According to 76-year-old bodybuilding icon Arnold Schwarzenegger bread, a staple for people across the globe, has gotten a bad reputation. Whether it’s the fact that bread contains gluten or how white bread contains sugar, many in the fitness industry have claimed that bread is bad for you. Now, Arnie has revealed how scientists have proven otherwise.

While adding excess sugar during the baking of bread won’t make it healthy, not all bread is the same. “A few scientists apparently took that personally and used science to demonstrate it’s not true,“ Arnold Schwarzenegger wrote in his newsletter. These researchers found that besides not being unhealthy, fiber-loaded bread specifically had multiple benefits.

“New research suggests eating fiber-loaded bread helps you eat less, stay fuller, and balance your blood sugar,“ Arnold Schwarzenegger penned. The 76-year-old added that the study was the latest in “a long line,” of studies that focused on fiber and resistance starch. The bodybuilding legend said that resistance starch helps feed the good gut bacteria.

Participants followed the diet scientists recommended and had to eat “fiber-enriched bread“. They experienced “lower glucose and insulin levels and healthier blood sugar,“ explained the Austrian Oak. They also felt fuller and more satisfied with their meals while improving their hunger regulation between meals. 

This isn’t the first time fiber and resistance starch have been found to be beneficial. Arnold Schwarzenegger said they lowered blood sugar, the likelihood of diabetes, and even heart disease in over 70 different studies. The bodybuilding icon explained that while those who don’t like bread don’t have to eat it, those who do shouldn’t “fear“ it. Earlier, Arnie had also defended gluten.

Arnold Schwarzenegger busted a myth about gluten

The 76-year-old fitness icon once wrote “Gluten needs a new PR team,“ to fix its reputation online. Many fitness personalities have villainized gluten and foods containing gluten because it causes stomach problems. However, Arnold Schwarzenegger highlighted research that suggested otherwise.

“The latest research suggests gluten is likely not the cause of many stomach problems and IBS; the real culprit is probably fructans,“ Arnie wrote in another edition of his newsletter. Fructans are found in carbohydrate sources like grains, vegetables, and ultra-processed foods. Schwarzenegger highlighted a study comparing diets with gluten and fructans, which found that those who consumed a fructan-rich diet exhibited digestive issues.

So Arnold Schwarzenegger pointed to scientific facts to claim that not only is high-fiber bread beneficial, but the gluten in bread may not cause health issues either.