Nutritional Quality of Foods Made from Whole Grain or Refined Flour

Running Head: Nutritional Quality of foods made from whole grain or refined flour 1
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Topic: Nutritional Quality of foods made from whole grain or refined flour
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Running Head: Nutritional Quality of foods made from whole grain or refined flour 2
Introduction
The whole grains have three elements in original namely Bran which consists of vitamin B and
fiber; Germ which consists of Vitamin B and phytochemicals; and the Endosperm having protein
and carbohydrate (Sharecare, 2019). When these whole grains are processed to improve their
shelf life and texture, their germ and bran is removed, only leaving the starchy endosperm.
Impact of Food Processing on Food Nutrition
According to Ministry of Food Processing of India, Food Processing is the process of adding
value to the food products through different methods like sorting, grading and packing (Devi,
2015). Food Processing helps to preserve the food materials, to increase their shelf life and
quality. It may include the processing of vegetables, fruits and dairy products, poultry and meat
processing, fisheries processing, grain processing and he processing of drinking water and
beverages (Alrayyes, 2018).
A number of things may take place during the food processing stages which may deteriorate the
nutritional value of products. Exposing them to high levels of light, heat and oxygen may cause
high loss of nutrition.
Fertilization- Mostly the crops are grown with help of high concentration of nitrogen fertilizers.
It lowers down the content of vitamin C and other unstable vitamins (like Folate and Thiamine)
in the fruits and vegetables.
Milling- Grinding of wheat is done to remove husk. The husk is a high source of dietary fibre,
minerals, phytochemicals and vitamin B. It is not possible to fortify and add back all these

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nutrients artificially which have been lost during milling. Though some of the fibre is added back
to the food products by addition of resistant starch, it is not as much nutritious as the removed
fibre.
Blanching- Heating the food at very high temperatures with water or steam may destroy the
sensitive and water soluble vitamins like Vitamin B and C.
Canning- The canned foods are heated inside the cans to increase the shelf life and kill the
microorganisms. It may change the original texture and taste of the foods.
Freezing- The process of storing the food at cold temperatures does not destroy any nutrition
however cooking the frozen foods after thawing may result into loss of nutrients.
Pasteurization- Heating the food at high temperatures also does not cause any nutrient loss to the
milk however some loss of nutrients like Vitamin C may take place in case of fruit juices.
Other than these processes, high pressure processing and dehydration is also used to process the
food products. The food processing can extend the shelf life of the foods and destroy the harmful
microorganisms from the raw food materials. It increases the variety and availability of food
items for larger time durations at lower prices. It also improves the texture and taste of the foods.
It gives new business opportunities to the food processing industries, gives employment
generation for the economy.
The processing of food can be harmful as well. The food products lose their natural form and
nutritious properties. Minerals get leached, the fibers are lost and vitamins get evaporated.
Though the fortification and enrichment can compensate for the loss of certain nutrients, the

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added nutrients are just a fraction of the nutrients which get lost during the translation process.
Adding the preservatives and additives may have negative impact on the human body. The food
colors added to make the food products attractive have also been causing cognitive problems in
the kids. To maintain the cost of food products at low level, the cheaper source ingredients and
cheaper manufacturing techniques have been a motivation factor.
Whole Grains
Whole grains can be defined as the cereals which contain germ, bran and endosperm. For
example: wheat, corn, rice, oats, sorghum, barley and millets etc. (Harvard, 2019). Whole grains
are different than the refined flour as the refined flour contains only endosperm.
According to AACCI Experts Committee 1999, the whole grains can be defined as ground,
intact, flaked or cracked caryopsis who have all three components namely endosperm, bran and
germ, in same proportion as that found in intact caryopsis (Healthgrain Forum, 2017).
How the whole grains may/ may not conquer nutritional benefits
Whole grains consist of mainly three elements: The Bran is the outer fibre filled layer having lot
of minerals (iron, magnesium, zinc and copper), antioxidants and vitamins. The Endosperm is
the middle starchy carbohydrate part which consists of vitamins and proteins. The germ is the
core packed with nutrients, healthy fats, phytochemicals, vitamin B and E (Miller & Stanner,
2016). These are health promoting elements. The phytochemicals prevent many types of
diseases. These individual components have different effects on the human body. Fibre and the
bran lowers down the starch break down into glucose therefore keeps a steady rate of Blood
glucose level in the body. The fibers help to remove the body wastage and reduce the cholesterol