We love our kids a lot and show of this affection mostly demonstrates at bakeries. Our children can’t resist buying donuts whenever we take them out. They order the delivery of their favorite brownies or pizzas whenever they want to taste something yummy but this excessive show of love in form of food made of refined flour or maida followed by the dull grades of our children in school exams. You know WHY?
In older times people used hand mills to crush wheat grains to attain whole wheat flour (Chakki ka aata) to make daily purpose bread. Those people had longer lives and healthier lifestyles. They neither prey to hunger pangs nor did their children fussed them every second to ask for food. We never heard of Diabetes, cholesterol or blood pressure termite like diseases just a few centuries back. The time switched from hand mills to electrical machines and men by innovative and foodie by nature looked for new tastes. Food started to get refined, more refined or sieved or leftover items came out from whole grain flour.
Electrical mills grind the wheat bran and humans came up with flavorsome leftover from the wheat without any nutrients and fibers. It is called white flour or maida in Pakistan and India and cake flour in America and Europe. During the process of making maida or refined flour, all vitamins and nutrients are lost. They have many harmful effects on the human body. Some harmful effects of the use of maida and refined flour are:
We have observed the children that more rely on bakery items, biscuits or pizzas complain feeling hungry all the time. Maida and refined flours don’t have any dietary fibers which are needed for proper digestion of food. Maida slows down the digestion, congest the system as it sticks to intestines and children don’t get enough energy from their food. They start feeling hungry after short. Contrary to the children that eat only one roti or bread cooked of whole wheat flour can resist their hunger longer. One important note: Vitamins can be added to flour as many companies of refined flour claim but dietary fiber cannot be added later which is necessary for proper digestion.
It is proved that the children who eat food made of maida have severe mood swings. A happy stomach, an energized mind, and an active body lead towards a joyful mood. As excessive use of food made of refined flour or maida doesn’t provide enough vitamins, protein or essential nutrients to our kids so kids remain annoyed and irritated whereas the children take homemade food made remain happier.
Ah! Burger deals, who can resist them and cherry on the top if it is available with a big glass of coke. These appetizing deals dump a quantity of maida in your and your kid's body which got stick to the intestine and took it longer to digest and add in fat in the body. It caused overweight or obesity, blood pressure problems in children from a younger age which direct them to lazy and sluggish lifestyle.
The B vitamins in any food are well known to improve energy, alertness, and focus of the brain. Whole wheat flour is enriched with iron, thiamin, calcium and B vitamins which are unfortunately lost while processing the maida. The children who rely more on food made of maida left behind because of a lack of focus and concentration in studies.
Ok, you can overlook all the above harms by using maida as you also love to use maida in baking at home because of its white softer and creamy texture. You deliberately make cakes and parathas from maida. May you don’t know that maida is processed than it is bleached with Benzoic peroxide (a bleach which is used in cloth mills to get pure white color) to get a whiter texture-out of refined flour. The material again mixed with Alloxan to turn the maida softer and creamy. The use of maida in your daily food means to swallow harmful chemicals in your stomach.
If you compare the market price than maida and refined flour is available less than half price of whole wheat flour. That why people tend to buy it more. Even they know that this core food of their life doesn’t have any nutrition. They overlook the long term health hazards from consistently using refined flour or maida.
In older times people used hand mills to crush wheat grains to attain whole wheat flour (Chakki ka aata) to make daily purpose bread. Those people had longer lives and healthier lifestyles. They neither prey to hunger pangs nor did their children fussed them every second to ask for food. We never heard of Diabetes, cholesterol or blood pressure termite like diseases just a few centuries back. The time switched from hand mills to electrical machines and men by innovative and foodie by nature looked for new tastes. Food started to get refined, more refined or sieved or leftover items came out from whole grain flour.
Electrical mills grind the wheat bran and humans came up with flavorsome leftover from the wheat without any nutrients and fibers. It is called white flour or maida in Pakistan and India and cake flour in America and Europe. During the process of making maida or refined flour, all vitamins and nutrients are lost. They have many harmful effects on the human body. Some harmful effects of the use of maida and refined flour are:
- INCREASE HUNGER PANGS
We have observed the children that more rely on bakery items, biscuits or pizzas complain feeling hungry all the time. Maida and refined flours don’t have any dietary fibers which are needed for proper digestion of food. Maida slows down the digestion, congest the system as it sticks to intestines and children don’t get enough energy from their food. They start feeling hungry after short. Contrary to the children that eat only one roti or bread cooked of whole wheat flour can resist their hunger longer. One important note: Vitamins can be added to flour as many companies of refined flour claim but dietary fiber cannot be added later which is necessary for proper digestion.
- MOOD SWINGS
It is proved that the children who eat food made of maida have severe mood swings. A happy stomach, an energized mind, and an active body lead towards a joyful mood. As excessive use of food made of refined flour or maida doesn’t provide enough vitamins, protein or essential nutrients to our kids so kids remain annoyed and irritated whereas the children take homemade food made remain happier.
- OBESITY
Ah! Burger deals, who can resist them and cherry on the top if it is available with a big glass of coke. These appetizing deals dump a quantity of maida in your and your kid's body which got stick to the intestine and took it longer to digest and add in fat in the body. It caused overweight or obesity, blood pressure problems in children from a younger age which direct them to lazy and sluggish lifestyle.
- NULL SCHOOL GRADES
The B vitamins in any food are well known to improve energy, alertness, and focus of the brain. Whole wheat flour is enriched with iron, thiamin, calcium and B vitamins which are unfortunately lost while processing the maida. The children who rely more on food made of maida left behind because of a lack of focus and concentration in studies.
- HARMFUL BLEACH ITEMS
Ok, you can overlook all the above harms by using maida as you also love to use maida in baking at home because of its white softer and creamy texture. You deliberately make cakes and parathas from maida. May you don’t know that maida is processed than it is bleached with Benzoic peroxide (a bleach which is used in cloth mills to get pure white color) to get a whiter texture-out of refined flour. The material again mixed with Alloxan to turn the maida softer and creamy. The use of maida in your daily food means to swallow harmful chemicals in your stomach.
WHY DO PEOPLE USE REFINED FLOUR EVEN THEY KNOW MAIDA OR REFINED FLOUR IS HARMFUL
MAIDA OR REFINED FLOUR IS CHEAPER
If you compare the market price than maida and refined flour is available less than half price of whole wheat flour. That why people tend to buy it more. Even they know that this core food of their life doesn’t have any nutrition. They overlook the long term health hazards from consistently using refined flour or maida.
SHOULD WE STOP GIVING BAKERY ITEMS TO OUR KIDS
Not at all, you should provide your kids with their favorite food on and off but:- Try to reduce excessive use of bakery items.
- Always buy whole grain flour instead of refined flour for daily use
- You must add half wheat flour in refined flour or maida if you don’t like the taste or want to save money
- Avoid buying too much pasta and white bread for daily use
- Switch your grocery list from refined flour to whole wheat flour and get rid of maida slightly.