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Sunday, January 8, 2012

Enriched wheat flour - friend or foe?

Can you guess what food this is, based on the ingredients list found on their website?


ENRICHED FLOUR (WHEAT FLOUR, NIACIN, REDUCED IRON, THIAMIN MONONITRATE [VITAMIN B1], RIBOFLAVIN [VITAMIN B2], FOLIC ACID), PEANUT BUTTER (ROASTED PEANUTS), SOYBEAN OIL WITH TBHQ FOR FRESHNESS, SUGAR, HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP, DEXTROSE, CONTAINS TWO PERCENT OR LESS OF SALT, MALTED BARLEY FLOUR, LEAVENING (BAKING SODA, MONOCALCIUM PHOSPHATE, SODIUM ACID PYROPHOSPHATE), SOY LECITHIN, CORNSTARCH, YELLOW #6, CHEDDAR CHEESE (PASTEURIZED MILK, CHEESE CULTURES, SALT, ENZYMES), WHEY, BUTTERMILK, DISODIUM PHOSPHATE, RED PEPPER.


*Note: One reader noted that this ingredient list contains cheese, so this must be for the peanut butter and cheese crackers. However, this is the exact list that was found on my peanut butter (no cheese) cracker package. I thought it was odd that cheese was listed, too. I definitely did not buy cheese and peanut butter crackers. (bleh.) I wonder if they put the wrong ingredient list on the package? Interesting.


If you guessed peanut butter crackers, you were right! The ingredient list I have is copied and pasted (because I didn't want to take the time fo type up the long list I saw on the box) from their website, here.

Who knew it took so much to make such a simple little snack? I think I'd be more comfortable making Izzy a simple peanut butter sandwich on a good, healthy variety of bread. Or peanut butter and apples 
would be even better!








Some of those ingredients seem innocent enough, like the roasted peanuts. That's good for us, right?


I'm not sure why cheddar cheese and red pepper are listed as ingredients, I really don't think they're in there.


So, we'll just start at the top and see what we can learn about these ingredients.


I've always wondered about the long list of ingredients following the words "enriched flour".


What is it? 


When flour is bleached and stripped and made into white flour, basically all of the nutritional value has been removed in the process (the bran and the germ), but the shelf life has been greatly extended. Then, they add some nutrients back in and you get enriched flour. So, it's basically just flour plus vitamins, right?


Is that so bad?


From what I read here, here, and here, the main problem with enriched wheat flour isn't whether or not the vitamins added back into it are safe, but that you are getting a very refined form of flour that is more similar to sugar in the way your body processes it. You don't stay full as long, your blood sugar doesn't stay as stable, and you're not getting the cleansing effect of the fiber that is in wheat in its whole form. 


Also, the nutrients added back to enriched flour don't come close to that of those in whole wheat flour.


The verdict?


Enriched white flour is not on my list of "scary" ingredients. I guess it's more on my list of "be wary" ingredients. Most of my flour should be consumed in whole grain form, but I'll not be avoiding white flour like the plague when we're out and about. I have switched to baking with all whole wheat flour at home, though.


I'll be doing a whole grain challenge in the upcoming months. If you'd like to read more about this month's challenge, click here.



On friday, I'll be discussing that TBHQ that was added "for freshness".


This post was shared at Simple Lives Thursday.



















2 comments:

  1. I think this is the ingredient list for the peanut butter and orange cheese crackers.

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  2. I thought the same thing, but this is the exact list that was on my peanut butter cracker package. I know that it said that it contained cheese because I remember thinking "this doesn't even seem like an accurate ingredient list". I don't like the peanut butter and cheese crackers, so I definitely didn't buy them. I wonder if they listed the wrong ingredients on the package? Maybe I should contact the company.

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