It’s no secret that bread has been subject to a barrage of bad press, with diet culture having hammered home the message that it poses a threat to healthy eating for years.

Luckily, we’re in something of a pro-bread era. Just look at the sourdough obsession that started in lockdown; we might not be making it anymore, but every high street seems to now have a bakery offering it. Fancy sandwiches are huge on social media these days. Flatbreads seem to be the side dish these days.

And aside from being delicious, filling and (outside of east London) quite cheap, there’s probably one main reason that bread just keeps coming back into fashion: it’s healthy. Along with other high-fibre foods, it’s a diet staple for the longest-living people in the world who can be found in what’s called the ‘blue zones’.

The world’s healthiest communities eat bread – and these health benefits prove you should too