Our family eats only whole grain products. We grind all of grains fresh as we need them. Many people find this to be odd, but have never considered why using whole grains is so beneficial to our health. When a product is not naturally found to be the color white, such as flour and sugar, much refining has gone into that product which results in many nutrient losses and many unhealthy gains for us.

When you buy white flour at the grocery store, what is missing? It is wheat, but the bran and germ of the grain have been taken out. Often they are then sold as cattle feed. The cows get the most nutritious part of the grain and leave us with the residue which is marketed as a food product. When white flour first hit the market, housewives loved it. Their baked goods came out so nice and pretty. They weren’t weighed down by that bran and germ so would rise and become light and fluffy. Soon people became more and more sick. They developed a disease called rickets and children were born with birth defects. This came about because of all of the nutrients that are lost in the milling process to remove the germ and the bran. Instead of stopping the production of white flour, it was mandated that it be enriched with synthetically made B vitamins and iron as well as folic acid. Those were only a fraction of what was lost in the refining process, 50% of all calcium, 70% of phosphorus, 80% iron, 98% magnesium, 75% manganese, 50% potassium, and 65% of copper is destroyed. If that is not bad enough, about 80% of thiamin, 60% of riboflavin, 75% of niacin, 50% of pantothenic acid, and about 50% of Pyridoxine is also lost. Many other diseases develop over time from the lack of nutrients in white flour, but they aren’t attributed to it. Overall, white flour is a poor choice for all of us, due to the lack of nutrients and the fact that it is completely starch.

Bread made with whole wheat

Using whole wheat products made from white wheat will allow many of the same tastes and textures of products made with white flour, but with all of the benefits of whole grains. White wheat has been bred over the years to have a less nutty taste than traditional red wheat. It gives products a golden color and sweeter taste than those made with red wheat.

Make a conscious effort to use only whole grains in your family’s diet and reap the benefits of better health. Many will say their children won’t eat anything but white bread. If they aren’t given an option, they will eat what they are given. I would never allow my children to eat white bread, nor would they choose to. When faced with good quality, healthy products, most children will choose wisely, especially if started at an early age.

If more people knew what has been done to so much of their food, maybe more would make an effort to eat whole grains.