http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/health/white-bread-increases-gut-bacteria-study-article-1.1827274#ixzz34chYgozFby Meredith Engel
June 12, 2014
Long shunned in favor of its whole wheat counterpart, new research suggests that white bread might not be so bad for you after all.
Writing in the American Chemical Society's Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, scientists found that the carb seems to boost gut bacteria.
Having an abundance of such probiotics in the gut is good for warding off disease.
Sonia Gonzalez and her team asked 38 healthy adults about their diet and looked at bacteria present in their stool samples. They found that the presence of lactobacillus, a group of good bacteria, went up when the subjects had white bread.
But Keri Gans, a Manhattan nutritionist and the author of "The Small Change Diet," isn't going to start recommending white bread to her clients.
"I don't think these findings really change anything," she said. "One hundred percent whole grain bread is still a better health option. As for good bacteria, I would recommend low fat yogurt, which is also good source of protein, calcium and vitamin D. You need to look at the big picture."
Other ways to get the benefits of probiotics are by eating fermented foods like sauerkraut and kimchi, or by taking a probiotic supplement.