7 Reasons Why Sourdough is Good for Your Health
Carbs are an essential part of our diets, and bread is a good source of carbs, especially wholegrain bread, which is rich in carbohydrates, vitamins, and essential nutrients. Sourdough bread is known to be enriched with healthy carbs, fibre, protein, and vitamins such as B12 and iron. Therefore, sourdough bread stands out among various types of bread available in the market.
What Makes Sourdough Bread Different?
Sourdough is made from the same flour as other types of bread, but what makes it different is the fermentation process which improves nutrition and impacts the ability of the body to absorb the nutrients. Sourdough bread is made through fermentation, where microbes ferment to produce carbon dioxide in the flour to make the dough rise. This longer fermentation process contributes to the improvement of flavour, texture, and aroma, making the bread easier to digest, keeping your gut healthy, and facilitating weight loss. Recent studies have shown that adding sourdough bread to your diet can help you improve your blood sugar level, lower the risk of chronic heart disease, and promote healthy ageing than other types of bread. This blog will explicate the health benefits of eating Sourdough bread in detail.
Health Benefits of Sourdough Bread
1. Easy Digestion
Sourdough bread is baked through the fermentation process, so lactic acid bacteria and yeast in the sourdough make it easily digestible by neutralising the antinutrients that are naturally present in the grains. The fermentation process also breaks larger compounds of grains into smaller compounds which helps your body to digest faster. Moreover, sourdough bread has less gluten content, making it a healthier option for people with lower gluten tolerance and related digestion problems such as stomach pain, diarrhoea, bloating, constipation, etc.
2. Healthier for Managing Blood Sugar
The best and most effective way to manage your blood sugar is by consuming lower GI food, such as GI bread. The glycaemic index (GI) measures how quickly a food increases your blood sugar level, so food with a GI lesser than 55 is considered to have low GI, which means it does not boost your blood immediately. For example, sourdough bread has 54 GI, which means it slowly and gradually increases your blood sugar. Hence, low GI bread, such as sourdough bread, is a smarter choice for diabetic patients as it provides necessary carbs and energy while maintaining your blood sugar and can be enjoyed as a part of your regular diet.
3. Contains Beneficial Phytochemicals
Another advantage of sourdough fermentation is that it causes a reduction of antinutrients such as phytates and increases the phytochemicals. As a result, phytochemicals in sourdough bread provide additional health benefits, such as a reduction in the risk of cardiovascular diseases. Phytochemicals also have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties that are beneficial for your health.
4. High in Fibre and Wholegrains
Sourdough bread is packed with fibre, microfibre and whole grains. One slice of sourdough bread contains around 37 grams of carbohydrates.
5. Helps You with Weight Management
According to some recent studies, sourdough bread, due to its low Glycemic Index, can help you manage weight effectively. Low GI bread can manage your blood sugar, make you feel full for longer, and improve your gut health. All these properties of low GI bread, like sourdough bread, help you lose excess weight faster.
6. Higher Levels of Minerals
Sourdough bread contains minerals such as magnesium, zinc and potassium, which improve nutrition. Moreover, lactic acid bacteria present in sourdough reduce the bread’s pH level, which plays a role in the deactivation of phytate. Phytate inhibits the absorption of minerals in your body, so its deactivation facilitates the absorption of the minerals in the bread and provides you with maximum nutrition.
7. Healthier for Your Guts
Sourdough fermentation produces prebiotics, a type of indigestible fibre that strengthens the good bacteria naturally present in your gut to grow and improve your digestive health. Prebiotic fibre also suppresses bad bacteria to promote better digestion and gut health.
Summary:
Sourdough bread is an excellent source of nutrients and helps in the prevention of different diseases, such as cardiovascular disease, obesity, high cholesterol and diabetes. Furthermore, it also promotes healthy ageing. Like any other low GI bread, sourdough bread does not spike blood sugar levels. Sourdough bread can also be made with different ingredients and recipes to suit your dietary requirements and taste. It is suitable for vegans and gluten-intolerant people.
If you want to enjoy sourdough bread and other types of low GI bread, come to Old Bridge Bakery, where you can get delicious and fresh low GI bread in different flavours.