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Medical Video: Gluten-Free Flour Alternatives
When in the market or supermarket, you will be faced with various types of flour. Currently there are various types of flour available for cooking. Ranging from flour, rice flour, to starch. Have you ever wondered, of all kinds of flour, which are the healthiest for you and your family? So you can choose wiser, see the information below.
Wheat flour
This type of flour is most often found because of its versatility. Wheat flour is made from wheat seeds which are ground until the texture is smooth. The color of flour is usually pure white. Because it is made from wheat, wheat flour is rich in carbohydrates, fiber, vitamins and minerals. However, for those of you who are allergic to gluten (a type of protein contained in wheat) you should avoid wheat flour. Because, this type of flour contains a lot of gluten when compared with other flour.
Wheat flour
Wheat flour (whole wheat flour) is the type of flour that most closely resembles flour. Both are made from ground wheat. The difference between these two types of flour is the part of wheat that is processed. Wheat flour is made only from wheat meat (part of the endosperm) that has been cleaned from the epidermis and the essence of wheat. Meanwhile, wheat flour is made from all parts of whole wheat (whole wheat) starting from the skin, endosperm, and essence.
Because it is made from all parts of wheat, nutrients and properties of wheat flour are richer than wheat flour. You will find lots of fiber, vitamins, minerals, calcium, and protein in this type of flour. However, the texture feels coarser and the color is more brown than wheat flour.
Although wheat flour is healthier than wheat flour, you who have a gluten allergy are still not advised to consume wheat flour. This type of flour is not gluten free. However, indeed the gluten content is less because the nutrition of wheat flour is more dense than wheat flour.
Rice flour
If wheat flour and wheat flour are made from wheat seeds, rice flour is made from ground rice. This type of flour, also known as sticky rice flour, can be an alternative for those of you who are allergic to gluten or have Celiac disease. Because the rice flour is a gluten load.
However, because it is made from rice, this flour contains more calories than wheat-based flour. In a cup of caloric rice flour reaches 578. While wheat flour only contains 400 calories. Although the calories are higher, the fat content of rice flour remains low, similar to other types of flour.
When compared with wheat flour and wheat flour, rice flour is lower in fiber, vitamin, protein, and mineral content. Rice flour is superior in carbohydrate content. Carbohydrates are a good source of energy. However, eating too much carbohydrates can have a negative impact on your blood sugar levels.
Starch
There are many names for starch in Indonesia. Some of them are tapioca flour and aci. Starch is made from cassava starch and tastes rather sweet. Just like rice flour, this type of flour is gluten free.
Compared to rice flour, starch contains fewer carbohydrates and calories. A cup of rice flour contains 400 calories or the equivalent of wheat flour. The carbohydrate content is also quite low, which is around 100 grams a cup while rice flour contains 127 grams of carbohirate a cup.
You might be tempted to choose starch instead of rice flour. However, to remember is the nature of starch which is very strong to bind water and other substances. Starch will make the dough very sticky and thick. While rice flour will only soften and condense the mixture. So, besides considering the nutritional content, you also need to choose the type of flour that suits your cooking needs.
