Is White Flour Bad For You? Should We Be Eating Less Carbs? (Updated 09/23)

Is white flour bad for you? If you consume a lot and eat it frequently it is very bad for you! The question is how much is too much? And what are the dangers of overconsumption? I will go over all those things including how to consume less. Plus, some misconceptions regarding carbohydrates.

Why is White Flour (Wheat) Bad for You?

White flour also referred to as simple carbohydrates, complex carbohydrates, refined carbohydrates, and processed carbohydrates, has no real nutritional value. There are no vitamins, minerals, or even healthy fats, just like a lot of processed foods.

When refined white flour is created, the people who make it actually remove the nutrients (bran and germ) in order to expand its shelf life. Back in the 1800s, it was eaten with all the nutrients still in-tact. But that’s no longer the case. However, the body needs nutrients to metabolize food. To make matters worse, many man-made chemicals are added to bread and other wheat products. So along with wheat products not providing any nutrients, they can actually take away nutrients from the body.

Dangers of White Flour

Too much white flour can lead to inflammation (the cause of most modern illnesses), weaken your immune system, and might just cause you to develop a sensitivity to it, as well. You are also more likely to gain weight, struggle with blood sugar (diabetes), cardiovascular disease, or even develop cancer. The link between sugar and processed carbs leading to cancer was just another thing the sugar industry covered up for many years. View a research study on that here.

As I mentioned in my previous content, we were tricked for 50 years by the sugar industry into thinking sugar wasn’t so bad and fat was a problem. And because of that, low-fat foods became popular in the 1970s. This led people to not only over-consume sugar but also refined white flour products.

You can make your own gluten-free bread from scratch!

The Gluten-Free Bread Machine Cookbook: 175 Recipes for Splendid Breads and Delicious Dishes to Make with Them This is packed with lots of great information, and it is easy to follow. Just note: this is not a Paleo cookbook, so be sure to pay attention to how much sugar goes into each recipe.

Too Much Wheat – Could Lead to a Sensitivity! 

Not only can you develop a wheat sensitivity from consuming too much of it, but you can also develop a gluten sensitivity since gluten is found in all wheat products. What is gluten? a group of proteins creating the elastic texture in wheat, barley, rye, spelt, and kamut. Gluten sensitivities are more common today than ever before probably due to food being genetically modified.

Your body has a hard time digesting wheat, so eating a lot of it could upset your gut and lead to a food sensitivity. This is even more likely if you eat a lot of processed foods. Our bodies are hard workers, but they have never been equipped to handle digesting a lot of processed foods and chemicals. Due to all the health hazards of consuming a lot of wheat, plus the growing popularity of gluten sensitivities, I think consuming less is a really good idea!

So Eat More Whole Grain Flour. Correct?

Nope, you will still obtain very few nutrients because only a small amount is added back in. You are still eating a highly processed food. It has a higher glycemic index than foods like quinoa. Which makes it easier to spike blood sugar levels. You will find many sites that promote “whole grain” foods, and whole-grain foods are a bit better. But, whole grain flour products are actually not that healthy. Yes, they are still slightly better for you than white flour though. Here are 10 Ways Refined Flour Can Damage Your Health.

This is the best book for explaining how wheat and whole grains are harmful to your health backed by nutritional and scientific research. Plus, advice on how to make changes. Wheat Belly (Revised and Expanded Edition)

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Understandably Consuming Less White Flour is Not Easy!

It can be super easy to over-consume white flour if you love baked goods, pasta, pizza, bread, cereals, fried foods, and so on… However, it is not even just the white flour that is bad for you with many of these foods, they often contain lots of artificial ingredients, sugars, and highly processed oils.

I don’t know about you, but I love bread dipped in olive oil, a delicious cheesy pizza, and pasta (especially mac and cheese) it has been my favorite food for a long time. So I’m not going to tell you we have to give up these things completely, just eat a lot less of them.

Breakfast in America is More Like Dessert

One mealtime you should really be careful of your sugar/wheat intake is breakfast.  If you drink a glass of orange juice in the morning and have some pancakes or waffles (refined flour) topped with syrup, you have just consumed sugar, sugar, and more sugar. A bowl of cereal with cow milk can also be sugar and more sugar.

These taste amazing and are easy to make! Simple Mills Almond Flour Baking Mix, Gluten Free Pumpkin Bread Mix, Muffin pan ready, Made with whole foods, 3 Count

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So How Much is TOO MUCH?

I can say for a fact if you are consuming refined carbohydrates (flour) for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, you are eating too much. If every breakfast you have in the morning uses refined flour – it’s too much. If every dinner you eat a week has refined flour, you are probably eating too much. The same goes for your lunches. Don’t even feel bad about that. The food marketing companies have done an amazing job of making us absolutely love flour! I love it too, but illness just isn’t worth it.

So, what is reasonable? I can’t necessarily answer that for you. My goal used to be no more than 0-3 refined flour items a week. I would plan no more than one meal a week with refined carbohydrates, have maybe one snack, and maybe consume one meal with refined carbohydrates when going out to eat. A nutritionist told me to look at all sugar foods/drinks plus refined carbohydrates as treats and to eat no more than three treats a day. Your body processes refined carbohydrates the same way it does sugar. So you should treat it with the same caution I advised in my blog post Sugar Pains? The Bitter Truth About Sugar and consider the Sugar Guidelines I outlined in my other blog.

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Here are My Tips to Reduce Your Flour (Sugar)  Consumption

Breakfast ideas: Forget the toast or try sprouted bread. Enjoy some healthier carbs such as sweet potatoes, wheat-free or even grain-free baked goods, bananas, plain Greek yogurt with very little sugar. You can also consume fruits high in carbs such as oranges, apples, mangoes, and blueberries. Also, for consuming protein, eggs are one of the healthiest breakfast foods you can consume (if you are not sensitive to them). Check out my blog: Over 30+ Gluten and Dairy Free Breakfast Ideas (& Sugar-Free)

NOTE: Starting the day out with some form of protein is recommended by health professionals. Having protein in the morning gives you energy, helps prevent overeating, and decreases sugar cravings in the afternoon.

Enjoy pasta? Try making zucchini noodles instead, using spaghetti squash, rice, quinoa, or other pasta mixes. They make great alternatives. Just know that gluten-free pasta is often made from corn. Corn is usually genetically modified and many people are becoming sensitive to it. Corn is surprisingly added to a lot of foods in the form of corn starch or corn syrup. Learn more about the overconsumption of corn and the dangers of GMOs here: What Does Non-GMO Mean? Are GMOs Safe?

Create zucchini noodles easily with this spiralizer. Plus, recipe ideas. Many popular pasta recipes can also work with zucchini noodles. I have at least 5 zucchini noodle recipes I enjoy. Original SpiraLife Spiralizer Vegetable Slicer

Are you all about the pizza? You can make your own pizza with Bob’s Red Mill Pizza Crust (we have used this plenty of times – it is surprisingly good) or you can even make a cauliflower crust pizza.

Do you love Mexican? Umm who doesn’t!? This is a bit of a struggle, corn is not a great replacement for eating less flour, so try bean chips or cassava tortillas/cassava chips. You can also try Mexican rice dishes or taco salads.

What about recipes that require flour (such as soups, meat patties, and so on)? You can use Bob’s Red Mill All-Purpose Gluten-Free Flour. I literally don’t taste the difference, and the ingredients are pretty decent.

Are you a baker? I love to bake, and I have had amazing results from using Bob’s Red Mill All-Purpose Gluten-Free Flour as a replacement in recipes. But I usually look for paleo recipes to avoid recipes high in sugar. I have found some great recipes on Pinterest by searching for “paleo recipes.” Check out my Pinterest for some recipes I’ve made and loved.

There are actually a ton of gluten free flour options! Since it is expensive to have 5 different types of flours I typically just look for cookie and other recipes that use Almond flour. I’m a fan of almond flour so I have Pinterest board devoted just to those recipes. For more information view: Ask the RD: What’s the Healthiest Gluten-Free Flour?

There are also many bakeries now that have gluten-free options. But be careful the replacement ingredients are not always better for you.

Bob’s Red Mill is a great replacement flour in most recipes when cooking or baking. When baking – make sure to set the timer to go off a bit earlier, the cooking time may be less or more. Note: It won’t work well for pizzas and bread without adding something else. Bob’s Red Mill, Gluten Free All Purpose Flour, 1.37 lb

This flour will work better for pizzas, bread, and anything else you might want to make. Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour, 22-ounce

What About Going out to Eat?

There are many restaurants that now offer gluten-free menus, but they are not always healthier. ALSO, I get the whole wanting to go out to eat and not worrying so much about every ingredient in your food! I hate having strict dietary restrictions, it is super annoying. So my thought for you then is don’t order an appetizer with bread, pasta, a beer, and top it off with some cake! (all made from gluten/flour). In addition, make sure you have protein and vegetables too. Many restaurants will load you up on carbohydrates. But I think it is worth it to spend a bit more on a salad or to add protein to a pasta dish. Eating a well-rounded meal will help you digest your food better. It also helps with preventing feelings of fatigue, achy stomach, or other body pains later in the day.

My point of view on eating out is that if I eat super well when I cook at home, I can afford to eat some unhealthy stuff once in a while when I go out to eat. However, there are many fast-food places and restaurants with food so heavily processed, I won’t eat at them no matter what!

My best advice is to just try to eat a few less refined carbohydrate meals each week. Slowly as you make changes you won’t miss them as much. I used to have refined carbohydrates in more than half my recipes at one point. I don’t miss it. But the change wasn’t easy. I didn’t make the change to 0-1 recipes a week right away, not even close!

This book has easy, delicious recipes, plus guidance on meal plans to possibly help with some specific health conditions. Everything you need to know as a beginner to eating paleo recipes. This book is written by a Certified Clinical Nutritionist. Practical Paleo, 2nd Edition (Updated and Expanded): A Customized Approach to Health and a Whole-Foods Lifestyle

Here is a great book for eating gluten-free. Bakerita: 100+ No-Fuss Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free, and Refined Sugar-Free Recipes for the Modern Baker It has delicious recipes, plus detailed information on the different ingredients that are gluten-free, dairy-free, or refined-sugar free.

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You Do Need Carbs!

You have probably heard of people chatting about low-carb diets. Some people say “carbs are bad for you, they are the reason you gain weight and you need to eat less of them.” But this is actually inaccurate. You should eat proteins, fats, and carbohydrates with every meal. They should just be healthy carbs, not a lot of wheat products. I fell into this trap too. I thought low-carb was the way to eat.

DISCLAIMER: Of course, if your doctor recommends a special diet (low-carb or something else) for your health, listen to your doctor’s advice.

Carbohydrates are great for providing energy, and that is something our body does need! They provide glucose which help when you breathe, think, and are active. 

Good Replacements for Refined Carbohydrates

Some healthier carbohydrates include quinoa, potatoes, bananas, brown rice, yucca, legumes, oatmeal, and buckwheat. There are also many vegetables and fruits high in carbohydrates you can eat instead including sweet potatoes, peas, squash, beets, oranges, blueberries, apples, mangos, dates, and goji berries.

VERY IMPORTANT TO NOTE: When talking to a naturopathic practitioner and certified herbalist Kristine Stein about grains, I was told you should limit grains in general. Try to get most of your carbohydrates from vegetables. Grains in general turn into sugar in the body. Just 1/4 cup of oats convert to 30 grams of sugar in the body. The higher the sugar conversion the higher the potential for health issues.

Eat a Variety of Carbohydrates

You never really want to stick to one type of carbohydrate. Just like you shouldn’t eat too much flour, you shouldn’t eat sweet potatoes or quinoa with every meal or every day. Nutritionists advise you to vary up what you are eating to get a variety of nutrients and vitamins.

You can make pizza crust, breadsticks, and even cookies with this mix! Pamela’s Products Amazing Gluten-free Bread Mix, 4-Pound Bag

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