The truth about the “standard American diet” is that it is a diet of chronically consuming that which is bad for you while not consuming that which is healthy. One ingredient we chronically consume, which we should be rarely consuming if at all, is bleached white flour
Did you know that bleached white flour was almost outlawed? The Federal District Court of Missouri declared it “unfit for human consumption” in 1910. H.W. Wiley, in his book “The History of a Crime Against the Pure Food Law” discussed the case. In Mr. Wiley’s opinion, enforcement of this law was “halted through the political influence of the millers” and “no notice of was ever sent to the FDA for violations”.
Current manufacturing processes for bleached flour include treating wheat with fungicides, pesticides and insecticides…basically at every step from the first sprout of the wheat to the final packaging. There are currently approximately 60 FDA approved chemicals for the manufacturing of white flour.
HERE ARE SOME OF THE TOP 5 MOST SHOCKING FACTS ABOUT BLEACHED WHITE FLOUR:
- There are basically zero nutrients: You can tell as much about the nutritional value of a food by what it doesn’t have just as much as you can by what it does have. In the case of white flour, it doesn’t have much. Basically, all the nutrients (76% of the vitamins, 97% of the fiber and 99% of the calcium, iron, magnesium and B vitamins) are removed from the wheat during processing.
- They add Potassium Bromate: In addition to bleaching the wheat with chlorine dioxide, further whitening is accomplished by adding such fillers as chalk, alum and ammonium carbonate (this is what gives flour its almost silky smooth feel). However, the final stage is most shocking, the addition of Potassium Bromate! You see Bromate is rated a category 2B carcinogen by the IARC (International Agency for Research on Cancer). Which is why the ingredient is outlawed in Europe and Canada. Unfortunately, it is still an ingredient in American white flour.
- Bleached White flour is a natural insecticide:Did you know if an insect eats flour they will die? Hmmmm.
- Contains L-cysteine:To speed up industrial processing, most baked goods in the US have this non-essential amino acid. You can certainly expect it in fast food buns, processed pizza doughs and cookies. Mostly sourced from chicken feathers and cow horns, it usually comes from China where regulation is scarcely enforced.
- Contains Alloxan:This makes the bread look fresh and clean. Unfortunately, scientific studies have shown it can destroy beta cells of the pancreas. This was noted in the “The Textbook of Natural Medicine”.
DETOX TOXINS FROM YOUR BODY
If you want your liver to function properly (eliminate toxins and cleanse all the impurities) you should consume reishi mushrooms daily. In, a study in Food and Chemical Toxicology showed that using reishi mushroom reversed chemical-driven liver damage in mice. Reishi mushroom is known for its anti cancer properties. It eliminates free radicals and promotes liver cell regeneration. Just take 1/2 tablespoon a day!