Refined carbohydrates

Why are refined carbohydrates bad for me?

When carbohydrates are refined, nearly all of the vitamins, minerals and fibers are removed, leaving only calories. Certain products like flour and sugars are refined and then “enriched,” meaning that only certain nutrients removed in the refining process are added back into the product.

In white flour, the kernel of the grain is processed to remove the germ portion. This removes about 33 nutrients. “Enriching” adds four to six nutrients back into the product. This creates the nutritive deficit. White flour is literally a sugar in itself, and where it is mixed with fats in processed foods, the fats are commonly hydrogenated and rancid, increasing your susceptibility to a number of disease processes.

White flour contains only 13 percent of the chromium, nine percent of the manganese and 19 percent of the iron that is contained in whole wheat. Due to the fact that many of the B vitamins are concentrated in the outer parts of the grain, white flour is deficient in B vitamins. The germ of the wheat is a potent source of vitamin E. White flour consumption results in a high potential for vitamin E deficiency in those whose diets are inadequate for vitamin E sources and/or comparatively high in breadstuffs.

White flour is not the only harmful ingredient in those breadstuffs. Potassium bromate has long been used to increase the volume of bread and to produce bread with a fine crumb (the non-crust part of bread) structure. Most bromate rapidly breaks down to form innocuous bromide. However, bromate itself causes cancer in animals. The tiny amounts of bromate that may remain in bread pose a small risk to consumers.

Bromate is rarely used in California because a cancer warning is required on the label. “In 1992 and again in 1998, the FDA found baked goods that had bromate at levels the agency considers unsafe,” said Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) attorney Darren Mitchell. “But instead of banning the additive, as the UK and Canada have done, the FDA has tried - with only partial success - to get bakers to voluntarily stop using it.” Buyer, beware.

How do I determine if something is a refined carbohydrate?

To tell if a carbohydrate food product is refined, you can look at the ingredients label. Ingredients are listed by weight, so the higher up on the list, the greater quantity of the ingredient. Refined carbohydrates are easily identified by such words and phrases as “enriched,” “wheat flour” (as opposed to “whole wheat flour”), “corn syrup,” “high fructose corn syrup” and “sugar.” These products are typically high in calories and usually very low in nutrients.

“Unbleached, unbrominated wheat flour” can be a deceiver. Although this ingredient has not been bleached or brominated as has the traditional “white flour,” it still has the germ removed from the wheat kernel, leaving a less nutritive product.

Coming next week: “The carbohydrate-cancer link”

1. The information provided in this article is for educational purposes only.

2. Your individual health status and any required healthcare treatments can only be properly addressed by a professional healthcare provider of your choice. Remember: there is no adequate substitution for a personal consultation with your chosen healthcare provider. Therefore, we encourage you to make your own healthcare decisions based upon your research and in partnership with a qualified healthcare professional.