White steamed buns, white rice... Are staple foods such as rice and flour better the whiter they are?

Rice and flour are indispensable cereal foods in our daily diet. Compared with whole grains, the taste and flavor of refined white flour and refined white rice are often more popular with consumers.

Some people believe that the whiter the rice and flour, the better in pursuit of taste and flavor. Is this statement correct?

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Some people think that refined white rice and flour have high nutritional value, which is a misunderstanding due to lack of nutritional knowledge. From a nutritional point of view, the whiter the rice and flour, the better.

Grains are divided into four parts, from the outside to the inside, namely the bran, aleurone layer, germ and endosperm, with different nutritional components and functions. The bran contains cellulose, hemicellulose and minerals; the aleurone layer is close to the bran and contains protein and B vitamins; the germ is where the grain germinates and is rich in B vitamins and vitamin E, as well as fat, protein, carbohydrates and minerals; the endosperm is the center of the grain, mainly composed of starch and a small amount of protein.

After refined processing, most or even all of the bran and endosperm will be removed, turning them into refined rice and refined flour (whiter in color), resulting in the loss of a large amount of nutrients, especially B vitamins and minerals.

In rural areas, when there are fewer types of food, people should avoid eating over-processed rice and flour to avoid vitamin and mineral deficiencies, especially beriberi caused by vitamin B1 deficiency. In addition, refined rice and flour contain almost no cellulose, which has important physiological functions: enhancing intestinal function and facilitating fecal excretion; controlling body weight and losing weight; helping to lower blood sugar and cholesterol; and preventing colon cancer.

Long-term consumption of refined white flour and rice is not good for health and may lead to insufficient intake of vitamins and minerals. At the same time, overly refined flour and rice have a greater impact on blood sugar. Refined white flour has a high GI value and is particularly easy to digest and absorb, which can easily increase blood sugar. If consumed for a long time, it is not conducive to blood sugar regulation.

From the perspective of food safety, the whiter the rice, the less safe it may be. The yield of processed white rice is low, generally around 60%. Those unscrupulous vendors will use aged rice to process white rice to make huge profits. These white rice flows into the market, harming the general public.

In order to make the flour look better, whitening agents may be added to the flour. Whitening agents, as an oxidant, will destroy the vitamins in the flour. If consumed for a long time, it is easy to cause diseases such as angular cheilitis, keratitis, neuritis, and even cause cumulative damage to the central nervous system. Excessive consumption may also cause liver disease and easily lead to various diseases.

Therefore, staple foods such as flour and rice are not necessarily better the whiter they are. Although fine grains such as rice and white flour have a better taste and flavor, it is also necessary to appropriately add some traditional coarse grains, such as millet, corn, oats, etc., and appropriately add some rice and flour with low processing precision, paying attention to the combination of coarse and fine.

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Reference sources: Scientific rumor refutation, Shenzhen Food and Drug Safety Office, Jiangsu Disease Control Center