As the diet world yo-yo’s between which maco-nutrient is the most evil: fat or carbs? It is time to consider when carbohydrates are actually good. The best way to examine this is to explore why they ever got on that bad list in the first place.
Let’s dive a bit into the basics. Whole grains are made mostly of the starchy delicious endosperm, wrapped in a bit of bran with a tiny dollop of germ in it, just to keep things in balance. When ground, the germ’s fatty acids are exposed and with time become rancid causing the flour to taste bitter and unpleasant. Yuck. Fortunately, it takes several months before flour becomes inedible. During the Industrial Revolution however, this was not fast enough to effectively transport flour. It would simply become rancid too soon. Therefore, removing the germ became essential and soon everyone was enjoying wheat a little bit ‘whiter’. Little did they know at the time, many of the nutrients were taken out with the germ.
Our appetite for the bitter-free white flour grew and soon peroxides were bleaching it into an angel white addiction. This hardly helped our insulin levels. The rise of diabetes keeps growing, as do waistlines. The lack of balanced fiber in the whole grain means the flour is processed more quickly, as sugar, and our body’s insulin levels spike. The more ‘whole’ the grain the longer our body takes to process it.
Unfortunately, I don’t remember a ton from my high-school Chemistry class, but I have this strong memory of our teacher giving us a saltine cracker to place on our tongues. She asked us to slowly chew it and process it in our mouths. Very quickly it was apparent that it was quite sweet and tasted almost like sugar. Her lesson on simple starches clearly stuck with me and has had an interesting impact on the amount of white flours I feel able to consume before I consider the flour a treat, not a real food.
Enriched Flours
It is common to find Enriched Wheat Flour listed as one of the first ingredients on your bread. The word enriched seems as if it must be doing great things. Pumped up with vitamins like an iron man– how can that be wrong? The problem is, the flours have been striped of their nutrients and recharged with whatever scientists believe to be the ones worth adding back. This is whether or not there is balance in those nutrients or whether our body is able to recognize them as worth saving. Also, the loss of fiber means we digest the flour faster, therefore causing a quicker blood sugar spike. Don’t be fooled into thinking it is good for you. It is simply white flour wrapped in a vitamin labeled.
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Recently there is an obvious rise in Celiac disease and gluten intolerance. Often, I hear the debate as to whether a gluten-free diet is somehow healthier. It certainly is healthier to avoid gluten if you are unable to digest it, but simply eliminating wheat and other gluten products from your diet will not make your diet ‘healthy’. If anything, the dramatic rise in awareness of gluten intolerance has lead to an increase of food products made without the culprit. These products often contain high levels of sugars, starches such as tapioca, potato, and cornstarch and refined gluten-free flours such as white rice flour. While these bread products are a welcome change for those who have become sick from eating gluten, the lack of whole grain and the increase in starch makes them far from a ‘healthy’ option.
When enjoying a gluten-free food product know it is a treat and do not be confused into believing it is somehow better for you than a regular sweet treat. Do your best to find whole grain gluten-free products that are reliably tasty. A few of my favorite brands include Udi’s for baked goods and Tinkyada for pasta. What I love is how many local bakeries have started offering gluten-free selections. If you have Celiacs disease seek out a bakery that will not have any cross contamination. Next, be sure to ask these specialized bakeries what flours & starches they use in their mixes and if they offer any whole grain selections. If you have any gluten-free brands that you are quite fond of, please comment and list them below.
Interested in more ways to eat well? Join the 30-Day Healthy Body, Healthy Planet Challenge. This post about whole grains is one of many that are part of the tips & ideas you will learn throughout the challenge.
Cook seasonally. Eat consciously. Live well,
