Try a healthy alternative to your regular bread – in the name of science

12:21, 28 Nov 2025Updated 12:23, 28 Nov 2025

The UCC study team- Niamh Morgan, study research assistant, and Dr Colette O’Neill, study co-ordinator

Most of us eat bread every day – whether it’s a slice of avocado toast or a Tayto sandwich. Now experts at University College Cork are asking volunteers to give this vitamin-rich bread a go for a few months.

The researchers behind UCC‘s FamDBread study are inviting families (a minimum of one parent/guardian and one dependent aged 5-17 years of age) who regularly consume bread to join the project, focused on “enhancing vitamin D status through better nutrition.” The study is an eight-week initiative offering participants healthy white bread loaves to support their wellbeing.

The college team is looking to recruit 200 volunteers for the study, which will run between now and March 2025. All participants must sign up by January. It includes two in-person study visits at UCC (blood samples will be taken by research nurse) and regular phone check-ins to ensure “a supportive experience for all participants.”

The study has some straightforward guidelines

Dr Colette O’Neill, who oversees the daily operations of the FamDBread study, said: “TheFamDBread study is an essential initiative in Ireland to explore how everyday foods can promote better health and prevent vitamin D deficiency. We are excited to partner with families who value healthy ageing and good nutrition.”

Led by Prof Mairead Kiely and Prof Kevin Cashman at UCC’s Cork Centre for Vitamin D and Nutrition Research, in partnership with Dr Aifric O’Sullivan and Prof Eileen Gibney at UCD, the study explores how vitamin fortified foods can prevent the seasonal drop in vitamin D levels commonly experienced in Ireland during winter. Previous research has shown that 27% of Irish teenagers and 11% of adults are at risk of vitamin D deficiency during the winter period, while 94 % of children, 94% of teenagers and 90% of adults on the island of Ireland have inadequate vitamin D intakes.

If you’re interesting in signing up for the health study, you can email famdbread@ucc.ie or phone 086 811 0792. The FamDBread project follows a similar study launched last year.