The Federal District Court of Missouri declared bleached white flour unfit for use as food for humans back in 1910. However, H.W. Wiley, the first director of the Food and Drug Administration, claimed that the enforcement of the legislation was "halted through the political influence of the flour millers" and that "no notice of violations has since been made by the FDA." These days, wheat that has been treated with fungicides, pesticides, and insecticides is used to make flour. For bleaching flour, up to 60 chemicals have been authorized.
5 Secrets About White Flour That will Shock You
1. Bleached Flour has no nutrients
During the manufacturing process, the wheat seed`s brain and germ containing 75 percent of the vitamins and minerals are removed. In addition, up to 97 percent of the dietary fiber is lost. This process removes 70 percent iron, B vitamins, and magnesium, 50 percent of calcium, and all the vitamin E.
2. Added Potassium Bromate
After removing the nutrients, the flour is bleached, preserved, and enhanced with chlorine dioxide. Then, it is whitened using ammonium carbonate, alum, and chalk in order to make it more appealing. Sorbitan mono-saturate, an anti-salting agent, is added in the ultimate stage. The worst part is that potassium bromate, a powerful oxidizer, is also added to the flour. This chemical is considered carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) and has been banned in many countries.
3. White flour is a natural insecticide
As unbelievable as it seems, white flour is a natural insecticide. This means that if an insect gets in the bag of white flour and begins eating it, it will die. White flour kills off any insect that attempts to consume it.
4. Contains L-cysteine
L-cysteine, a non essential amino acid is added to baked goods to accelerate the industrial processing. It is found in most cookies, pastas, fast food buns, pastries, and pizza doughs. It can be synthesized in the lab, but more costly production techniques include human hair and duck feathers. Other sources of this amino acid include cow horns, petroleum byproducts, and chicken feathers. It is worth noting that most of the L-cysteine comes from China, a country with poor history of food regulation.
5. White flour contains diabetes-causing contaminant alloxan
Last but not least, white flour contains alloxan, a substance that makes it clean and fresh. It has been scientifically shown that it negatively affects the pancreas, destroying its beta cells. These effects are described as extremely severe in the Textbook of Natural Medicine which calls the chemical “a potent beta-cell toxin.” Multiple studies have also shown that the effects of alloxan can be diminished with vitamin E, which protected lab rats from alloxan in an animal study done by Dr. Gary Null.
Sources:
http://livingtraditionally.com/5-secrets-white-flour-will-shock/