health benefits of white flour; White flour is the most common type of flour used in baking. White flour is called the “workhorse of Western cuisine” due to its widespread use, as it is used in pastries and baked goods such as pizza and also many types of pasta, and many varieties of oriental sweets and western.
Learn with us here the damages caused by eating it to health, and what are the healthy alternatives that can replace it?
Health and diet side effects of white flour
When talking about white flour and diet, we see that it is considered the first enemy of all diets, as it contains gliadin, the protein found inside wheat gluten.
This type of protein is very dangerous as its content turns into a harmful substance that crosses the blood barrier and goes directly to the brain, which is responsible for the rapid feeling of hunger. It increases the appetite for food, so it is recommended to reduce the intake of white flour as much as possible in the various dieting programs.
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The harmful effects of white flour on infants
Recent studies have proven that adding folic acid to white flour hurts breast health, which is reflected in the health of the infant and the health of the mother together.
The study added that white flour lacks many nutrients and beneficial minerals found in wheat, so there are many white flours. For infants, in return, manufacturers add manufactured minerals and vitamins that do not benefit the body but seriously harm it. Therefore, infants shouldn't eat white flour.
Its effect on the digestive system
White flour is one of the most prominent fiber-free food, and flour turns into a glue-like substance in the intestine, which causes slow bowel movement due to the accumulation of food inside the intestine, and thus leads to several many health risks, including slowing down the metabolism process in the body, which This results in constipation, migraines, fat accumulation, and obesity.
Repeated processing processes, and unhealthy industrial additives, remove wheat from the husks and wheat germ, and white flour loses the delicious taste and flavor of the bread, unlike brown flour, which retains a good flavor and a sweeter taste.
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A significantly faster feeling of hunger
White flour lacks the fibers found in the husk, which are lost by the multiple processes that take place on the wheat to become pure white, and among the many advantages of this fiber is the feeling of satiety.
Thus, if the food made of white flour is devoid of fiber, the person feels hungry early, and thus pushes him to eat more food, with serious consequences for weight gain and obesity.
It contains many harmful chemicals
Getting rid of the white flour is not enough to make it whiter. Therefore, manufactured chemicals are used in industrial processing processes, and this shows the damage to white flour as it loses many nutrients and beneficial properties, and this makes its nutritional value very low.
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It is one of the risk factors for diabetes and obesity
Among the damages of white flour, white flour lacks fiber and helps to accumulate fat in the abdominal belt, and also helps to develop type 2 diabetes.
The speed of its digestion and eating more of it due to the early feeling of hunger leads to an increase in starches that turn into sugars, which raises the proportion of insulin in the blood, and this is also followed by reaching a state of cognitive weakness, and Alzheimer’s disease.
White flour is harmful to the heart and blood vessels
Whole grains are of great importance in the preservation and safety of the heart and blood vessels, and white flour is devoid of fiber and wheat germ loses all of these advantages, causing an increase in the risk of cardiovascular diseases, and this appears in high blood sugar, and thus harmful cholesterol rises in the blood Thus, the damage to the heart and blood vessels increases and white bread does not achieve satiety, and does not benefit the body, especially the heart and blood vessels, with many benefits.
Helps increase acidity in the body
The refining process of white flour causes it to get rid of most of the beneficial nutrients, so it becomes acidic.
When eating fast foods in which bread uses eggs, which in turn raises the acidity, this works to withdraw calcium from the bones, affecting their density, and becoming brittle. Excess body acidity is one of the main causes of arthritis and many other diseases.
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Other health effects of white flour
- The lack of nutrients from white flour damages, as the internal materials rich in important vitamins and minerals, are eliminated.
- The relationship between insulin and glucose in the human body is disrupted. It is considered one of the damages of white flour, which is the main cause of high blood pressure.
- Most people are not aware that eating bread made with white flour may be one of these causes, especially colon, breast, and endometrial cancer.
- Consuming large quantities of white flour factories, whether, with excess salt, sugar and hydrogenated fats (Fat) causes obesity.
substitutes for white flour
When talking about alternatives through which white flour can be dispensed with and to prevent white flour damage, we see that it can:
- The use of brown flour in the manufacture of bread and the rest of the pastries, as it is rich in fiber and retains the wheat germ, which is rich in beneficial nutrients, vitamins, and minerals.
- Fresh and dried fruits are considered, and what is meant here is eating whole fruits and not squeezing them in order to retain the beneficial fiber.
- Eating sweet potatoes, potatoes and bananas compensate the body with more levels of beneficial carbohydrates.
- Adding whole grains to your diet, such as oat products, increases the nutritional value of your food and compensates for the loss of fiber in white bread.
Frequently asked questions about the harms of white flour
There are a large number of questions about the harms of white flour, and the following are some of these questions:
What white foods should be avoided?
There are many white foods to avoid, as they tend to be high in sugar or starch. These include sugary snacks like cake, candy, biscuits, starchy foods, pasta, white bread, and rice.
Eating these foods can lead to weight gain, heart disease, body fat accumulation, and other health problems
What are the benefits of brown flour?
In fact, whole wheat and brown flour provide great health benefits for your daily diet, as it is rich in fiber that improves the body's metabolism, thus maintaining the levels of carbohydrates and sugar in the blood.
Also, the content of brown bread on wheat germ increases the nutritional value of brown bread with more useful vitamins and minerals.
Is white flour harmful to children?
White flour lacks most of the nutrients necessary for the growth of children and also causes indigestion, which exposes youngsters to constipation. Youngsters are also exposed to obesity, which accompanies always feeling hungry and eating more food.
Why does white flour help to gain weight?
White flour helps in gaining weight significantly because it does not give a feeling of satiety due to the lack of fiber that gives a feeling of satiety, and thus increases food consumption and does not help in losing weight.
What is the difference between white flour and whole wheat?
White flour is not a nutritious food as it has been stripped of the nutrients found in whole wheat, such as the bran and seed. Whole-wheat flour still contains these parts, plus it also contains B vitamins, iron, and other minerals that white flour doesn't.
