Nutrients Lost when Wheat is Refined into White Flour
Bread is called the staff of life because it has more nutrients per weight than fruit, vegetables, meat, milk, and potatoes (Thomas). Each grain is still alive, and therefore more than a mini-vitamin pill, there are ephemeral phytochemicals and other nutritional elements present, especially if you mill your own fresh flour.
Five of the 19 vitamins and minerals removed are added back to white flour, but as you can see in these vitamin pill posts, vitamin pills don’t do anything to improve your health, at all, and can even be harmful, according to many decades-long studies. And what about the 14 additional vitamins and minerals removed that aren’t put back into white flour?
Source: Tamara Goldis. May 2008. Whole Grains. The Inside Story. Nutrition Action Healthletter
The chart above only covers 13 vitamins and minerals. Here is the complete list of the 19 vitamins and minerals that are removed along with the bran and germ:
|
Nutrient |
% Lost |
Nutrient |
% Lost |
Nutrient |
% Lost |
| Cobalt |
88.5 |
Zinc |
77.7 |
Copper |
67.9 |
| Vitamin E |
86.3 |
Thiamin |
77.1 |
Calcium |
60.0 |
| Manganese |
85.8 |
Potassium |
77.0 |
Pantothenic Acid |
50.0 |
| Magnesium |
84.7 |
Iron |
75.6 |
Molybdenum |
48.0 |
| Niacin |
80.8 |
Vitamin B6 |
71.8 |
Chromium |
40.0 |
| Riboflavin |
80.0 |
Phosphorus |
70.9 |
Selenium |
15.9 |
| Sodium |
78.3 |
SOURCE: Shroeder, Henry A. 1971. “Losses of Vitamins and Trace Minerals Resulting from Processing and Preservation of Foods,” American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 24
References
Campbell, Judy, et. al. 1991. Nutritional Characteristics of organic, freshly stone-ground, sourdough & conventional breads. Ecological Agriculture Projects, McGill University.
Thomas, B. “Unverdauliche Stoffe im Brot. Brotindustrie 19(1976): 340-346
