We have repeatedly been told that whole-wheat bread is much better for us than white bread. But to many these statements bear the earmarks of a dietary fad; and without giving further thought to the subject, they continue to eat white bread. Though white bread has food values, much has been lost by the milling processes. When we consider that 25 per cent of the calorie intake of the average family is supplied by wheat, the larger part as bread, it is important that we be reminded of some of the facts concerned.
In the original process of milling, which was employed until the latter part of the nineteenth century, wheat for use as food was prepared by grinding it between large stones, with the result that none of the natural food elements were lost. But with the machine age came a change in this process. The roller mill was developed, which not only ground the wheat, but sifted it through silk screens until the bran, rich in minerals, and the germ, rich in vitamin B„ as well as other natural food elements, were in large part removed. This process gave the public a soft, smooth white flour, but there was a definite loss in nutritional value.
The accompanying diagram shows very plainly the food value in the whole grain of wheat. One can readily see that in addition to containing a high percentage of protein and carbohydrate, essential to energy building, wheat is also rich in minerals and in one of the vitamins (B,) necessary for "normal appetite, growth and development, metabolism of every living cell, metabolism of carbohydrates, normal tonicity of the gastrointestinal tract, and preventing disturbances of the nervous system."
With the rise in food prices, many families may become confused regarding the selection of foods which are within their economic reach and at the same time rich in minerals and vitamin B,. Those in the lower income brackets often rely much upon white flour because its cost is low, with the result that the diet is frequently deficient in essential food elements.
Some manufacturers are adding vitamin B, to milled white flour, and "while it is possible to enrich foods synthetically, and thereby aid in offsetting the lack of vitamin B, in the daily diet, it is more desirable to obtain the needed vitamin from some natural source (wheat germ), because many valuable nutrients in addition to vitamin B, come from the wheat germ and bran." . Since this is true, one simple way to restore the lack in our diet is to prepare foods from whole grains.
Lillian J. Bragan