white flour

Question
Laura
I am 55. I tend to get a bit bloated after eating anything made with white flour.
This led me to think I had gluten intolerance or celiac, but when I had my last medical I tested negative for this. I dont have the diarhea or the other major symptoms,just the bloating and discomfort.
I seem to be OK with whole wheat bread, bran flakes etc., so maybe its not gluten intolerance.
Today I had a biscuit and the bloating and discomfort returned in under an hour.
Maybe its just the flour?

Answer
Please accept my apologies for taking the maximum time to answer. Circumstances prevented otherwise.

Many people truly do not realize the degree to which food, especially processed food, can affect how we feel.  As we get older, many tend to eat less food. This means that we are able to more clearly see the affects and, most often, do not like them. In fact, if a person were to fast for a period of time, then introduce foods that typically cause symptoms of discomfort, he or she would be surprised at just how many foods cause symptoms.  He or she might even recognize some of the affects that earlier were attributed to things such as hormones or age rather than the likely culprit; food. Having said that, I am neither promoting nor advocating fasting for you.

As for flour, my answer is a resounding yes. If you are able to find a connection and see that the majority of the time there is a physical response, then you have likely hit the mark. White flour has high sugar content. For this reason, the yeast and the sugar actually can ferment in the system causing bloating. If you are eating those products with other sugary foods, that increases.

In addition, think of the way it is made. They strip the grain of all nutrients and bleach it. This leaves nothing of value except the bleached flour that when mixed with water makes a glue-like substance. Then, they add back in what they feel are our nutritional requirements by the process of enrichment. In fact, they add back in only about a fourth of what they take out. Sure, it tastes good. However, if a person is health conscious, he or she will likely be left trying to figure out what the point is to eating it. What you are left with is bran-less, germ-less, gooey substance laced with all of the chemicals used to strip and bleach the grain. The body will certainly have an adverse response. Some have bloating, while some have fatigue from the blood sugar reactions from such useless food.

In summary, continue being a food detective and noticing your responses to the foods that are commercialized and processed. You will see that your health and vitality thanks you for it. I have a processed food webinar, among others, that I am creating to be available early 2011. If you would like to be on the mailing list, please feel free to go to www.mycoachlaura.com and take the Free Food Fitness Test to get on my list.  It only takes a few minutes and you'll be happy with the summary results its gives.

I want to thank you in advance for taking the time to rate my answer.

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