Black wheat flour is a gluten-free, greyish-black flour variety that is derived by processing the seeds of the black wheat plant, a variety that was developed in a lab in Mohali, Punjab, under the aegis of the Government of India. It’s named so because it is rich in the pigment called “Anthocyanin”, which also gives fruits and vegetables their blue, black, red, or purple colors. These also function as naturally occurring antioxidants that develop in a field at the time of grain filling, hence packing the wheat with a lot of nutritional value. Black wheat is enriched with 28 times more anthocyanins than the conventional wheat varieties!
- Anthocyanins
- Antioxidants
- High in Iron
- Gluten-free, thus suitable for those allergic to gluten
- Vitamins- Infused with vitamins such as Vitamin B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, and B9.
- Minerals include zinc, selenium, manganese, potassium, calcium, iron, magnesium, copper, and phosphorus.
- Good sources of Amino Acids, that aid in tissue formation and body-building.
- Folic acid
- Dietary fibers
The main difference between these two wheat lines lies in the anthocyanin concentration that they carry.
Regular wheat has a 5 ppm (parts-per-million) concentration of anthocyanin, whereas black wheat grain is observed to have approximately 100-200ppm of anthocyanin. This makes it a wiser, healthier option because a greater amount of antioxidants help flush the body of harmful toxins and free radicals, thus boosting the body’s overall health and functioning.
Additionally, while regular wheat carries 28% zinc content, black wheat is packed with 35% more of it, thus enhancing the body’s immune and metabolic functioning significantly. Similarly, conventional wheat varieties have about 25% iron content, but black wheat carries 60% more iron- this enormously boosts both our haemoglobin and hormone-related functions in the body.
Conventional Wheat
Anthocyanin Content: 5 ppm
Zinc content: 28%
Iron: 25%
Black Wheat
Anthocyanin Content: 140 ppm (100-200 ppm)
Zinc content: 35% more
Iron: 60% more
Apart from black wheat being more readily and easily digestible than conventional white wheat, it also carries more protein content, dietary fiber, calcium, Vitamin K, total flavonoid (TFC) and total phenolic content (TPC), and antioxidant activity than the regular wheat.
The TPC of black wheat is comparatively six times higher, with ferulic acid occupying the largest share in its TPC count. Ferulic acid multiplies the effects of other antioxidants and is especially good for the skin for reducing fine lines, spots and wrinkles.
With so many powerful nutrients and other components in its belly, black wheat flour consequently delivers just as many health benefits when consumed on a daily level as a part of a healthy diet. Some key health benefits it offers are:
A wonderful superfood with endless nutritional benefits and boons, black wheat flour can be used as a substitute in almost all such food items that have white flour, maida, besan, or any other such item as its base. Thus, it can be easily used to make uttapams, chillas, cookies, idlis, and rotis. Even for dessert, the black wheat halwa can be both a game and taste changer, and for good!
Black wheat flour is a simple grain but packed with extraordinary health benefits. A mere switch to it today can improve your health markedly as well as ensure that these benefits still last you in the long run!