科學家十年內將生產出“健康”白麪包 吃一點就飽大綱

Fluffy white bread could be as guilt-free as brown within a decade after scientists at a new government-backed research hub vowed to create more healthy wheat.

十年之後鬆軟的白麪包將和黑麪包一樣健康，英國政府支持的一個新研究中心的科學家宣稱將生產出更健康的小麥。

Currently white bread is so much worse because it contains a type of starch which is digested too quickly, leading to huge spikes in blood sugar which the body can only get rid of by storing it as fat.

目前白麪包的健康價值比黑麪包差很多是因爲含有一種能被身體快速消化的澱粉，消化後只能轉化爲脂肪儲存，從而導致血糖激增。

Over time such spikes can stop the body producing enough insulin to get rid of the blood sugar, leading to type 2 diabetes, and damage to blood cells. White bread also prevents the body feeling full, which leads to overeating.

時間長了，血糖激增會阻止人體產生足夠的胰島素來分解血糖，進而導致2型糖尿病，破壞血細胞。白麪包還會阻止身體產生飽腹感，從而導致過度進食。

But researchers at new Quadram Institute in Norwich are planning to breed a new type of wheat which will be digested more slowly.

不過，英國諾威奇新成立的四方研究所的研究人員正計劃培育一種能夠在人體內緩慢消化的新型小麥。

Professor Richard Mithen, group leader of the Food and Chemistry Human Health group at the institute said: “Hopefully it would be as delicious and have the texture you wanted normal bread to be, there wouldn’t be any taste difference.

研究所食品和化學人體健康組的組長理查德·米森教授說：“希望這種新型小麥做成的麪包能擁有普通白麪包同樣的口感和味道，能夠同樣美味。”

“But it will reduce this big increase in glucose after you eat, it would fill you up, it would say ok, you’ve had a sandwich for lunch that’s enough, you don’t need anything else.

“不過新麪包會令你產生飽腹感，這樣你午飯只要吃一個三明治就飽了，不需要再吃其他東西，從而大大減少葡萄糖的攝入量。”

“And those starches which go down to the lower gut they ferment those sugars to produce short-chain fatty acids and it’s widely thought those are very beneficial to gut health.”

“當這種澱粉進入腸道時，澱粉中的葡萄糖會發酵產生短鏈脂肪酸，普遍認爲這種脂肪酸對腸道健康非常有益。”

The team are planning to use genes from wild varieties of wheat or maize, which already have the less digestible starch, to breed with crop varieties to make white flour that would be far better for health.

研究團隊計劃用含有不易消化的澱粉的野生小麥或玉米的基因和普通小麥雜交，生產出對健康有益得多的白麪粉。

They believe it could make fast food far healthier in the future, and help tackle Britain’s growing obesity epidemic.

科學家認爲，這會讓快餐在未來變得更健康，並幫助解決英國日益惡化的肥胖流行症。

“We think about fast foods, they are fast to buy, fast to eat and very fast to digest and it’s that fast digestion the problems,” added Prof Mithen.

米森教授說：“我們對快餐進行了思考，快餐買得快，吃得快，消化得快，而消化得快就是問題癥結所在。”

“Educated people who care about their health might already choose healthier brown bread, but it’s the burger bun that really needs to tackling.”

“那些關心自身健康的受過教育的人也許已經選擇更健康的黑麪包，但是真正需要取代的是漢堡用的圓麪包。”

Professor Ian Charles, director of the institute, said: “Our aim is to improve health-span so that our population can remain healthy and independent well into old age.’

該研究所的所長伊恩·查爾斯教授說：“我們的目標是提升健康壽命，讓人們可以在晚年保持健康的身體和獨立的生活。”