A Brief History of White Flour

Society's understanding of just how good natural food is has grown slowly over the past couple of centuries. Consider the exampl of white flour. 

When we first began milling white floour, it was said to be an improvement over brown...better for you, and without the nasty, dirty, gritty stuff. Science, however, quickly proved that wrong.

In 1826, the Lancet medical journal detailed a study where one dog was fed " coarse" bread exclusively and another ate white only. The first dog was reported to be healthy. the one that ate white bread died within 50 days.

More rigorous studies followed. Scientists realized that refining white flour stripped out not only the germ and the bran, but also the fiber, vitamins, and minerals, leaving only calories.

 Instead of nourishing people, white bread made them ill. By the 1930's, it was clear that white bread was not giving people the nutrients they needed. However, rather than getting to the root of the problem...that refined flour simply isn't good enough to eat--- governments and millers came up with a quick fix. Now, the law in many countries requires that food processors add certain nutrients back into the white flour(and synthetic nutrients made in a laboratory at that).

Enriching the flour prevented some of the new illnesses caused by refining flour.But nutrtionists still didn't see all the other benefits of whole wheat.

Over the last couple of decades, many studies have shown that eating whole grain improves overall health. It can lower blood pressure, aid weight loss and digestion, and help prevent heart disease, diabetes and several types of cancer. One fourteen year health study suggested that anyone who avoids smoking, exercises 30 minutes a day, avoids being overweight, and eats a diet containing, among other things, a high amount of whole grains and a low amount of heavily processed fats will experience dramatic benefits: 80% reduced risk of coronary heart disease, 90%  of type 2 diabetes, and 70% of colon cancer. Even after adjusting for factors like weight, sex, and lifestyle, those who habitually eat whole grains have a mortality rate 15% lower--- in other words, they tend to live longer. Why, though, are whole grainsso much better for us? Scientists continued to press for answers.

Next topic: Food Synergy

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