Is it true that 'eating frozen bread is healthy'?
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Freezing bread and eating it has become popular on social media sites such as TikTok, with some influencers claiming that doing so makes it healthier than eating it normally. An expert has explained the veracity of these claims.
TikTok users claim freezing bread can make it healthier – here's what the science actually says
https://theconversation.com/tiktok-users-claim-freezing-bread-can-make-it-healthier-heres-what-the-science-actually-says-228318
What happens when you freeze bread?
Duane Mellor, a registered dietitian at Aston Martin Medical School in the UK, concludes: 'There is some solid, albeit confusing, scientific evidence behind the claim that freezing bread makes it healthier. However, the actual health impacts are probably not as great as made out to be.'
When bread is baked, the moisture and heat in the dough causes the starch in the flour to swell and
Gelatinized starch is easier to digest and the glucose contained in it is easier for cells to take up, so eating fresh starchy foods, especially those low in fiber such as white bread and potato dishes, tends to raise blood sugar levels soon after eating.
On the other hand, when baked bread cools, the gelatinized starch loses moisture and deteriorates , becoming resistant starch, which is difficult to digest.
The percentage of resistant starch that forms depends on the baking and cooling temperatures of the bread. Experiments measuring the volume of cooled bread have shown that when bread is placed in the freezer, it shrinks twice as much as when it is placed in the refrigerator, so it is believed that freezing also produces more resistant starch. Putting bread in the freezer also has the effect of preventing the bread from drying out and becoming stale, making it less likely to spoil.
Should you freeze bread?
In an experiment in which 10 healthy adults were given white bread and their blood sugar levels were measured, it was found that toasting or freezing and then thawing the bread caused less of a rise in blood sugar levels than eating it raw. Specifically, freezing and thawing homemade bread reduced the rise in blood sugar levels two hours later by 31%, while toasting it reduced it by 25%. Similar results have been shown in several other experiments.
Intake of resistant starch increases insulin sensitivity, which helps insulin function, making it easier for sugar in the blood to be burned as energy in muscles, which is expected to have health benefits.
Resistant starch is not only difficult to digest and absorb, but also serves as a nutrient source for intestinal bacteria, helping to maintain a healthy balance of intestinal bacteria. In particular, the short-chain fatty acids produced when intestinal bacteria metabolize resistant starch are known to lower cholesterol levels, which may reduce the risk of heart disease.
On the other hand, studies that have looked at the relationship between bread and blood sugar levels have only examined the effects several hours after eating, so the long-term effects, such as suppressing weight gain or preventing type 2 diabetes, are unknown.
Therefore, Mellor said, 'While the benefits of freezing bread may seem dramatic, they are short-term and the long-term health effects are likely to be modest. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't freeze bread. Freezing bread can provide some health benefits, even if they are small, and it can also help reduce food waste.'
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