Did you know that refined flour has up to 90% of fiber, lysine, minerals, phosphorous, potassium, and magnesium removed?  That is because refined flour is from a roller mill, which strips away most of the bran and germ, basically creating a refined starch product!  The graphic below (sources, Whole Grains Council and S.W. Souci) shows the difference between true whole wheat flour which is the entire wheat kernel vs refined.  The yellow bars represent enriched flour (basic vitamins are added back in).  The advantages of roller milling over whole grain milling are efficiency, better shelf life (the bran and germ have oils that begin to oxidize when milled), and better rising qualities in bread.  The disadvantage is that 75 to 90% of key nutrients are removed.  It's no wonder that whole grains and cereals no longer are the base element of the food pyramid - we really aren't eating whole grains any longer.  This is even true for whole wheat flour in the store, almost all of which is from a roller mill - it has a lot of the bran and germ removed and may have preservatives added to be shelf stable.  A small home grain mill (about $150 for a good used WonderMill/WhisperMill on ebay) might be a great investment.  When roller mills came into common use over 100 years ago, there was backlash from British medical society.  In 1924 medical doctor Charles Edward Shell wrote to the British Medical Journal, "When the steel “roller flour mill” were introduced into this country from America a vital injury was inflicted on our national well-being….[the flour] lacks the proteins, fat, vitamins, and mineral constituents present in the original grain, providing only an emasculated substitute which is not merely inefficient, but also directly harmful. For a dietary overloaded with starchy material produces fermentation and flatulence : it favours the development of an abundant intestinal flora embarrassing to the digestive economy, burdensome to the gastro-intestinal organs, and favourable to the free development and increased virulence of such pathogenic microbes as may obtain access to the intestinal tract." (Shell 789).  More info at https://wholegrainscouncil.org/




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