It Is Easy to Avoid Bromate (Bad for Us) in Flour, Bread, and Other Baked Goods

Health, Kitchen, , ,

Unbrominated bread flour DSC00651This is unbromated bread flour.

When we saw the word “unbromated” on our bread flour bag,  we decided to check the reason for this effort at labeling.  It turns out that potassium bromate is added to flour in the form of potassium bromate, in order to improve handling properties.   Potassium is a positive, elemental ion that is a sister element of sodium.  This ion is good for us.  Bromate, a negative ion, is made up of four atoms,  three bromine atoms, and one oxygen atom.    Until 40 to 20 years ago compounds containing iodine were added to the dough for the  improved handling purposes.

The problem is, that once the bromate gets into our bodies, the bromine atom displaces the iodine in our metabolic systems, and this reduces our thyroid function, because  our thyroid hormones are inactive when they contain bromine instead of iodine.

We have noticed that some bread flour that we have recently purchased is unbromated.   We had been buying  unbleached white all-purpose flour, but we have switched to unbromated, unbleached bread flour, because that surely is missing the bromine.    Much store bought bread is made with bromated flour.  We are keeping our eye on flour and all baked goods labels, and using unbromated flour to making more of our own bread in a bread machine.

 

 

For more information please check these:

  • Wikipedia: bromine
  • integrativemomdotcom/nutrition/unbromated-flour

 

A Fragment

Esoteric

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This picture is a reproduction of one painted by Sina March, which you can see under Paintings and Poetry at  http://SinaMarch.com.  Some of her colorful  work graces our walls.   A Fragment by Regena Larrabee Seehausen (1964) was the inspiration for this painting and reads:

“Delicate and fragile Is my memory of you As a porcelain teacup Which time withdrew From my still thirsting lips.”

 

 

 

 

 

Garden May Not Get Enough Water

Garden

DSC00546 - Copy

It is now five days after the above garden picture was taken, and there has not been much growth in the last week.  After trying week without special watering, I went out to water this PM, and will water twice a day hereafter.  It may be that my new lead-free planting mix with wood organic matter added to sand does not hold enough water to carry the plants to the end of the day.  If this fails to make  a difference, I will check some other things.  Our radishes should be nearly ready to eat by now.