A Balanced Diet

 “3 cups of flour” my mom uttered to herself as she began setting the ingredients out for the apple pie. The first use of flour was 30,000 years ago and today most meals still use it as a thickening agent. However, lately, there has been gluten free craze traveling around the world. Should we actually avoid all gluten though? There is a stark difference in the health benefits and withdrawals between different types of flour, and it is our responsibility to be educated on what we decide to put into our body.

            During Christmas vacation I traveled to Florida to visit my gluten free family and found it unnaturally difficult to cook meals for all of my kin.  None of them were actually allergic to gluten, but rather felt that it was healthier to avoid wheat altogether. Countless people like my family in Florida argue that white flour, being processed, is not healthy for consumption. While they are accurate that the handling of white flour removes much of its nutrients it also has some benefits and has a history of successful use. White flour contains only the starchy endosperm of the grain which makes it easy to digest if one has a compromised digestive system. Numerous cultures have survived on high diets in starch and their populations have been extremely healthy. Like the Okinawans, who traditionally obtained 85% of their calories from starch. or the Tukisenta in Papua New Guinea who consumed 94.6% starchy carbohydrates in the 1960s. Cultures like these were shown to have exceptionally long lifespans and a virtual non-existence of modern illness such as heart disease. Furthermore, white flour can be kept for a very long time which makes it more economical. The issues with processed flour, however, is that it contains chemical residue left over from the bleaching of it to turn it stark white. Certain proteins in the flour produce an oxidizing chemical reaction with the chlorine gas which forms a very toxic byproduct known as Alloxan. Alloxan has been used to induce diabetes in lab rats. With these scary names of chemicals and diseases surrounding white flour in an enigma many people attempt to avoid it altogether. It should not be this difficult to have family reunions due to dinner time, white flour in moderation can be consumed without extreme worry for your health.

            When I was five I asked my dad for “real” bread on my grilled cheese. By this, I meant that white fluffy goodness that comes in white flour bread loaf. My father, instantly grew defensive over his healthy and nutritious wheat bread that I snubbed. In contrast with the high-risk white flour, wheat flour has many more benefits in nutrition and health. In fact, The 2010 U.S. Dietary Guidelines recommend that at least half of your daily grain intake come from whole grains. One of the primary nutritional differences between whole-wheat and white flour is the food’s fiber content. Dietary fiber has a number of health benefits -- it prevents constipation, lowers blood cholesterol and might help you lose weight, according to Colorado State University. The refining process associated with making white flour separates the fiber-rich brain from the rest of the grain, so white flour typically contains less fiber than its whole-grain counterpart. For example, 1/2 cup of white flour contains 1.3 grams of fiber, while an equal serving of whole-wheat flour contains 6.4 grams. As a result, selecting foods that contain wheat flour helps you reach your dietary fiber intake goal -- 28 grams daily if you follow a 2,000-calorie diet, according to Colorado State University. Numerous other benefits include reduced risk of stroke, asthma, colorectal cancer, and healthier blood pressure level.

            The gluten free craze is just that, a craze. By watching what we put into our bodies we can successfully remain healthy while still enjoying the food that we eat. If your grandma makes you chocolate chip cookies, feel free to take one or maybe even three. You are required, however, for the health of your body, to keep a well balanced diet and minimize the toxins that you put in it.