Spelt is a
species of wheat, which was commonly grown in ancient times (more than 6,000
years ago) throughout Europe and the Middle East. Today, spelt is increasingly
being used by manufacturers as a substitute for conventional wheat flour in
breads, pasta, crackers, breakfast cereal, and baking mixes. However, spelt
still only represents a small number of products, compared to those using
conventional wheat.
Spelt has a
tougher outer husk compared to other varieties of wheat, which plays an
important role in protecting the grain from climatic conditions, pests and
disease, and may also assist in nutrient retention. This husk makes spelt more
difficult to process than conventional wheat, as it needs to be dehulled before
it can be milled into flour(1).
While some studies
have suggested that spelt may be nutritionally superior to conventional wheat,
the exact nutrient composition appears to be dependent on the variety of spelt
(and variety of wheat used as the comparison), the origin and the environmental
conditions in which it is grown(2, 3). Such
studies include a nutritional comparison wholemeal and milled fractions (sieved
flour, fine bran, course bran) from nine dehulled spelt samples and five soft
winter wheat (soft wheat: lower protein
and higher percentage carbohydrate) samples grown in Belgium, which demonstrated
that spelt had a higher copper, zinc, iron, magnesium and phosphorous content
(4).
In another study
that compared three varieties of spelt grown in Italy with two conventional
varieties of wheat, spelt was shown to have a higher protein (15.9 – 17.1%
versus 12.4 - 13.8%) and soluble fibre content (1.75% versus 1.5%). The results
also showed that bread produced from whole spelt wheat flour had less total
starch but greater resistant starch, compared to bread made from white spelt
wheat flour and white wheat flour (5).
Despite some
studies suggesting nutritional differences between spelt and conventional wheat
varieties, other research shows no significant differences between spelt and
wheat (hard red winter wheat (hard wheat:
higher protein content)) in regards to the protein, fibre, vitamin and
mineral content (with the exception of zinc, which was found to be higher in
spelt varieties)(6).
It is possible
that these disparate results are attributable to the use of different varieties
of spelt and conventional wheat. It
was also not clear in the majority of these studies whether both the
conventional wheat and spelt samples where whole grain (i.e. containing the
bran, germ and endosperm). More
evidence is therefore required to substantiate the nutritional differences between
specific conventional wheat and spelt varieties available to consumers in
Australia.
Spelt contains
gluten, and has a similar gliadin and glutenin composition to other wheat
varieties, and so people with coeliac disease must avoid spelt containing food
products. Interestingly, some people who suffer from wheat sensitivities have
reported better tolerance to products made from spelt compared to conventional
wheat. While further research is required to investigate the properties of
spelt that may be linked with the reduction in gastrointestinal symptoms in
sensitive people(1), this observation may be due to a lower
FODMAP (which refers to fructose, fructans, galacto-oligosaccharide, lactose
and polyols) content. According to Monash University (Melbourne) spelt and
spelt flours tend to be lower in total FODMAPs than conventional wheat.
However, not all spelt products are low in FODMAPs i.e. whilst traditional
sourdough spelt bread products are lower in FODMAPs, spelt pasta is high in
FODMAPs (7).
At this stage,
the evidence on the nutritional benefits of spelt over conventional wheat
requires further substantiation before conclusions can be drawn. In addition,
the evidence for any health benefit of spelt wheat versus conventional
varieties is non-existent. On the other hand, the totality of the scientific evidence supports higher intakes
of whole grains and/or high fibre grain food for improved nutrition and disease
risk reduction.
This evidence supports the Australian Dietary Guidelines which
encourage a variety of grains foods, mostly whole grain or high fibre grain foods.
Spelt core grain foods (i.e. bread, breakfast cereals, intact/cracked and
crispbread), which are becoming increasingly available, can contribute towards
Australians daily core grain food recommendations, and when consumed as a whole
grain foods (i.e. intact or in a wholemeal spelt bread) can also contribute to
Australians whole grain Daily Target Intake.
References
1. Neeson R. Organic Spelt Production:
Industry & Invesment NSW Government; 2011 [cited 2015 November]. Available
from: http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0003/380784/Organic-spelt-production.pdf.
2. Grela
ER. Nutrient Composition and Content of Antinutritional Factors in Spelt
( Triticum speltaL) Cultivars. Journal of the science of food and agriculture.
1996;71(3):399-404.
3. Gomez-Becerra
HF, Erdem H, Yazici A, Tutus Y, Torun B, Ozturk L, et al. Grain concentrations
of protein and mineral nutrients in a large collection of spelt wheat grown
under different environments. Journal of Cereal Science. 2010;52(3):342-9.
4. Ruibal-Mendieta
NL, Delacroix DL, Mignolet E, Pycke J-M, Marques C, Rozenberg R, et al. Spelt
(Triticum aestivum ssp. spelta) as a Source of Breadmaking Flours and Bran
Naturally Enriched in Oleic Acid and Minerals but Not Phytic Acid. Journal of
agricultural and food chemistry. 2005;53(7):2751-9.
5. Bonafaccia
G, Galli V, Francisci R, Mair V, Skrabanja V, Kreft I. Characteristics of spelt
wheat products and nutritional value of spelt wheat-based bread. Food
chemistry. 2000;68(4):437-41.
6. Ranhotra
GS, Gelroth JA, Glaser BK, Lorenz KJ. Baking and nutritional qualities of a
spelt wheat sample. LWT - Food Science and Technology. 1995;28(1):118-22.
7. Muir
J. Are all spelt products low in FODMAPS? MONASH University2015. Available
from: http://fodmapmonash.blogspot.com.au/2015/03/are-all-spelt-products-low-in-fodmaps.html.
