In Chile,
we have a particular addiction; we are addicted to bread. But this delicious
food may not be the same old nutritive food that it was when it was created.
A hundred
years ago the bread was eaten in a more unprocessed manner. The grain was
crushed and the bread was made in a different ways, depending on what the
culture had established as the proper way to bake it and eat it. During the
Industrialization process and in order to supply larger masses of people, this
tasty food lost all of its nutritional qualities.
Currently,
the grain is collected by mills in an unsanitary way, mixed with insects and
dirt. After this collection, the grain is processed by machines that crush it
and separate the resulting material through different sieves. The product of
this process is the white and refined flour we can buy at any market.
In this
procedure, some of the most important properties of the ancient and nutritive
bread are lost. The wheat germ, which is rich in proteins and has a highbiological value; and vegetal hormones, useful in regulating the process and symptoms
of menopause, are sold at high prices to avoid the vegetal fat from rotting the
bread before it gets to the destination in which it will be sold.
Another
disadvantage of this procedure is the wasting of the wheat bran which is rich
in minerals: Potassium, Ore and Cadmium; and also in B and C vitamins. This is
caused by the use of metallic rollers that burn these minerals and vitamins
leaving just fiber which is the reason why the whole wheat bread and the wheat bran that we find in the supermarket is brownish.
Finally,
the whole wheat bread you may buy in a bakery is a mixture between whole wheat
flour and the white refined flour
obtained through the noxious process described before. This mixture allows the
baker to obtain more elegant breads. Thus, we end up eating a product with no
nutritional value and harmful consequences in our health.
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ReplyDeleteIt is relevant to say that Chile is the second biggest consumer of bread in the world—being Germany the first; in fact, an average of 98 kg is eaten by Chileans per year. This huge figure can seem worse if we consider the low quality of bread that we eat. Fortunately, it is common to find small bakeries that produced bread, especially buns, in more traditional way. Perhaps we should go back to less processed bread and buy it in those places, although it could be even better if you make your own bread.
ReplyDeleteWhen eating bread, I personally do not focus on its nutritional qualities (actually, that would be the last thing I would think of) because I try to judge food based on its flavor, so for me it does not matter if I buy bread in a bakery, supermarket, street, etc. as long as it tastes good.
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty sure that most bread consumers are aware of the advantages and disadvantages of eating bread (calories, proteins, etc.), but they cannot help eating such a delicious food because it is so tasty, that one could eat as many pieces of bread as possible!