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

The contribution of wheat to human diet and health

Shewry, P.R. and Hey, S.

2015

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Summary

This narrative review by Shewry and Hey, published in Food and Energy Security, synthesises evidence on wheat's nutritional profile and its significance as a staple crop contributing to global human diets. The paper likely covers the composition of whole grain versus refined wheat products, the role of dietary fibre and bioactive compounds, and epidemiological associations between wheat consumption and chronic disease risk. It also probably addresses concerns such as gluten sensitivity and coeliac disease within the context of wheat's overall health contribution.

UK applicability

Directly applicable to UK conditions, as wheat is the dominant cereal crop in UK agriculture and a major component of the British diet; the review's findings are relevant to UK public health guidance on whole grain consumption and to debates around wheat processing standards.

Key measures

Macronutrient content (g/100g); dietary fibre content; micronutrient concentrations (iron, zinc, magnesium); phytochemical profiles; population-level dietary contribution estimates; health outcome associations from epidemiological literature

Outcomes reported

The paper reviews the contribution of wheat to global human nutrition, examining its macronutrient, micronutrient, and phytochemical composition alongside evidence linking wheat consumption to health outcomes including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and digestive health.

Theme
Nutrition & health
Subject
Cereals & staple crops
Study type
Narrative Review
Study design
Narrative review
Source type
Peer-reviewed study
Status
Published
Geography
Global
System type
Arable cereals
Catalogue ID
XL0956

Topic tags

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