Scientists at the University of California have found that the main drawback of white bread made from refined premium white flour is that it lacks vitamin E, carotenoids and other nutrients.
According to Health News, the researchers evaluated white bread based on laboratory tests and the levels of calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, copper, iron, molybdenum, zinc, vitamin E, and carotenoids in the flour for making three types of bread. They evaluated the composition of whole-grain flour (which is produced by grinding grains), whole-grain flour milled using a roller, and refined white flour (which is produced by grinding grains using a roller and then removing the bran and germ of the grains).
The researchers found that refined flour and bread made from it contained 72 percent and 64 percent less of the aforementioned minerals, respectively, compared to whole wheat grains. The content of important nutritional components for health in the two types of whole wheat flour was higher and did not differ significantly.
According to the researchers, bread made from the three types of flour retains less than a fifth of the total amount of vitamin E originally present in the raw material (wheat grains). And the concentration of vitamin E in the flour decreases with increasing degree of purification.
Good to know.
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