Whole wheat flour

Studies in people

• Benefit

  Long-term disease risk²

  People who eat more whole wheat tend to have lower risk of obesity, diabetes, heart disease and cancer.

• No harm found

  Energy use after overeating³

  In people overeating, whole wheat foods did not change 24-hour energy use versus high-fructose corn syrup.

• Benefit

  Belly fat⁴

  In Japanese people with BMI 23 or higher, whole wheat bread instead of white bread reduced deep belly fat over 12 weeks.

• Benefit

  Iron absorption from food⁵

  In women, adding whole wheat flour to tef injera helped the body take in more iron.

• Open question

  Brain health and dementia⁶

  People without dementia reported eating more whole wheat flour than those with dementia, but this does not prove cause and effect.

• Benefit

  Calcium absorption from bread⁸

  In women, whole wheat bread let the body take in more calcium than milk did.

• Benefit

  Gut bacteria¹⁰

  Eating whole wheat cereal raised good gut bacteria in people, more than wheat bran did.

• No harm found

  Blood sugar after eating¹¹

  Whole wheat flour did not keep blood sugar lower than refined wheat flour in people eating porridge.

Animal and lab studies only

• Open question

  Gut bugs and burnt toast¹⁵

  Overcooking whole wheat bread lowered digestible protein and starch, but gut bugs made more butyrate.

• Open question

  Calcium and bone health¹⁶

  Whole wheat flour crackers with added tuna bone powder had more calcium and protein and less fat.

• Concern

  Gut symptoms in IBS²⁰

  Whole wheat flour holds fructans that can trigger gut symptoms, but a special yeast can break most of them down in bread.

Study type not stated

• Open question

  Liver and inflammation resilience¹²

  Scientists do not yet know whether eating whole wheat flour long-term truly improves liver and inflammation resilience.

How it’s made and used

• Grain biomarker in blood⁷

  In people, eating whole-grain wheat bread raised blood alkylresorcinol levels, which may show whole-grain intake.

• Bread taste preference⁹

  In taste tests, people liked refined wheat bread better than whole wheat bread made the same way.

• Bread bitterness¹³

  Adding schaftoside to whole wheat flour made bread taste less bitter in tests.

• Bread flavour and smell¹⁴

  In bread made with whole wheat flour, blocking certain flour enzymes reduced cardboard-like smells and increased fruity and yeasty ones.

• Iron uptake in digestion¹⁷

  In lab studies, most iron added to whole wheat flour was poorly absorbed, but NaFeEDTA iron was absorbed better.

• Antioxidants the body absorbs¹⁸

  Cooking whole wheat pasta releases more polyphenols, but only a small share of them gets absorbed by the body.

• Fermented bread quality¹⁹

  In lab studies, Bacillus subtilis SH made whole wheat flour bread softer, lighter and better smelling.

The signal at the top counts the findings in people and in animal and lab studies. A concern in studies of people outranks animal and lab studies, and “No concerns” needs at least one finding in people. When most findings in people point one way, the page leans that way (“Mostly”), and every finding is still shown. Findings whose study type is not stated are shown but not counted. This page is a reference, not medical advice. It describes what regulators and published research say. Talk to a doctor or dietitian about your own diet.