What makes flour refined

And those powders form the basis not just for breads and buns, but for a huge variety of processed foods, from cereals, crackers and pizza dough to cookies, cakes and ice cream cones. As a result, the average American now eats 10 servings of refined grains each day.

As our national appetite for flour has inched up, so has the incidence of diet-related ills, such as obesity, heart disease and diabetes. When they weigh the evidence linking food choices and disease, they see the white, dusty fingerprints of flour everywhere. Flour started out as an ingenious fix to a vexing problem. Grass seeds were plentiful, but the tough outer shell the husk made the seeds difficult to chew and digest. Early humans outsmarted the seeds by grinding them between stones, crushing the outer layers to get at the goodness inside.

The result — a coarse powder — was the first whole-grain flour. The downside was spoilage. Crushing the germ released its oils, which quickly turned rancid when exposed to air. With the advent of industrial milling in the late s, machines began filtering out the germ and pulverized the remaining endosperm into a fine, white powder that lasted on the shelf for months.

And so all-purpose white flour was born — along with a host of health problems. Beneath their rigid architecture, whole-kernel grains conceal an array of vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients and fiber. Flour, as opposed to whole-kernel grains, is easy to overconsume because most flour-based foods require little chewing and go down rather quickly.

Blood-Sugar Blues. Smashing a whole-kernel grain to smithereens means it digests faster. Rapid-fire digestion causes blood sugar to spike, which causes a rise in insulin. The result? Not only are you hungry two hours later, but you are also paving the way for insulin resistance and diabetes. Foods made with wheat flour are particularly damaging.

A carbohydrate in wheat, called amylopectin A, is more easily converted to blood sugar than just about any other carbohydrate. Two slices of bread made with whole-wheat flour raise blood sugar higher than six teaspoons of table sugar and higher than many candy bars. Food Cravings. Over the past 50 years, the amber waves of grain our grandparents enjoyed have been replaced with modern, high-yield dwarf strains of wheat that produce more seeds and grow faster.

Their safety has never been tested. Caloric Overload. By definition, a refined grain packs more calories than a whole-kernel grain because it is more concentrated. And foods that are high in grains also tend to be high in sugar and industrialized fats.

These are the foods, say many experts, that are causing our obesity and diabetes epidemic. Metabolic Slowdown. The endosperm, the part of the grain that is left after the refining process, is primarily composed of starchy carbohydrates and is low in nutrients. For these reasons, refined grains do not provide the same health benefits as whole grains. The type of carbohydrates you eat makes a big difference in the way you metabolize food and in the amount of energy you have.

Refined grains are quickly digested into simple sugars and absorbed into your bloodstream; this can cause blood-sugar levels to spike and then quickly crash.

These rapid swings in blood sugar can drain your energy and leave you feeling moody and tired. The most recent dietary guidelines recommend that whole grains should be half of your grain servings every day.

Some great sources of whole grains are whole-wheat flour, buckwheat, barley, corn, oats, quinoa, and brown and wild rice. Refined grains have undergone a refining process that removes the germ and bran, which gives it a smoother texture.

Some common refined grains include white flour, white rice, and de-germed flours. Enriched grains are refined grains that have been fortified with additional nutrients. Although many of the vitamins lost in the refining process can be added, the lost fiber is not replaced. Most refined grains are also enriched.

Unfortunately, marketers hone in on certain ingredients or use buzzwords to make their products sound healthier and more alluring at our expense. When it undergoes the refining process the husk and germ which contains fibre, B complex vitamins, minerals, proteins, enzymes are separated from endosperm the white part.

The remaining white flour contains only carbohydrates no nutrients left and then a bleaching agent is used on that white flour to make it look pure white flour. If you realise how much of white flour we consume on a daily basis in the form of biscuits, all types of breads, all bakery items, noodles, cakes, pastries, pizzas, pastas, pancakes etc its alarming.

Rather, I would suggest swapping with whole wheat options which is easily available these days in metro cities. Whole wheat products may not give the taste you want or may not turn up the best product as white flour does but, it is a very healthy option.

White flour cannot be substituted with wheat flour. Always choose whatever is good for your GUT…after all health matters. A post graduate in Nutrition and Dietetics, Neha Morche believes in inculcating good habits, lifestyle modifications and being active.

According to her these will always take precedence over medicines like it did in ancient days.