Experimental bread provides six times more fiber

5/12/2000-An experimental bread made of ultra-fine-ground whole wheat flour could help Americans up their fiber intake--now considerably below the recommended 25 grams daily--and reduce risk of diabetes in the process. The flour, developed by ConAgra, gives the bread a taste and texture very similar to white bread. But it has six times more fiber. Nutrition researchers Kay Behall and Judith Hallfrisch at the Beltsville, Md., Human Nutrition Research Center of the USDA's Agricultural Research Service evaluated the bread to see if the particle size would result in a slower increase in blood sugar compared to the sugar syrup given in a glucose tolerance test. A glucose tolerance test indicates a person's potential for diabetes. The experimental bread improved blood glucose and insulin levels in the 26 volunteers about the same as regular whole wheat bread. Levels stayed lower than when the volunteers ate white bread or consumed a glucose drink. For more information, see http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2000/000511.htm.