Let us take a sneak peek into the facts of this cereal consumed all over the world by people in different ways. Wheat is made up of three elements: – Bran, Endosperm and Germ.
Milling is the process by which wheat is ground into flour, separating the wheat grain into its constituting {bran, germ and endosperm}. Wheat Germ is the “HEART’’ of the wheat kernel and is packed with folate, thiamine, magnesium and vitamin B6, Iron, selenium, vitamin E, zinc and fibre.
The nutritional composition of the wheat grain, on an average, contains 12% water, 70% carbohydrates, 12% protein, 2% fat, 1.8% minerals and 2.2% crude fibres, thiamine, riboflavin, niacin and small amounts of vitamin A. But the milling process removes most of those nutrients with the bran and germ.
Bleached white flour is obtained by processing after 60% extraction from the grain. Usually, the 40% that is removed – the outer brown layer – contains the highly nutritious bran and the germ of the wheat grain. In the process of making 60% abstraction flour, more than half of the vitamins B1, B2, B3, and E, calcium, phosphorus, folic acid, copper, zinc, iron, and fibre are lost.
In olden times, our great grandparents used to wash wheat at home, clean it and then grind it. They never sieved it due to which all the nutrients and fibre were retained.
In modern times people have started consuming more of white or refined flour in the form of breads, buns, noodles, pastas, biscuits and cookies. As mentioned earlier, this form of wheat has just carbohydrates (starch). All these foods are nutritionally poor and contain empty calories.
Avoid refined flours
More the wheat is processed, lower is its nutritional value. Remember that the packed cereals like muesli and wheat flakes which have gone through rollers have in the process lost most important part of the grain and only give you a false satisfaction of having eaten healthy.
Refined grains are high in carbs that get digested and absorbed very quickly, leading to rapid spikes in blood sugar and subsequent hunger and cravings. They are linked to obesity and many metabolic diseases.
Let us all try and turn back the wheel of time and feed ourselves and our loved ones with porridge and sprouted wheat specially in the morning which is the most important meal of the day. And try and consume chakki fresh whole wheat atta. A little bit of effort that will go a long way in achieving strong, healthy body and pure souls.
Do not get distracted by food fads and eat less processed flours and more of whole wheat products.
DCN TIP
When buying breads or pastas – always look at the list of ingredients and pick one that specifies – ‘Whole Wheat’. Keep in mind that the whole grain/’wheat’/’multigrain’ label on food packaging can be highly misleading. These grains have often been refined into very fine flour and should have similar metabolic effects as the declared refined counterparts.
