Benefits of Freshly Milled Bread
This week, I began feeling the benefits of freshly milled bread. My husband surprised me with a grain mill — something that’s been on my wishlist for years. When I first added it to my list, I thought it would just give us yummier flour. I had no idea how much it would change our health!
The same week I decided to ask God for specific healing in my life, I discovered something interesting. I came across an interview with Sue Becker on my favorite podcast, Farmhouse on Boone. Sue’s insights about bread left me inspired and fired up! Could bread really have healing properties? I’m not sure, but from what I’m learning, it certainly seems possible!
Can Freshly Milled Bread Bring Healing?
We’re just one week into our freshly milled bread journey, and already, the changes have been amazing. Here are some benefits of freshly milled bread we’ve seen already: My daughters, who had multiple warts on their elbows, are now wart-free. We can eat bread with every meal without experiencing the usual headaches, bloating, or swelling. And everyone in our house is regular (if you know what I mean!).
The things I’ve asked God to heal are bigger deals than the list above. However, I can’t help but notice the timing of it all. Whole grains can be stored for an incredibly long time, but once you mill them into flour, the nutrients are exposed to air and begin to oxidize. Serious consequences came when we began processing flour differently, I’m thankful God brought this information right now!
The Destruction of Freshly Milled Flour: the Simplest Health Food.
Here’s the thing: the flour we buy from the grocery store is a byproduct of a milling process. This process separates the nutrient-rich parts of the grain away. Whole grains are ground in a stone mill, then sifted to remove the bran, germ, and oil.
Before the 1900s, most bread was baked at home. People either milled their own grain or took it to the local miller. Bread made from freshly milled flour was a regular part of people’s lives. Whole grains can store for an incredibly long time, but once you mill them into flour, the milling process exposes the nutrients to air This causes oxidation. Once this happens, the flour loses nutritional value and begins to spoil.
In the late 1800s, someone discovered that if you remove the bran and germ (which contain the oils), leaving only the starchy endosperm, the flour wouldn’t spoil as quickly. The endosperm consists only of gluten and protein. This discovery led to the invention of massive stone mills that crushed the grain, separated the endosperm, and produced the long-lasting white flour we know today. This shift resulted in the decline of local milling businesses, and mass production of white flour took over.
White Flour: Convenient, But Was It Worth It?
The rise of white flour was about convenience — but at a serious cost to our health. Health officials began noticing the rise of three major diseases:
- Beri-Beri (a deficiency in vitamin B1)
- Pellagra (caused by a lack of niacin, or B3, leading to skin sores, GI disturbances, dementia, and mental instability)
- Anemia (from missing essential nutrients)
There were 30,000 cases of Pellagra in the U.S. in just the first year. Health officials quickly traced the cause to the missing nutrients in white flour. They asked millers to start adding back the missing nutrients, but the millers, who were profiting by selling the bran and germ as animal feed, didn’t want to comply. Eventually, lawmakers passed laws that required millers to ‘enrich’ their flour by adding four synthetic nutrients: three B vitamins and synthetic iron.
Although this “enrichment” helped reduce some of the diseases, we’re still dealing with the effects of this nutritional gap today, though often under different names. They added folic acid to combat birth defects, but it’s a synthetic form of folate, which people with the MTHFR gene may have difficulty processing. Interestingly, they added just five nutrients back into the flour, but the whole grain actually contains 40 essential nutrients. Think of all we are missing by not milling our own flour! I have som serious FOMO and Momma aint gonna keep 55 nutrients away for her kids when she knows how to get them!
The Missing Nutrients — and The Benefits of Freshly Milled Bread
Freshly milled flour packs nutrients that support our health in ways we’ve long missed.
Below is a list of 40 key nutrients found in freshly milled flour:
Macronutrients
1. Carbohydrates (complex)
2. Protein
3. Fiber
4. Healthy Fats
Vitamins
5. Vitamin E
6. Vitamin K
7. Thiamin (B1)
8. Riboflavin (B2)
9. Niacin (B3)
10. Pantothenic Acid (B5)
11. Pyridoxine (B6)
12. Folate (B9)
13. Choline
Minerals
14. Iron
15. Zinc
16. Magnesium
17. Potassium
18. Phosphorus
19. Manganese
20. Selenium
21. Copper
22. Calcium
23. Sodium
24. Chromium
Antioxidants and Phytochemicals
25. Ferulic Acid
26. Lignans
27. Phenolic Acids
28. Carotenoids
29. Tocopherols
30. Tocotrienols
Essential Amino Acids (from Protein)
31. Lysine
32. Methionine
33. Leucine
34. Isoleucine
35. Valine
36. Phenylalanine
37. Threonine
38. Tryptophan
39. Histidine
Additional Compounds
40. Beta-Glucans (a type of soluble fiber that supports heart health)
If you’ve been wondering about the benefits of freshly milled bread or you want to taste the difference yourself, pre-order some from us. as we prep for our Farm Stand! We’re here to share the wholesome goodness of freshly milled bread with you — and we can’t wait to see how it impacts your health and well-being. I’m excited to continue this journey, and I encourage you to explore it, too. Have you tried freshly milled flour? I’d love to hear about your experiences and any health benefits you’ve noticed!
