Why is Flour Bad For You?
Flour is the basis for most baked goods and fried foods. It contains both carbs and proteins. You can choose to use bleached or unbleached flour, and you can get enriched varieties that contain more vitamins and minerals. However, it’s still important to choose whole grain flour whenever possible.
Refined flour is not healthy for the body for a few reasons. It increases your chances of developing a fatty liver, contributes to obesity, and raises your bad cholesterol. It can also increase your risk for diabetes, heart disease, and high blood pressure. Refined flour can also cause inflammation in the gut, which damages your metabolic system.
Refined white flour has a high glycemic index, meaning that it causes your blood sugar to spike rapidly. This causes your body to produce more insulin, a hormone that is necessary for the movement of sugar into cells. Over time, this can cause serious health problems such as weight gain and digestive problems. In addition, it can increase your risk of developing Type 2 diabetes.
The carbs in flour are mostly from starch and sugar. A cup of flour contains 95.4 grams of carbohydrates. It also has 3.4 grams of fiber, which is 12% of your daily needs. Using coconut flour as a substitute can help you make chewier cookies. You can also try different flours in order to find the right one for your taste and health needs.
The traditional way to make flour is to buy wheat berries, grind them in a grain mill, and then sift out the non-white stuff. But that’s a process that removes the beneficial parts of the grain. Whole grains are better for you. In addition to whole grains, you can choose from enriched flours.
Another alternative to refined flour is Einkorn, the oldest grain in the world. It has higher protein, dietary fiber, and iron than other grains. In addition, it contains a significant amount of Lutein. Another benefit of whole grains is the dietary fiber, which helps minimize the effect of carbohydrates on your blood sugar.
The bad news about flour is that it spikes blood sugar. The process of turning grains into flour causes grains to break down more quickly and enter the bloodstream. The sugar in grains gets into your bloodstream almost instantly, causing a spike in your blood sugar. This spike is worse in processed whole wheat bread than table sugar.
Another common misconception about flour is that it’s raw food. While flour doesn’t look raw, the grains that make it are often harvested in fields. As a result, they may contain harmful bacteria like Salmonella and pathogenic Escherichia coli. These bacteria remain after the process of milling and grinding the grains. Therefore, you should never eat raw flour. You should also avoid mixing raw flour with raw foods.
