You’ve heard it before, whole wheat flour/bread is better for you than white. Why? Does this apply to white/brown rice as well? Wheat is a very nutritious ingredient that supplies tons of essential nutrients – that is, before it is enriched and stripped of them.

Flour dates back all the way to 9000 BC when wheat seeds were crushed on grindstones and made flour. The entire grain of the wheat seed is used in whole wheat flour. Although, white flour is made by only using the central core of the grain. Unfortunately we lose 40% of the vital nutrients when we only use the central core like fiber, vitamins B6 and E, magnesium, zinc, folic acid and chromium.

So when did white bread come to be? During the Industrial Revolution transportation of flour and bread was slow. The bread would get bad before it could even be sold. The fatty acids that were in the germ were found to be the cause of this. Unknowning of the benefits of this part of the grain, they cut it off so the shelf life of the bread would last longer. When it was realized the nutrients this lost, the flour was instead put through an enrichment process. Although it does not replace the nutrients of regular whole wheat.  

Many benefits come from switching out your white flour to wheat flour. Wheat flour is a complex carb, unlike white flour, and won’t just turn to sugars in your body. Whole wheat has more protein which will keep you fuller longer. If you want to eat smart, stick to the whole grains. The same processes are done to white rice so brown rice has more nutrition as well.