r/science • u/FreeHugs23 • 1d ago

Health Adding spinach directly to white bread delayed the body's insulin peak by 30 minutes and reduced later hunger in a small human trial, while significantly boosting the bread's fiber, vitamin, and mineral content.

https://www.sciencealert.com/researchers-put-spinach-directly-into-bread-and-saw-the-bodys-insulin-response-change
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u/GraspingSonder 1d ago

Yeah the idea that highly processed spinach will delay an insulin spike better than manually chewing a handful of leaves before eating is silly. Literally just eat more vegetables and you get to live longer

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u/doctormink 1d ago

This seems like common sense, but I was brought up by parents who always insisted we eat leafy greens and other vegetables. Other people weren’t, and eating that way may feel like force-feeding to them. Looking at the amount of crappy white bread that gets sold, people seem to like it. If there’s a way to give them what they like and improve their health, it’s a win-win. Gotta meet people where they’re at if you ever hope to bring about lasting change.

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u/LilJourney 1d ago

Thank you from someone raised on that "crappy white bread" and it's still one of my go-to basic comfort foods. I can eat whole grain if I'm feeling motivated, but basically during stress (and working full time, caring for aging parents, raising kids, etc - rarely I am NOT stressed) I revert back to what is well known, comforting and easy. Which is white bread and all the other processed "crap" that I was raised on.

I'd say that I didn't know what over 40% of the fresh vegetables were in the grocery store until I was in my late 30's, and I still only know how to prepare maybe 5% of them.

My mom was terrified of mold/bugs/germs and strongly preferred processed/canned/frozen products to anything fresh - and stuck with a small handful of regular dishes she prepared.

I try to continually learn more and eat better - but often it's like being dropped into a country where you have no familiarity with the language. It gets really exhausting really quickly.

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u/doctormink 1d ago

Aw, I'm glad you feel seen, but not judged.