Researchers Found One Type Of Carb Was Much Harder On The Gut
If you opened your pantry right now, you'd probably find plenty of foods made from grains: crackers, cereal, sandwich bread, granola bars, maybe a box of pasta. We tend to lump them all into the same category and think of them as "carbs."
But your gut may not see them that way.
A new study of more than 124,000 adults suggests that how a grain is processed may matter just as much as the grain itself. Researchers found that people who ate the most ultraprocessed grain products had a significantly higher risk of developing inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), while foods like fresh bread and rice were actually linked to a lower risk.
Researchers followed more than 124,000 adults across 21 countries
To investigate the connection between diet and IBD, researchers analyzed data from 124,590 adults participating in the Prospective Urban Rural Epidemiology study, one of the world's largest long-term nutrition studies.
Participants completed detailed food questionnaires, allowing researchers to estimate how much ultraprocessed grain they consumed. This category included foods like packaged pastries, sweetened breakfast cereals, crackers, refined snack foods, and other grain products made with industrial ingredients, additives, emulsifiers, flavorings, and preservatives.
Researchers then followed participants over time to see who developed inflammatory bowel disease, including both Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. They also accounted for factors like age, smoking, physical activity, and overall eating habits to isolate the relationship between ultraprocessed grains and IBD risk.
The processing—not the grain itself—appeared to matter
People consuming the highest amounts of ultraprocessed grains, about 19 grams or more per day, had an 86% higher risk of developing IBD than those consuming the least. Just as interesting was what didn't raise risk.
Fresh bread and rice were actually associated with a lower risk of IBD, reinforcing the idea that foods aren't defined solely by their carbohydrate content or whether they're made from grains. The degree of processing matters too.
Researchers have several plausible explanations for why ultraprocessed grains were associated with higher IBD risk. Many of these foods are stripped of naturally occurring fiber during manufacturing and often contain emulsifiers, stabilizers, artificial flavors, and other additives that may alter the gut microbiome or affect the intestinal barrier. Research has found some of these ingredients promote inflammation and disrupt the protective lining of the gut.
This was an observational study, so it shows an association, not proof that ultraprocessed grains directly cause IBD. Still, the findings fit with a growing body of research linking diets high in ultraprocessed foods with poorer gut and metabolic health.
Simple swaps that support a healthier gut
If you're worried this means you need to swear off bread, pasta, or grains altogether, you can relax. That's not what this study found.
Instead, it points toward a much simpler takeaway: choose grain foods that are a little closer to their original form whenever you can. Small swaps, made consistently over time, may help create a healthier environment for your gut, including:
- Choose oatmeal instead of sweetened breakfast cereals
- Reach for whole grain or fresh bakery bread instead of packaged pastries or snack cakes
- Make rice, quinoa, or farro the base of meals instead of heavily processed alternatives
- Read labels and look beyond the nutrition facts panel. Ingredients like emulsifiers, artificial colors, stabilizers, and multiple refined starches are clues that a product is more heavily processed.
- Build meals around fiber-rich foods like beans, vegetables, fruit, nuts, and seeds, which help nourish the beneficial bacteria living in your gut.
No single food determines whether someone develops IBD. Genetics, immune function, environmental exposures, and many other factors all play a role. But our daily food choices shape the environment our gut experiences over years and decades.
RELATED READ: Follow This Guide To Get 30+ Grams Of Fiber Daily
The takeaway
A bowl of oatmeal and a frosted breakfast pastry may both start with grains, but they're very different foods by the time they reach your plate. This research suggests your gut may recognize that difference too.
You don't need to eliminate every processed food from your diet to support gut health. But choosing foods that look a little more like the ingredients they came from, most of the time, may be one of the simplest ways to create a healthier environment for both your gut microbiome and your long-term health.
