I recently had an interesting conversation with one of my clients after discussing her weekly food diary--which she, like the majority of my clients, most diligently updates. I constantly emphasize the importance of ensuring that every calorie consumed has some necessary nutritional benefit to the body--especially for weight-management clients on a calorically-limited diet.
I commented on a consistent snack choice, which was neither one that I would consider "smart" or "healthy" for her necessary dietary restrictions. She remarked, "But the first ingredient is wheat flour!?! I thought I was making a good choice!"So here is the not-so-skinny on products that boast they are made from wheat flour: White flour is made from wheat!
In fact, the health benefits of wheat are solely dependent on the form in which it is eaten. Wheat flour (aka white flour) is wheat that has been processed into 60% extraction. Simply stated, this means that 40% of the original wheat grain is removed. That "missing" 40% happens to contain the bran and germ of the wheat--which is the most nutritous part containing over half of the fiber, iron, zinc, phosphorus, calcium, folic acid, and B vitamins.
So the next time you are looking for a healthy snack, instead of looking for the word "wheat," try searching for the words "100% whole grain" to ensure that you are consuming the most nutritional carbohydrates for your body.
0 comments:
Post a Comment