From the New York Times, July 24:
In a video on TikTok, Christian Collins unwraps a crusty baguette and addresses his five million followers.
Why, he asks, can he eat “pizza and full-on buns every day” in Europe, but bread in the United States and Canada causes issues? These can include an upset stomach, fatigue and a “foggy head,” Mr. Collins said in an interview with The Times.
Mr. Collins, who describes himself as a digital nomad, is just one of many people on various platforms who have, for years, talked about this puzzling phenomenon. In June, Joe Rogan amplified the idea that European bread products might be superior on his popular podcast. “Go eat bread in Italy,” he said. “You don’t feel bad at all.”
Dr. Alessio Fasano, a gastroenterologist at Mass General Brigham, said he had heard similar accounts from many of his patients with certain types of wheat sensitivities.
When they eat wheat products in the United States, his patients say, they have bloating, nausea, diarrhea, constipation, joint pain, fatigue or brain fog. When they eat wheat products — particularly bread — in Western Europe, they have fewer or milder symptoms.
There isn’t solid research on why this may be, Dr. Fasano said. But he and other experts have some theories.
Theory No. 1: The wheat is different.
A prominent explanation on social media is that the bread in Europe contains less gluten than the bread in the United States and therefore causes fewer symptoms in people who are sensitive to it.It’s true that the main type of wheat grown in Europe is “soft” wheat, which results in bread with less gluten, and the wheat typically grown in the United States and Canada is “hard” wheat, which makes bread with more gluten, said Brett Carver, an expert on wheat genetics at Oklahoma State University.
But flour millers and bakers in Europe sometimes add “hard” wheat — usually imported from North America — to their bread flours to boost the product’s gluten levels, said Dr. Emanuele Zannini, a professor of food science at Sapienza University of Rome.
We don’t know how common this practice is, how much “hard” wheat they add or how much it affects the final gluten levels, though. So it’s difficult to say if the theory about differing wheat types is correct, Dr. Zannini said.
Theory No. 2: The dough is fermented longer.
If you buy a loaf from a small bakery in Europe, the bread was probably made with a long fermentation period, Dr. Fasano said.During fermentation, microbes such as yeast and bacteria break down some of the gluten in the dough. The longer the fermentation time, the less gluten remains, which could result in fewer symptoms in people with gluten sensitivities, Dr. Fasano said.
Traditional sourdough breads, which are commonly made in Europe, have long fermentation periods lasting 12 to 48 hours, Dr. Zannini said.
The yeast and bacteria in sourdoughs can break down not only gluten, but also certain types of difficult-to-digest carbohydrates called FODMAPs, which can cause symptoms like bloating, abdominal pain, constipation and diarrhea in some people, said Jane Muir, an associate professor of translational nutrition science at Monash University in Australia. As a result, she said, people who get those symptoms after eating wheat may be able to tolerate traditional sourdough breads.
Some bakeries in the United States do make bread, including sourdoughs, with long fermentation times, but such bakeries are more common in Europe, Dr. Zannini said. Most bread in the United States is fermented much faster — for just an hour or two — leaving more gluten and FODMAPs that can cause symptoms....
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If interested see also:
October 2015 - The Bread We Eat Is Junk Food: Blame the Wheat
August 2017 - "Wheat Nerds and Scientists Join Forces to Build a Better Bread"
