What's Wrong With White Flour?

White flour, building block of white bread and peanut butter sandwiches might just be one of the wonders of the modern world. And as identifiable as the red, blue, and yellow dots that decorate the most popular brand of it.

Did You Know….

That white flour is a natural pesticide?
That it can filled with alum, chalk, duck feathers, and human hair?
That white bread was banned in Great Britain during WWII?
That the consumption of flour and white breads has been associated with heart disease, diabetes, and celiac disease?
No? Then read on ~

A Natural Pesticide…

But things are not as wholesome as the TV ads make this foodstuff seem. White flour is filled with stuff that’s just plain bad for you. Need to get rid of those pesky bugs in the corner? Try leaving flour in an open container. If the bugs crawl in and eat, there’s no crawling out. It’s a natural insecticide. Who needs Raid when you have a sack of white flour?

What about thinking clearly? Probably not. White flour produces brain fog as well as fatigue, sleepiness, and even depression. This coupled with the fact that white flour is basically nutrient free makes it the perfect ingredient for all sorts of health challenges.

At this point, you may be wondering what exactly white flour does bring to the proverbial table. Try additives like chlorine dioxide (for bleaching and preservation), alum, chalk, duck feathers, and human hair. No, I’m not making that up.

What’s Wrong With White Flour, Anyway?

So why do people consume white flour anyway. Sure pizza, bread, and pasta taste great, but still. It has to do with smart packaging in a nutshell. And it’s easy to consume. It doesn’t take much to chew it up.

At one time, people considered white flour a luxury for the rich. Gritty, whole grain flours were the stuff of the poor. According to Dr. Mercola, at the turn of the twentieth century, 40 percent of people living in Great Britain at white flour on a regular basis and healthy problems skyrocketed.

Fortunately, for the British people, World War II brought at least one good thing to the Isle…a ban on white bread. For a time, people’s health improved.

Health in the 21st Century

But that only lasted until just after the war, and some breads contain more junk than they did before. What the eating public doesn’t know is that many things like oxidant chemicals and trans fats aren’t on the labels, because they aren’t required to be. Yes. Modern white bread contains those.

The aftermath of this legacy cannot be overstated. Obesity in America is at epidemic levels. More and more people suffer from heart disease and diabetes. Celiac disease has become a common household topic. Most of this has to with what we eat, although the public may not be completely to blame for this.

In recent years, diets that weren’t of an Atkins orientation favored low-fat, high carb menus. Contrary to reports, fat doesn’t make you fat. Excess carbohydrates do. Your body can’t synthesize them.

Making this situation doubly maddening is that wheat-based foods actually make you crave more food. People eating such foods take in 400 calories more a day than they would if they hadn’t eaten their toast. Or doughnuts. Or bagels and what have you.

Dr. Mercola says that the fix for this is simple enough. Don’t eat as much or if you can, eliminate these foods from your diet.

I only eat organic whole-grain bread moderately.  If you must eat bread make sure it's whole-grain and organic. 


Laurel ♥



Sources:
Dr. Mercola
Living Traditionally
Care 2