Functional foods are those that are prepared not only to take advantage of their nutritional characteristics, but also all those properties that improve health or provide benefits in reducing diseases or directly in our body.
Among functional foods, the existence of alternative flours from different origins has been highlighted for implementation in our diet, taking care of deficits in our body and supplementing necessary requirements.
Note: Its research and application have been very important, to give the appropriate recognition to its potentialities.
In the following article, we will talk about this type of functional food: healthy flours.
What are healthy flours?
Healthy flours could be defined as those flours made up of ingredients that we regularly consume, but not under this processing and which will have a beneficial contribution to our body.
Note: When we refer to flour processing, it is the result of grinding grains, whether cereal, pseudocereal, dried fruit or legume.
The production of this source of flours can also be motivated by the presence of allergenic components in traditional flours and due to the limitation of consumption for certain individuals, these alternatives are born.
Best healthy flours to consume
So, continuing with the description previously made, we are now going to describe the most common and beneficial healthy flours for our consumption.
Oatmeal
Oatmeal has special emphasis in the pastry area. It is one of the most used to replace wheat flour in certain recipes. Oats on their own are a highly nutritious cereal that provides vitamins and minerals, essential fatty acids, carbohydrates, and fiber (1) .
In a research paper on the Effect of substituting wheat flour with oat, corn and sorghum flour , they focus that the need arises from the fact that wheat flour usually has little nutritional quality, especially in essential amino acids, so the integration of this type of flour in the diet would produce an improvement in our daily intake (2) .
coconut flour
Coconut flour is gluten-free, so it is a very beneficial alternative for people who have problems with their tolerance or undergoing a diet that reduces this type of component.
To highlight: Although this flour was initially used by farmers for other purposes (animal feed and fertilizer), knowledge of its benefits opened the door to being considered a functional food suitable for human consumption.
Coconut flour produces almost no allergies in the body, it has a high fiber and protein content, ideal for athletes, vegetarians and people with diabetes (3) .
Important: It is worth mentioning that it is not usually used in pastry preparations due to its absorbent property.
Soybean flour
Soy flour has as its main benefit a number of nutrients that improve and facilitate its digestibility. It is a legume with high protein value, with carbohydrates , vitamins, minerals and fats as an energy source.
To highlight: It has a high adaptability for various applications in the industry and food area, and can be presented completely or comprehensively.
The complete has high values of fat due to the nature of the raw material and is usually subjected to extractions with hexane (organic solvent) to bring it to normal values.
Quinoa flour
Quinoa flour comes from this pseudocereal, which has the ability to provide us with the 8 essential amino acids. This type of flour can be used for sweet and savory recipes, where its main use is as a thickener (4) .
Note: Quinoa has a protein rich in histidine and lysine, which confers a high nutritional value, making it attractive to the food industry.
Flour can be included as an ingredient to supply salads, soups, breads, cookies, drinks with its nutritional contributions. In the research work on Potential uses of quinoa flour in the food industry , more accurately describe applications and benefits of this flour in consumption (5) .
Rice flour
Rice flour provides phosphorus, potassium , iodine , magnesium , vitamins, carbohydrates and fiber, although the latter is in low quantities. It is a gluten-free flour, so the neutral flavor of rice greatly influences the substitution of wheat flour for food preparations focused on people with celiac disease, as well as being highly digestible.
To highlight: It contains a high starch index, around 90%, and the granules are smaller than other types of flour due to the nature of its raw material. It is also used as a thickener.
almond flour
Almond flour , is one of the most commercialized as organic flour, it comes in powder form and its high nutritional quality improves the flavor and composition of the masses, which are normally based on white flour. It is widely used for confectionery.
It is an extraordinary functional food due to its quality and properties, gluten-free and is usually indicated for people suffering from diabetes.
Chickpea flour
The chickpea is a legume that is considered a good source of protein , carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals. It has a high fiber content, which benefits intestinal transit and its folate content is an excellent source of fatty acids for our body.
After grain processing, it is evident in research such as Optimization of a yellow corn, quinoa and chickpea snack , that the flour projects protein values of 19% and dietary fiber of 17.4% (6) .
Cornmeal
Corn flour is a highly commercialized flour but with different destinations. Corn is one of the most important cereals in the world and provides nutrients to the body, which have made it become one of the basic raw materials in the food industry.
To highlight: There are different types of corn flour according to its processing, but this is due to the increase in market globalization and custom developments. Normally the commercialization of these depends on the country where it is produced.
It is quick to cook and its nutritional composition stands out as being free of gluten, starch, vitamins, minerals, fiber, and a caloric intake quite similar to that of wheat flour (330 kcal/100 g).
Rye flour
Rye is a cereal that seems to adapt to any type of soil (7) . The elaborated flour is normally used for bakery areas, in search of the bitter flavor that it usually provides, although in many cases it is also used as an ingredient for sauces, meatballs, etc.
It has among its components a special starch called pentosan, which confers viscosity to masses, since it is semi-soluble in water and forms a gel. In addition to that, among its nutritional components it provides fibers, vitamins and minerals.
Buckwheat flour
Buckwheat is a pseudocereal also known as buckwheat. It contains high quality protein and presents all the essential amino acids such as quinoa. It also has high levels of carbohydrates, fiber and fatty acids such as omega 6 (8) .
To highlight: The flour is used above all in bakery and confectionery areas, mixed in different percentages with bread-making flours since it is gluten-free.
Regulates intestinal transit, regulates the slow absorption of sugars, stimulates the nervous system and is a great contribution to the diet based on its nutritional components.
Spelt flour
Spelled is considered an ancient cereal, but very little known. It has a higher nutritional value than wheat, since it has not undergone as many genetic modifications as it has not been manipulated for the satisfaction of consumers.
Note: It provides incredible nutritional value, among which its proteins with the highest biological quality, soluble fibers, minerals and vitamins stand out.
It is also worth mentioning that although it contains gluten, it is better digestible than common wheat, making it the perfect ally for making products with spelled flour.
lentil flour
Lentils are a legume that is easily accessible and highly beneficial for consumption. It is high in protein and low in fat. The low consumption of this type of grains was one of the reasons why the motivation to develop functional foods with these high-potential products was found.
It is a food with a high index of vitamins and minerals, which becomes a very versatile resource for the preparation of foods such as tortillas and meat supplements.
Note: It is gluten-free and during its processing it maintains all the nutritional benefits that the grain provides on its own.
Benefits of healthy flours
Among all these previously described flours, we understand that within their functionalities there are benefits for our health and it is for the same reason that they are considered functional foods and healthy flours.
Then, we will describe the main advantages of consuming these versatile flours.
Facilitate the digestive process
As we have mentioned, there are flours such as quinoa, chickpeas and rye that, due to their high content of dietary fiber, favor the digestive process, facilitating the movement of the tract and even reducing the time of the digestion process.
They contain higher nutritional levels
The great feasibility of all these healthy flours is the implementation of nutritious and versatile foods to the diet.
We are used to a standardized diet that we have, but knowing and appreciating all the advantages that these products have will allow us to include them in daily life to take advantage of all their benefits.
Reduce cholesterol and triglycerides
The low levels of fat, its fatty acids and its caloric intake intervene in our body to reduce cholesterol and triglyceride values and even prevent them from pronouncing.
Regulate blood sugar
One of the greatest benefits, clinging to the nature of the raw materials of healthy flours, is its low glycemic index, since this contributes to the control of blood glucose and therefore helps prevent diseases such as diabetes and obesity. .
Contribute to maintaining a healthy weight
Its low levels of fat and carbohydrate components reduce the existing risk of developing obesity with the constant consumption of flour.
Of course, nothing in excess is healthy, but at least they present an alternative with a significant protein content, thanks to which we present a healthy variability to our diet.
Key takeaways
- Functional foods are those that are prepared not only to take advantage of their nutritional characteristics, but also all those properties that improve health or provide benefits in reducing diseases or directly in our body.
- Within functional foods, we find alternative flours from different origins for implementation in our diet, taking care of deficits in our body and supplementing necessary requirements.
- Healthy flours are those made up of ingredients that we regularly consume, but without being so processed and which will have a beneficial contribution to our body. When we refer to flour processing, it is the result of grinding the grains, be it cereal, pseudocereal, etc.
- Among the healthiest flours to consume we get almond flour, oatmeal, both widely used for pastries. We also find quinoa flour, which can be used in sweet or savory recipes. In the same way we find rice flour, chickpea, rye, corn, coconut, among others.
- Consuming these healthy flours brings with it multiple benefits for our body, among them, they facilitate the digestive process, reduce cholesterol and triglycerides, regulate blood sugar levels, help maintain a healthy weight and also provide us with many nutrients.
University Professional in the area of Human Resources, Postgraduate in Occupational Health and Hygiene of the Work Environment, 14 years of experience in the area of health. Interested in topics of Psychology, Occupational Health, and General Medicine.