Nutrition is the key to the wellness of a person. When we talk about it, what comes to mind is food. The most basic of all necessities. Without food, no living creature on earth can exist. It is from this substance that energy to make the body function is derived. One of the staples of humans is bread which is made from flour, a powdered substance milled from cereals. Today, most people prefer to use gluten free flour blend.
Since it walked first on this planet, man has always had to eat in order to survive. It is the basic requirement. Primitive humans got their nutrition from berries, edible plants, and meat from hunted animals. Food production as we know it today still did not exist. Early tribe members were hunters and gatherers, highly dependent on what nature provided them.
It is no means by accident that early civilizations started along the great waterways of the world. The main reason for this is that the soil along the banks is very fertile. As they learned the art cultivation, several types of food producing plants were propagated. Aside from being fertile, water was very accessible and irrigation ditches were easily built.
Almost in step with the development of early agriculture was the domestication of wild animals. Some of the tamed creatures were used as beasts of burden while others were tended to provide milk and meat. This was the beginnings of the livestock industry. Along with agriculture, this provided the increasing population with a viable food source.
The staple food is the main diet of different populations. This is dependent on the culture and the availability of a particular resource in a given region. That is why there is a distinctive differentiation in food preference between and among the various regions of the world. This preference is handed down from generation to generation and has become ingrained in the psyche.
It would not come as a surprise then why bread is the staple of most countries in Europe and in the Americas, America being a cousin of Europe. They rely heavily on wheat. Asian and Oceanic countries prefer cooked rice as rice thrives in that area where rainfall is consistent. In the drylands of Africa, the peoples have main diets of vegetable, fruits, and tapioca.
Be that as is it may, flour is ever present in every nation because bread cannot be baked without it. It is the main ingredient. This comes from cereals like rice, corn, and wheat. This is ground into very fine powder. Root crops and other tubers can also be made into flour. This substance along with other additives are is perfect for making pasta, bread, and pastries.
Most flours, particularly the wheat based ones contain gluten, a protein that makes dough elastic and holds it together. It also helps in maintaining the shape or acts as binder making it a very important quality in food preparation. There are some people whose physiology cannot tolerate this glutinous protein. Somehow the organs have difficulty breaking these down.
There actually is no such thing as gluten free substances. All flour products have gluten on it. The right term for it would probably be less glutinous flour. The term is a just a subtle commercial and marketing name. Yes, it can be substituted but no, it cannot be eliminated. The combination of different flours along with wheat flour which by the way is glutinous is just a blend. It is not pure in itself.
Since it walked first on this planet, man has always had to eat in order to survive. It is the basic requirement. Primitive humans got their nutrition from berries, edible plants, and meat from hunted animals. Food production as we know it today still did not exist. Early tribe members were hunters and gatherers, highly dependent on what nature provided them.
It is no means by accident that early civilizations started along the great waterways of the world. The main reason for this is that the soil along the banks is very fertile. As they learned the art cultivation, several types of food producing plants were propagated. Aside from being fertile, water was very accessible and irrigation ditches were easily built.
Almost in step with the development of early agriculture was the domestication of wild animals. Some of the tamed creatures were used as beasts of burden while others were tended to provide milk and meat. This was the beginnings of the livestock industry. Along with agriculture, this provided the increasing population with a viable food source.
The staple food is the main diet of different populations. This is dependent on the culture and the availability of a particular resource in a given region. That is why there is a distinctive differentiation in food preference between and among the various regions of the world. This preference is handed down from generation to generation and has become ingrained in the psyche.
It would not come as a surprise then why bread is the staple of most countries in Europe and in the Americas, America being a cousin of Europe. They rely heavily on wheat. Asian and Oceanic countries prefer cooked rice as rice thrives in that area where rainfall is consistent. In the drylands of Africa, the peoples have main diets of vegetable, fruits, and tapioca.
Be that as is it may, flour is ever present in every nation because bread cannot be baked without it. It is the main ingredient. This comes from cereals like rice, corn, and wheat. This is ground into very fine powder. Root crops and other tubers can also be made into flour. This substance along with other additives are is perfect for making pasta, bread, and pastries.
Most flours, particularly the wheat based ones contain gluten, a protein that makes dough elastic and holds it together. It also helps in maintaining the shape or acts as binder making it a very important quality in food preparation. There are some people whose physiology cannot tolerate this glutinous protein. Somehow the organs have difficulty breaking these down.
There actually is no such thing as gluten free substances. All flour products have gluten on it. The right term for it would probably be less glutinous flour. The term is a just a subtle commercial and marketing name. Yes, it can be substituted but no, it cannot be eliminated. The combination of different flours along with wheat flour which by the way is glutinous is just a blend. It is not pure in itself.
About the Author:
Vegans will be pleased to find out about gluten free flour blend online. Just click on the link to land on the homepage at http://www.freelyvegan.com/about.
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