When you pick up a package at the grocery store and read the contents to find that it contains enriched wheat flour, that gives a healthy veneer. The company added nutrients, such as B vitamin and iron, that will make us healthier, or so it seems. The word “enriched” gives the false characteristic of an improvement from the original. The truth is all-together different.
Wheat is made up of three parts: bran, germ, and endosperm. The bran is the fiber-rich portion of the wheat that also contains some protein and minerals. The germ is naturally filled with B vitamins and minerals. The endosperm contains carbohydrates, protein, B vitamins, and iron. When the wheat is processed, the bran and germ are removed. The fiber needed for digestive and heart health, and B vitamins needed for various enzymatic processes throughout the body no longer exist as its original form. What is left is the endosperm, which goes through further processing to create a fine powder. During this second process the endosperm looses much of it’s vitamins and minerals.
The final processing of wheat is primarily the carbohydrate and some protein from the endosperm. When fiber is stripped from a grain, like wheat, it becomes mostly starch which digests and absorbs quickly causing a blood sugar flux. We also lose that sense of feeling full and satisfied when the fiber is not present. We needed the fiber for healthy digestion, blood sugar, and cholesterol levels; and also needed the vitamins and minerals for proper health functions.
Now that the finely processed wheat is void of practically all nutrients, it is then time to re-enrich what good has been evacuated. The process of enriching is where the nutrients that were taken out during processing are added back into the wheat flour, minus much of the fiber. The enriched flour is then used to produce food products, where you will find in the ingredient list “enriched wheat flour” usually listed toward the top of the list.
If you see vitamins or mineral listed in the ingredient list rather than the nutrition panel, it has probably been enriched.
By limiting the consumption of enriched foods, we retain something much more natural with all of the parts of the grain intact: including fiber, vitamins, and minerals.
There are better options out there that avoid enriched wheat: Food for Life makes a sprouted grain bread called Ezekiel 4:9 found in the freezer section at the grocery store. I was practically raised on this bread. Another bread option that I have come to enjoy is Dave’s Killer Bread which uses organic, non-enriched grain(s). Those looking for non-enriched pasta, if the label says “product of Italy” or “made in Italy,” rest assured it is not enriched.
One of the purposes for removing nutrients from the grain during processing is to extend the shelf life. One might even go as far as to say another purpose for turning a grain into a pure starch is to negatively affect the body upon consumption causing health issues. But if the grain is then “enriched” it sounds healthy therefore people will eat them and will continue to have a prominent place on grocery store shelves.
by John Connor, CNC
