Scientists Reveal Why Bread Can Cause Weight Gain Without Overeating17 April 2026 ByDavid Nield (Photographer Basak Gurbuz Derman/Moment/Getty Images) New research in mice shows how eating bread can cause body weight and fat mass to increase, even though caloric intake stays at a similar level. The research, led by a team from Osaka Metropolitan University in Japan, highlights how carbohydrates can contribute to weight gain as well as excessive fat intake – which is what dietary advice tends to focus on. This isn't the first time nutritionists have talked about bread and carbohydrates and their contribution to weight gain, but there hasn't been much detailed research into the relationship – especially wheat flour – or into what might be happening at a metabolic level. The team discovered that eating more wheat bread was associated with reduced energy expenditure, pushing the metabolism towards a state where fat storage is prioritized, even when the calories in a diet stay at a similar level. The researchers analyzed the difference that bread in the diets of mice had on their weight (A) and fat tissue (B, C). (Matsumura et al., Mol. Nutr. Food Res., 2026) "These findings suggest that weight gain may not be due to wheat-specific effects, but rather to a strong preference for carbohydrates and the associated metabolic changes," says nutritionist Shigenobu Matsumura of Osaka Metropolitan University. The researchers set up experiments in which lab mice were given a choice between their normal, healthy cereal-based diet and either simple bread, baked wheat flour, or baked rice flour. The mice were then monitored to check their weight and how their bodies burned calories at rest and when active. Using blood samples, the study team also examined hormone, blood sugar, and metabolite levels in the animals, while post-experiment tissue analyses assessed gene expression in the liver. The experiments showed that the mice strongly preferred to switch from their standard diet to carbohydrate-heavy snacks, which then led to weight gain and more fat tissue in the mice, particularly in the males. Further analysis and follow-up tests suggested that these two key changes were being driven not by overeating or a lack of exercise, but by the foods themselves. In the wheat flour diet, fewer calories were being burned overall, while genes responsible for turning carbohydrates into fat were activated. Another follow-up test focusing on the wheat flour group showed that when the chow diet was restored, the weight gain stopped, and the metabolic shifts were reversed. "In the future, we hope this will serve as a scientific foundation for achieving a balance between 'taste' and 'health' in the fields of nutritional guidance, food education, and food development," says Matsumura. The findings are more evidence of how what we eat can cause changes in how our body processes food and burns the calories it contains. In the case of bread, it seems to slow down the body's metabolic engine. One limitation of the study is that it used mouse models, rather than human volunteers. While it's likely that similar processes are happening in people, it's not certain – so that's something future studies can pick up. The researchers also want to experiment with a broader selection of foods to identify what exactly it is about bread that causes this reaction. No diet study like this exists in isolation, of course. We know that a variety of other factors can also impact how our metabolism reacts to food and drink, including age and hormone-related changes. Related: There's a Surprising Link Between a Key Nutrient, Obesity, And Alzheimer's Risk Further research should help establish the role that wheat and bread can play in a diet and how the simple "calories in, calories out" rule isn't always straightforward. "Going forward, we plan to shift our research focus to humans to verify the extent to which the metabolic changes identified in this study apply to actual dietary habits," says Matsumura. "We also intend to investigate how factors such as whole grains, unrefined grains, and foods rich in dietary fiber, as well as their combinations with proteins and fats, food processing methods, and timing of consumption, affect metabolic responses to carbohydrate intake." The research has been published in Molecular Nutrition & Food Research. ARTICLE SOURCE: https://www.sciencealert.com/scientists-reveal-why-bread-can-cause-weight-gain-without-overeating
Ok all my prayer warriors I need you.
Shortly before my FIL passed about a year ago we took my MIL in to live with us. She could only get around with the aid of a walker and could no longer take care of herself let alone her husband. Well in the last month or so we’ve noticed her getting weaker and last week she lost the ability to walk so she has been bedridden since then. Three days ago she lost the ability to feed herself. Since yesterday she has become disoriented and incoherent. As of today she was put on comfort meds and all other meds were stopped. So we are on death watch now.
So I ask you, my carnivore family, to lift up Shirley Castor in prayer as she goes to be with her savior. We are not sad about her upcoming death. We rejoice and are happy for her as she has looked forward to sitting at the Lord’s table for a long time now. This is a wonderful woman that has been a faithful servant of the Lord her entire life and I know she has stored up treasures in because she has few down here.
I love Shirley dearly as if she was my own mother and I thank my Lord for the opportunity and blessing to have been able to take her into my home and care for her in her final days. She has always been an inspiration, a mentor and a Godly example for me to follow and learn from. She is one of the biggest influences I had in my life that brought me to the cross. I am truly thankful to have known her and I am honored to be ministering to her till the end.
Help send her on her way. I ask that she go peacefully and pain free.
We will miss her dearly.
If there is someone in your life that you love or care about, cherish them and let them know they are loved.
If I Knew
If I knew it would be the last time that I'd see you fall asleep,
I would tuck you in more tightly and pray the Lord, for your soul to keep.
If I knew it would be the last time that I see you walk out the door,
I would give you a hug, and kiss, and call you back for one more.
If I knew it would be the last time l'd hear your voice lifted up in praise,
I would videotape each action and word, so I could play them back day after day.
If I knew it would be the last time I would be there to share your day, well I'm sure you'll have so many more, so I can let this one slip away. For surely there's always tomorrow to make up for an over site, and we always get a second chance to make everything just right.
There will always be another day to say "I LOVE YOU" and certainly there's another chance to say
"ANYTHING I CAN DO?"
But just in case I might be wrong, and today is all I get, ld like to say how much I LOVE YOU and hope we never forget.
Tomorrow is not promised to anyone, young or old alike, and today may be the last chance you get to hold your loved one tight.
So if you are waiting for tomorrow, why not do it today?
For.... if tomorrow never comes you'll surely regret the day that you didn't take the extra time for a smile, a hug, or a kiss, and you were too busy to grant someone, what turned out to be their last wish.
So hold your loved ones close today, and whisper in their ear, tell them how much you LOVE them and that you'll always hold them dear.
Take time to say, "I'M SORRY, "PLEASE FORGIVE ME," "THANK YOU," or "IT'S OKAY," and if tomorrow never comes, you will feel better knowing you have done all those things you had "INTENDED TO DO" today.........
Know TODAY there is someone who loves you.....