For your health, remember this adage: Reject white foods, embrace wellness! Let's examine this in detail.
Refined white flour, known as "75% flour," yields 75 pounds of flour from 100 pounds of wheat. This flour is fine and white, offering a smooth, pleasant texture. However, processing causes significant loss of protein and minerals.Compared to whole wheat flour, refined white flour loses 91% of manganese, 87% of chromium, 81% of iron, 70% of aluminum, 50% of copper and molybdenum, and 83% of magnesium and zinc.While whole wheat flour contains more bran and has poorer sensory characteristics—resulting in less white-looking baked goods compared to refined flour—it retains nearly all its protein content, typically ranging from 7% to 11%, with some varieties exceeding 16%. Therefore, choosing whole wheat flour is preferable. Consuming rye flour, processed from rye, is even more ideal.
Refined white rice is produced by repeatedly milling rice grains. Typically, only 60 to 68 pounds of rice are obtained from 100 pounds of paddy rice, and in some regions, as little as 40 pounds are yielded—significantly less than ordinary rice.This process results in significant nutrient loss: 77% of vitamin B1, 77% of vitamin B2, 80% of vitamin B3, 71% of vitamin B6, 86% of vitamin E, 50% of pantothenic acid, and 67% of folic acid.Long-term consumption of refined white rice cannot provide complete and adequate nutrition, inevitably leading to neurological dysfunction and various associated symptoms such as peripheral neuritis. These may be accompanied by loss of appetite, sensitivity to cold, generalized weakness, poor memory, slowed reactions, crawling sensations and numbness in the hands and feet, calf muscle pain, and in some cases, difficulty walking, weakened or absent knee reflexes.Severe cases may involve brain and heart lesions. Infants may also experience vomiting, diarrhea, and hoarseness. Beriberi, a relatively common disease, is also caused by vitamin deficiency resulting from frequent consumption of refined white rice.Nutritionists emphasize that regular rice should be the staple food on people's tables. It contains multiple vitamins and has significantly higher levels of crude protein, lysine, tryptophan, and riboflavin compared to refined white rice, making it an ideal staple food.
Refined sugar loses 99% of magnesium, 93% of chromium, 58% of copper, and 67% of zinc compared to raw sugar. Vitamins are nearly entirely depleted. Excessive consumption can convert into fat, leading to obesity, hyperlipidemia, diabetes, arteriosclerosis, and coronary heart disease.Additionally, it depletes the body's vitamin B1 and calcium reserves. Excessive consumption can have adverse effects, particularly worsening conditions for individuals with nephritis, gastritis, rheumatism, hyperlipidemia, hypertension, hepatitis, or skin diseases. Some medical experts suggest that regular high consumption of refined sugar weakens immune function, increasing cancer incidence by four to five times compared to average individuals.
Given the various health drawbacks of refined white sugar, it is advisable to switch to unrefined sugar or honey. Honey contains essential nutrients such as vitamins, phosphorus, organic acids, and enzymes, offering significant medicinal value as an ideal natural nutritional food with therapeutic benefits.
Animal fats like lard, mutton fat, and butter are classified as white fats.They contain high levels of saturated fatty acids, have a higher melting point than vegetable oils, are less digestible, and tend to elevate cholesterol levels. Long-term consumption can increase lipid deposits on arterial walls, reducing elasticity and leading to atherosclerosis. Deposits on arterial walls may sometimes detach, blocking blood vessels and causing myocardial infarction, which can be life-threatening.
White fruits fall into two categories: fleshy fruits and nut-like fruits. For instance, bananas contain excessively high potassium levels, posing significant risks to individuals with kidney disease. Bitter almonds contain hydrogen cyanide, a highly toxic substance. Ingesting just 0.5 grams of hydrogen cyanide can be fatal for most people. Adults consuming 40-60 bitter almonds or children eating 10-20 bitter almonds may experience poisoning.Ginkgo fruits, known as white nuts, contain ginkgotoxin—a potent toxin similar to that in blister beetles. Children aged 3–4 may experience poisoning after eating 5–10 raw nuts or consuming large quantities of roasted or boiled white nuts. Severe cases can be fatal.
That concludes our introduction to "Avoiding White Foods for Better Health." We trust you now have a clearer understanding. Finally, we sincerely wish you good health and happiness in life.