Pulse Brain · Growing Health Evidence Index
Tier 4 — Narrative / commentaryPeer-reviewed

Improving wheat for human health

Shewry, P.R. et al.

2020

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Summary

This narrative review, published in Nutrition Bulletin, examines the evidence base for wheat's contribution to human health and explores approaches to improving its nutritional profile. Shewry and colleagues likely consider the roles of wheat components — including arabinoxylan fibre, carotenoids, and micronutrients — and assess how plant breeding, milling practices, and dietary context affect their availability and health impact. The paper situates these considerations within broader public health goals, including reducing chronic disease risk in populations for whom wheat is a dietary staple.

UK applicability

This review is highly applicable to UK conditions, as wheat is the dominant arable crop in the UK and a principal source of dietary carbohydrate and fibre for UK consumers; Peter Shewry is a prominent UK-based researcher (Rothamsted Research), and the findings are likely framed with reference to UK and European breeding programmes and dietary guidelines.

Key measures

Dietary fibre content; mineral concentration (e.g. iron, zinc); phytochemical profiles; bioavailability indicators; processing effects on nutrient retention

Outcomes reported

The paper likely reviews the nutritional composition of wheat and evidence linking wheat components to human health outcomes, examining strategies — including breeding, agronomy, and processing — to enhance beneficial nutrients such as dietary fibre, minerals, and phytochemicals.

Theme
Nutrition & health
Subject
Cereal crops & human nutrition
Study type
Narrative Review
Study design
Narrative review
Source type
Peer-reviewed study
Status
Published
Geography
International
System type
Arable cereals
Catalogue ID
XL0492

Topic tags

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