Maida or Rfined Flour

Maida or Refined flour is a very close member of our ingredients used in kitchen. Mostly of us use Refined flour to most of the foods as it gives a better texture to the product. But my question is, Is It worth eating any food which will give your food a better texture but at the same time it is harmful for your body? For me texture is secondary and what comes first is my health.

What will happen if you add Maida flour to your diet everyday? Results of using it in your diet is not sudden. Maida Flour has various side effects  and disadvantages. Using it over a long period of time will have its consequence on out body system. It is a refined wheat flour from which fiber is been eliminated. No only this, It is further bleached with benzoyl peroxide, which gives flour a pure white color and smooth texture. Benzoyl peroxide is banned in China and the European Union still it is been used by other countries.

Maida is a slow poison. First direct effect of maida is that it spikes up your sugar levels because it has very high glycemic index. To match up with the sugar spike, pancreas has to over work to release insulin in sufficient quantity to match up with sugar. Once in a while pancreas can manage but if you are using maida frequently then the insulin production will gradually reduce, finally making you a diabetic.

When blood sugar spikes, glucose builds up in the blood like so many standby passengers on a flight. When glucose loiters in the blood, it gets into trouble by attaching itself to nearby proteins. The result is a chemical reaction called glycation, a pro-inflammatory process that plays a role in a host of inflammatory diseases from cataracts to arthritis to heart disease.

Refined Flour / Maida is very bad for our Health

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Disadvantages of Consuming Maida Flour

High intake of maida product will also add on to your body weight and you will soon progress toward obesity. One of the biggest changes in modern wheat is that it contains a modified form of Gliadin, a protein found in wheat gluten. Gliadin unleashes a feel-good effect in the brain by morphing into a substance that crosses the blood-brain barrier and binds onto the brain’s opiate receptors.

“Gliadin is a very mind-active compound that increases people’s appetites,” says Davis. “People on average eat 400 more calories a day when eating wheat, thanks to the appetite stimulating effects of gliadin.” When there is high inatke of maida is your diet there are usually high levels of cholesterol and triglycerides found in the blood.

You may also like to read: Brown Bread vs White Bread – Which one is better?

When you eat foods with high glycemic index, they tend to spike up your sugar level. Insulin will take up the sugar which is required by the body. Excess of the sugar will be stored in body as a form of body fat. So high refined flour will give you high percent of body fat. If you already have high body fat and you want to get rid of that fat, first thing to do is remove maida from your diet completely along with other high glycemic food.

Apart from all these acute problems, it also affects your gut health. Maida being low in fiber it reduces the gut mobility. Fiber is very important as it helps to sweep the gut and supports for elimination and detoxification processes which will further help to keep cholesterol and inflammation away.

Foods / Snacks made from Maida Flour

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Gluten in a main culprit of the food allergies or intolerances. Wheat is said to be the commonest and biggest dietary trigger for food allergies and intolerances. Reason for allergies is still unclear but many experts have point out that higher gluten content of modern wheat are to be blamed. A type of protein found in many grains, including wheat, gluten gives dough elasticity, trapping air bubbles and creating a soft texture. Because soft is considered desirable, wheat today is bred to have more gluten than ever before.

It is very important to have balance of acid-alkaline medium in the body. The body has an elaborate system of checks and balances to keep its pH level at a steady 7.4. A diet high in acidic foods, such as grains, forces the body to pull calcium from the bones to keep things on an even keel. When researchers looked at how the diets of more than 500 women affected their bone density, they found that a diet high in refined grains, among other nutrient-poor foods, was linked to bone loss.

A highly acidic diet also chips away at our cellular vitality and immunity in ways that can make us vulnerable to chronic disease. “Grains are the only plant foods that generate acidic byproducts. Wheat, in particular, is among the most potent sources of sulfuric acid, a powerful substance that quickly overcomes the neutralizing effects of alkaline bases.

Refined flour will also lead to peptic ulcer and gall bladder disease. Refining of wheat removes high amount of good quality protein in the process. Protein buffers the hydrocholric acid secreted by the stomach, and tends to protects the stomach from being ulcerated by the acid produced. Diet low in fiber and high in sugar will impair and interfere in the regulation of bile and cholesterol. Gallstones formed from cholesterol are common in people on refined diet.

From em it’s a big NO for refined flour. I always suggest people to combine as many flour as possible and include in their diet. Wheat to be frequently replace by Jowar, Bajra ( Not for Hypothyroid patients), Ragi (Nachni), Rice. More the variety of food you add to your diet more nutritional benefits you can avail.

Multigrains to make multigrain aata

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Refined carbohydrates are cause of many diseases like diabetes, blood pressure, obesity, Coronary heart disease, colon cancer, ulcers etc. If out of option if you have to eat any of the maida product or refined food always accompany it with roughage like salads, sprouts, fruits. Maida is predominantly present in all bakery products right from traditional items like Khari, Toast, Butter, Pav and also in packaged foods like breads, biscuits, pastries, cakes, pizzas, pastas, burgers etc. Refined flour is also a part of ready to eat soups available in market. So it is very important to make a healthy food choice by reading the ingredient list.