IANS , London | Updated: February 02, 2015 13:06 IST
Scientists have rubbished decades of bad publicity directed at the humble bread for allegedly causing a host of complaints such as fatigue, stomach ache, bloating and headaches.
In recent years, bread has suffered from a serious image crisis. Now nutrition scientists believe that most of the health alerts about consuming bread are mere myths.
Researchers at the British Nutrition Foundation said that people are instead going without vital vitamins and minerals found in each loaf. They also dispute that wheat allergies are on the increase, the Daily Mail reports.
Aine O'Connor, who led the study, said that despite a massive downturn in bread consumption, Britain's obesity crisis is the biggest in Europe and continues to worsen. She said that sliced white bread, in particular, had been unfairly 'demonised' by health campaigners and TV nutrition shows.
O'Connor said that wheat allergies have not risen, but many people are are now incorrectly convinced they suffer from wheat intolerance or an allergy to gluten (the protein found in wheat).