Flours and Grains, What You Need to Know...

There is a lot of discussion in today’s culture about the relative benefits or dangers of grain products in the diet. It can be very confusing not only to decide how much is safe to eat, but also what sort. Many people know very little about grains at all. Here are some basic facts to get started on the road to good decisions.

Grains are more commonly discussed as flours. Most people refer to white flour, wheat flour, or occasionally whole grain flour or refined flour in conversation, but what are these things?

Almost all of the breads, pastries, cakes, muffins, cookies, mixes, and pastas in the United States are made from wheat flour. Many people mistakenly believe that white flour is not wheat flour, but actually, what we commonly call white or all-purpose flour is a refined wheat flour. So what does “refined” mean?

The American Heritage Dictionary defines the word “refine” in this way: to reduce to a pure state; purify

When applied to a food substance such as a grain of wheat, it takes on the connotation of eliminating all but one ingredient or constituent in that substance. This is in fact exactly what takes place in the refining of grains and sugars – many ingredients which might spoil are removed to create a “pure” and shelf-stable product.

The word “pure” sounds very wholesome on the surface to those who don’t realize that those elements being removed from the original grain are not impurities at all but essential nutrients. That which is now isolated and pure is the core part of the grain known as the starch which converts rapidly in the body to sugar, a significant problem for the diabetic.

Whole grain flour is flour made by grinding the whole grain without removing any of its parts. A grain of wheat has many layers, all of which contribute something different to the diet. The outer layers are the bran and the germ. These contain most of the B-vitamins and vitamin E present in the grain. When you use white flour (all-purpose flour) you aren’t getting these parts. Refining flour removes 99-100% of vitamin E, 50% of calcium, 80% of iron, 98% of magnesium, 50% of potassium, 65% of copper, 50% to 80% of all B-vitamins, and more.

In this country, many refined flours are “enriched” with a few vitamins in an attempt to replace the ones removed during the refining process. Unfortunately, while many nutrients are removed, only about 4 are returned to the flour, and these are manufactured from non-food materials such as coal tar.

Another problem with white flour is how it got white. Since it naturally has color, the only way to achieve whiteness is to bleach the flour. Chlorine dioxide and potassium bromide are common flour-bleaching agents. These agents do two things that are not good for you. First, both chemicals are in the same chemical family with iodine. Both are also stronger than iodine and so they will displace iodine from your body. This is a problem, because your body needs a considerable amount of iodine in order to produce thyroid hormones which control your metabolism to a great extent. Additionally, these chemicals will, when combined with the proteins present in the flour, produce small amounts of alloxan – a poison which has been used to induce diabetes in laboratory animals. While it's probably a very small amount of alloxan, my pancreas and I will pass...

All grain products are high in starches. When we eat a whole-grain product, the complex fiber slows the conversion of starch to sugar, but refined starches convert almost instantly to sugars in the body. Getting a rush of sugar into the bloodstream is very hard on your body. When the body has too much sugar in the bloodstream, the pancreas releases insulin which encourages the conversion of sugars to their storage form: triglycerides. Thus, overeating grain products leads to the accumulation of high fat levels in the bloodstream. When your doctor tells you that your triglyceride levels are too high, the elimination of excessive refined grains and sugars is where you should focus your efforts lest your weight get out of control. This is also why those with diabetic tendencies need to stay away from refined grains and sugars.

The final word of warning about flours is that white flours, being void of natural nutrients and fats, don’t spoil. Whole grain flours, on the other hand, do. Freshness is a very important consideration when purchasing whole grain flours as real vitamins (especially the B and E groups) will deteriorate quickly and healthy oils do become rancid quite rapidly once the grain is ground. Buying a countertop grain grinder and making your own flours, breads, and pastas is not at all a waste of time or money if excellent health is your goal.

The important factors are these:

Whole grains really are better for you than white, all-purpose, enriched, bleached flours.

While whole grains can be part of a healthy diet, they are fairly concentrated sources of starch and should be taken

moderately in small servings.

Whole grains release sugars more slowly than refined grains, which offers some advantage in blood sugar control.

For maximum health advantage, grain products need to be as fresh as possible. Grind your own if you can.