Fluffy¹ white bread could be as guilt-free as brown within a decade after scientists at a new government-backed research hub vowed² to create more healthy wheat.

十年之后松软的白面包将和黑面包一样健康，英国政府支持的一个新研究中心的科学家宣称将生产出更健康的小麦。

Currently white bread is so much worse because it contains a type of starch³ which is digested too quickly, leading to huge spikes⁴ in blood sugar which the body can only get rid of by storing it as fat.

目前白面包的健康价值比黑面包差很多是因为含有一种能被身体快速消化的淀粉，消化后只能转化为脂肪储存，从而导致血糖激增。

Over time such spikes can stop the body producing enough insulin to get rid of the blood sugar, leading to type 2 diabetes⁵, and damage to blood cells. White bread also prevents the body feeling full, which leads to overeating.

时间长了，血糖激增会阻止人体产生足够的胰岛素来分解血糖，进而导致2型糖尿病，破坏血细胞。白面包还会阻止身体产生饱腹感，从而导致过度进食。

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

不过，英国诺威奇新成立的四方研究所的研究人员正计划培育一种能够在人体内缓慢消化的新型小麦。

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 texture⁶ you wanted normal bread to be, there wouldn’t be any taste difference.

研究所食品和化学人体健康组的组长理查德·米森教授说：“希望这种新型小麦做成的面包能拥有普通白面包同样的口感和味道，能够同样美味。”

“But it will reduce this big increase in glucose⁷ 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.

“不过新面包会令你产生饱腹感，这样你午饭只要吃一个三明治就饱了，不需要再吃其他东西，从而大大减少葡萄糖的摄入量。”

“And those starches⁸ which go down to the lower gut⁹ they ferment¹⁰ those sugars to produce short-chain fatty acids and it’s widely thought those are very beneficial to gut health.”

“当这种淀粉进入肠道时，淀粉中的葡萄糖会发酵产生短链脂肪酸，普遍认为这种脂肪酸对肠道健康非常有益。”

The team are planning to use genes¹¹ from wild varieties of wheat or maize¹², which already have the less digestible starch, to breed with crop varieties to make white flour that would be far better for health.

研究团队计划用含有不易消化的淀粉的野生小麦或玉米的基因和普通小麦杂交，生产出对健康有益得多的白面粉。

They believe it could make fast food far healthier in the future, and help tackle Britain’s growing obesity¹³ epidemic¹⁴.

科学家认为，这会让快餐在未来变得更健康，并帮助解决英国日益恶化的肥胖流行症。

“We think about fast foods, they are fast to buy, fast to eat and very fast to digest and it’s that fast digestion¹⁵ the problems,” added Prof Mithen.

米森教授说：“我们对快餐进行了思考，快餐买得快，吃得快，消化得快，而消化得快就是问题症结所在。”

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

“那些关心自身健康的受过教育的人也许已经选择更健康的黑面包，但是真正需要取代的是汉堡用的圆面包。”

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.’

该研究所的所长伊恩·查尔斯教授说：“我们的目标是提升健康寿命，让人们可以在晚年保持健康的身体和独立的生活。”