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Why Do Some Flours Make Us Feel Unwell? The Truth About Gluten, Additives and Industrial Flours (and How to Avoid Them)
The Truth About Gluten, Additives and Industrial Flours
It’s a question we rarely ask ourselves when buying a packet of flour or eating a slice of bread. But the answer isn’t simple. Today, many flours on supermarket shelves or used by large bakeries aren’t traditional flours anymore.
Many derive from low‑cost foreign grains – often high in mycotoxins and poor in protein quality -undergoing aggressive refining to make them “presentable.”
The result is a product:
- poor in natural structure,
- with weakened, less elastic gluten,
- devoid of germ, thus nutritionally poorer,
- often lacking essential natural enzymes for proper processing and digestion.
The Invisible Chemistry in Modern Flours
To compensate these deficiencies and meet industrial standards of workability, appearance, and volume, a so-called “invisible chemistry” is used: additives and processing aids that improve flour behavior… but aren’t listed on the label, since law doesn’t require it.
This information is seldom communicated to consumers. It’s not an error, it’s legal. That’s why it’s important to talk about it: so we can all choose more consciously.
In this article we clarify – using scientific sources and official documents – which additives are most used, why they’re employed, and their possible effects when consumed daily unknowingly.
A Concrete Example: Ascorbic Acid (E300)
What it does: Added to flour to “enhance” gluten formation, making dough more resilient, airy and suitable for big‑scale distribution. It essentially “seals” the gluten network.
How it works:
- Ascorbic acid oxidizes flour protein bonds during mixing.
- This strengthens the gluten, improving elasticity and stability during fermentation.
Why it’s used: When starting from poor, refined grains, gluten is weaker. Ascorbic acid compensates that.
Health effects: - E300 itself is safe (it’s Vitamin C).
- But technologically, the gluten becomes firmer and harder to digest.
- For sensitive individuals, this may result in bloating, slow digestion, heaviness.
Industrial Enzymes and Additives in Flours
What “Correcting” a Flour Means
To “correct” a flour means modifying its behavior to enhance performance in industrial processes, using industrial enzymes, emulsifiers, vital gluten and other processing aids.
Industrial Enzymes: What They Are and How They Work
Types and functions:
- Amylases → degrade starches, releasing sugars for yeast.
- Proteases → modify gluten, making dough easier to handle.
- Xylanases → improve fiber flexibility in flour.
Why they’re used: Refining removes germ and bran, which contain active enzymes. To compensate, industry adds them artificially to: - increase dough volume,
- speed up proofing,
- produce softer crumb,
- improve crust and color.
Effects on flour and health: Makes dough perform better industrially, but less natural. Enzymes aren’t listed on labels. Some studies suggest they may alter gluten structure, making it harder for our bodies to recognize and digest.
Common Additives in Industrial Flours
Emulsifiers (e.g. E472e, mono/diglycerides, CMC…)
- Function: Soften crumb, extend shelf life, improve appearance and yield.
- How they work: Bind starches and slow staling, reduce freshness loss in baked goods.
- Why used: Refined flours dry out quickly; industry needs shelf‑stable products.
- Health effects: Alter gut microbiota, increase intestinal permeability (leaky gut), contribute to chronic inflammation and digestive disorders .
Added Vital Gluten: What It Is and Why Used
- Technology: Vital gluten is a dry protein added directly to dough to strengthen flour, improve elasticity and volume, and “correct” weak or refined flours.
- Health effects: It increases overall gluten load, is more resistant to digestive enzymes, and may cause bloating, heaviness, digestive discomfort and non‑celiac gluten sensitivity.
What Happens to Our Body with Industrial Flours
Consuming industrial flours daily exposes us to an invisible but potent mix of treated ingredients and processing aids.
Documented Effects
- Altered gut microbiota
- Increased intestinal permeability
- Chronic inflammation
- Recurring digestive issues (bloating, fatigue, heaviness)
Why Increasing Numbers of People Don’t Tolerate Flour
The Problem Is Not Wheat—it’s What It’s Become
More people say: “I can’t tolerate flour anymore.” In most cases it isn’t wheat itself, but its industrial transformations.
Main causes:
- cheap foreign grains
- aggressive refining to reduce mycotoxins
- removal of germ and fiber
- added enzymes, gluten, additives, emulsifiers
That’s why many feel better switching to artisan, living, natural flours like our èViva.
What Makes a Flour Truly Light and Healthy
The “Non‑Flours”: How to Recognize Them
Many commercial flours are the result of industrial processing that deeply alters the raw material. Starting from low‑quality grains, after refining and chemical corrections you get a product:
- germ‑free (removed for shelf life),
- low in fiber (removed to lower mycotoxin risk),
- “corrected” with enzymes, emulsifiers, ascorbic acid and often added gluten.
Result? Visually perfect, easy to work—but unnatural for our bodies. It’s a “non‑flour”: far from the original nutritional cereal profile .
How to Recognize an Authentic Flour
To buy genuine flour, look for:
- label stating “no added additives”
- presence of wheat germ: nutritional heart of the grain
- origin clearly traced: 100% Italian, certified, glyphosate‑free
- “living” flour, not sterile: real flour with intact germ and fiber may vary between batches—be cautious of always‑perfect flours.
In Summary
If your flour is too white, too stable, too “perfect” and shows no origin or additive info… you’re likely using a “non‑flour.”
A Hope for Those Cannot Tolerate Flours Anymore
When the Problem Isn’t Wheat
Increasingly many people suffer bloating, heaviness, digestive difficulty—but often it’s not the wheat. It’s the flour.
Changes in flour: low‑quality foreign grains, refined aggressively, germ and fiber removed, additives and gluten added. This industrial mix is what many bodies no longer tolerate.
Our Response: Real Flours
We—and other ethical producers—offer a true alternative:
- Simple natural ingredients: flour from selected, traced wheat
- Guarantees on process: no extreme refinement, no chemical correctives, no invisible additives
- True, live, high‑performance flours: excellent bread, pizza, panettone without tricks, only natural strength
A return to authentic grain: inviting back the pleasure of healthy flours. It isn’t renunciation—it’s rediscovery.
Try the Difference: Rediscover the Joy of Bread
èViva Flour: Essence of our land
We invite you to discover our èViva flours. Without prejudice. With curiosity. With trust. Maybe you never stopped loving bread—you just lacked the right flour.