingham, told MailOnline that claims that the flour keeps people fuller for longer “sound promising” but it has not been approved for marketing and sales purposes.
He noted that the saturation effect was observed in the experiment “for several hours in healthy subjects.”
There is a “lack of evidence” that dietary intake, weight and other risk factors for type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease are modified in the medium or long term, said Dr. Mellor.
Likewise, the improvements in blood sugar “happened over a period of several hours in a controlled environment,” he said.
Dr. Mellor said: “The most important things to reduce your risk of developing type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease are to maintain a healthy weight, be physically active and eat a varied and healthy diet.”
‘[It should be] based on vegetables, legumes, nuts, seeds and fruit, with some whole grains and modest amounts of meat and dairy – or alternatives if you’re vegetarian.
“Just trying to change the type of bread you eat without looking at your lifestyle as a whole is unlikely to have a significant impact in the long term.”
Source link
Crystal Leahy is an author and health journalist who writes for The Fashion Vibes. With a background in health and wellness, Crystal has a passion for helping people live their best lives through healthy habits and lifestyles.
