Bloating not caused by bread, says report

A new report by the British Nutrition Foundation (BNF) found there is no support to claims that bread made by the Chorleywood Bread Process (CBP) causes bloating and gastrointestinal discomfort in a different way to other bread-making processes.

Dr Elisabeth Weichselbaum, author of the study, said: “For the average healthy consumer, there is no evidence that regular consumption of bread causes bloating or gastrointestinal discomfort, or that the way in which bread is produced, by modern or traditional methods, leads to different effects on the gastrointestinal system.”

Weichselbaum added that bread is an “important” source of dietary fibre, which is required for bowel health, and most people in the UK “would benefit from increasing their fibre intake”.

She added that many people were unecesarilly reducing their fibre intake by cutting back on bread because they mistakenly believed they had some sort of food allergy.

“As with other forms of allergy, the proportion of people who perceive they are allergic to wheat is clearly higher than the actual prevalence of wheat allergy. If a wheat allergy is suspected, diagnosis should be made via standardised tests and unnecessary wheat avoidance may lead to inadequate intake of key nutrients.”

To see the Weichselbaum report in full, click on the following link: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1467-3010.2011.01943.x/abstract