The Study
The combined effect of gluten addition and semolina cell wall integrity reduces the oral sugar release and the insulinemic response to bread in healthy volunteers
This study gave 16 people different kinds of bread and measured how their blood sugar and insulin changed after eating. It found one bread made their insulin go up a little less — but that doesn't mean it 'fixes' blood sugar problems. It just shows a small difference in one meal.
Analysis score
Maximum 90 for a randomized controlled trial.
Where the score came from
Scientists tested different kinds of bread to see which ones cause less insulin release after eating.
Where does this study sit?
Reviews of RCTs (Meta-analyses)
Max 100Randomized Trials
Max 90Reviews of Cohort Studies
Max 85Cohort Studies
Max 72Reviews of Case-Control Studies
Max 63Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional & Case Series
Max 50Expert Opinion
Max 560 / 100
Quality score
Participants are randomly assigned to treatment or control groups, minimizing bias. The gold standard for testing whether an intervention causes an effect.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1This means you can eat bread that feels normal but causes less insulin surge — helpful for managing blood sugar without changing texture.
- 2Bread made with coarser flour and more gluten released 20% less sugar in the mouth and lowered insulin spikes by about 20% compared to fine flour bread.
- 3Even bread with less gluten (5% instead of 20%) had lower sugar release and insulin peaks.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
European Journal of Nutrition
Year
2024
Authors
M. Tagliasco, E. Capuano, Margherita Dall’Asta, S. Renzetti, Vincenzo Fogliano, N. Pellegrini
Related Content
Claims (6)
Refined sugars cause a 2 to 2.5 times higher insulin release after eating compared to minimally processed carbohydrates.
Bread made with coarse flour containing intact semolina cells releases less reducing sugar in the mouth during eating, regardless of how thoroughly a person chews, in healthy adults.
Bread with 5% gluten releases fewer reducing sugars and causes a lower insulin spike than bread with 20% gluten, because the lower gluten content changes the bread's structure to limit how much starch the digestive enzyme α-amylase can break down.
Bread made with coarse semolina and 20% gluten substitution lowers the blood insulin spike 30 minutes after eating by about 20% compared to bread made with fine semolina and 20% gluten, because the intact cell walls in the coarse flour reduce how quickly starch is broken down by digestive enzymes in the mouth.
Bread made with coarser semolina and added gluten has the same texture as bread made with finely ground semolina, even though the flour is less processed.
In healthy adults, eating bread made with coarse semolina or with reduced gluten content does not change the level of blood glucose after eating.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.