Which flour is best for fitness? Wheat, rye or other?

It is generally known that we should replace white flour bread with wholemeal bread for weight loss and fitness. Sometimes it is even recommended to cut out flour and flour products altogether. However, even flour can have important nutrients that our bodies appreciate. However, it is necessary to choose the right one. White, wholemeal, spelt, barley? Which flour is best for fitness? That's what we'll look at in this article.

What does flour contain?

Bakers, pastry chefs or cooks will be interested in the composition of flour, first and foremost to make beautiful and, above all, tasty creations. We will look at the composition of flour to understand why it is important for our diets, what it can do for us and what it can do for us.e our bodies can use and in doing so, we will also find out which flour may be best in terms of weight loss or weight training. Everyone is familiar with flour made from cereals. But there are also flours made from legumes, seeds and nuts, kernels, sprouts, vegetables and fruits or oilseeds. These are less common and can be found in specialist health food shops. But to find out which flour is best, we need to know how it is made. Logically, flour is made by grinding grains. It has three parts - the hull, the kernel and the germ. Each type of flour is milled from a different purification. This is how white or wholemeal flour is made. Each of these parts also has different nutrients.

Macronutrients in flour

Whether you choose whole wheat or white flour, it will contain the following nutrients, but each in a different ratio. In flour you will therefore find carbohydrates, mainly starch, which flour contains the most of. This in turn affects the softness of the dough and the subsequent product.
You will also find protein in it, which is vegetable and does not contain all the amino acids that animal protein does. Therefore, although it provides us with protein, it does not provide us with all the nutrients that our body needs. The protein in flour is also gluten. Furthermore, flour contains healthy fats like saturated fatty acids. Mostly insoluble fibre is found in it, which increases the volume of the diet and therefore we feel satiated after consuming the product. However, it cannot increase our energy intake.
Flour also contains water and then vitamins and minerals that are important for our body. These are mainly magnesium, calcium, iron, zinc, copper, phosphorus, manganese, selenium and vitamins B and E.

How is flour divided?

We divide flour in different ways. We have already recalled white and wholemeal flour. White flour is further divided according to how coarsely or finely it is ground. Such flour still has the same nutrients, but the difference is in its fineness and thus its use.
Interestingly, smooth flour, which is ground the finest, releases gluten the fastest. This makes it particularly suitable for fine pastries, pancakes, fritters, etc. We also know semi-coarse and coarse flour. The coarsest flour is semolina, which is used to thicken dishes, dumplings or porridge.

Wholemeal flour

Unlike white flour, wholemeal flour is ground from the whole grain. It contains the ground kernel, the husk and the germ. As a result, it has a much higher nutritional content, which helps us not only in losing weight but also in gaining muscle. It is therefore clear that wholemeal flour is much better for fitness than products made from conventional white flour. Let's now take a look at what all its benefits are.

Why are whole wheat flours more nutritious?

Whole wheat flour sometimes has 3 times the amount of fiber (depending on what whole wheat flour you buy, or what the baker uses in baking). This makes it more filling and longer lasting. We don't have to eat as much bread as we do when we eat white rolls.
Another great thing about bread is its higher protein content. It also has a higher thermic effect, which means less energy is needed to digest it. Whole wheat flour also has a higher unsaturated fatty acid content, a lower glycemic index and much more vitamins and minerals. It is reported to be up to 60% higher. These are mainly magnesium, iron, calcium and vitamins E, B1 and B2.

The disadvantages of whole wheat flour

Like white flour, whole wheat flour has its drawbacks. One of them is a higher percentage of pesticides and toxins. These are mainly deposited on the coating of the grain, which is ground into wholemeal flour, whereas white flour is not. The flour can have a bitter taste that makes it unpalatable to everyone. It has a shorter shelf-life than white flour and is also harder to rise, which makes it harder to bake with, or makes some baked goods impossible to make at all. The energy value of wholemeal flour can be the same or slightly higher than white flour. This means that even if you bake with wholemeal flour, it doesn't mean that if it's healthier you can eat more of it. But the advantage is that the richness of whole wheat flour meals means we can eat much less. Whole wheat flour is also more expensive, which makes a lot of people change their minds about buying it these days, as well as buying whole wheat baked goods.

Comparison of different types of wholemeal flour

In order to recommend which flour is best, we have prepared a table comparingnot only white flour, but also several types of wholemeal flour, i.e. oat, wheat, rye, spelt and barley. The table may give you an idea of which one is best for you. But we've looked at each of them in more detail to show you the benefits of each type of flour and what it's good for.

Wheat flour

Wholemeal wheat flour is the best known and most commonly available. You can go to the supermarket for it and you don't have to go to health food shops. It is used in much the same way as white flour, but it is harder to rise. That's why it's usually combined in a certain ratio, depending on what you're baking with it. You can buy this flour as finely and coarsely ground. You can use this flour to make pancakes, potato pancakes, sweet pastries and bread. You can use it to make pasta, gnocchi or dumplings. It is also suitable for thickening sauces.

Spelt flour

Wholemeal spelt flour is made by grinding the whole grain of the uncultivated cereal spelt. Because spelt is not fertilised, this flour contains far fewer pesticides than other types. It also has the advantage over wheat flour of a lower glycaemic index and a higher mineral content. It also has a better overall protein composition, which is healthier for our bodies. This flour is sold ground smooth and coarse, and because it has similar properties to white flour, it is an excellent substitute. It even rises well. We just have to remember to give it a little more than we are used to with white flour. You can use spelt flour in buns, sweet and savoury pastries, pancakes, fritters, but it also makes great pizza dough or bread. And you can also use it to thicken dishes. Beware - it has a slightly nutty taste compared to white flour.

Barley flour

Wholemeal barley flour is made from barley, which gives it a slightly bitter taste. It has a low glycaemic index, which is an advantage. Its disadvantage is that it does not ferment. It is therefore often combined with traditional white flour. If you want to use only barley flour, do not use it for bread and other yeasted pastries. It is suitable for various bread rolls, which do not need to rise, savoury and sweet pastries, pancakes and crepes, which also do not rise. And again, you can also thicken dishes with it.

Rye flour

Rye flour also has a low glycaemic index and is sold as fine or coarse. It has a light brown colour, sometimes more of a greyish colour, which is why it also makes baked goods darker. It does not rise well, so it is not suitable for yeasted baked goods. If you are going to use it, combine it with white or wholemeal spelt flour. However, rye flour will make your baked goods denser and richer. It is suitable for baking sourdough bread, various biscuits or gingerbread. And again, it can be used to thicken dishes.

Oat flour

The flour we have saved for last can be described as the unhealthiest and most nutritionally rich. Wholemeal oat flour has a high protein content with nutritional value, a higher content of essentialamino acids - lysine and methionine, high fibre content, low glycaemic index and contains fats with a good ratio of fatty acids. This flour is the best for fitness because of its composition! Oat flour can vary in coarseness, but you need to try it, as you won't find it listed on the packaging. They even make oat groats. The downside of this flour is that it doesn't rise well. That's why we have to combine it with white flour for leavened bread. It is suitable for sweet and savoury pastries and again for thickening dishes.

Winners at the end

As you will have understood from the article than reaching for white flour, in terms of fitness, gaining muscle mass and weight loss, whole wheat flour is always better. For this one, we have shown the different types. Of course, you can compare them yourself with the help of a table, yet we have our winning ranking for you at the end.

1. Place - Oat flour
2. Place - Rye and spelt flour
3. Place - Other wholemeal flours

Oat flour clearly takes the top spot, thanks to its abundance of nutrients and vitamins, but also because of its high protein content. It does have a higher fat content, but it is mainly healthy saturated acids, which are fats that our bodies can make good use of.
Wholemeal rye and spelt flours came second. This is due to its higher protein content, high fibre content and low glycaemic index. If you want a flour that is best suited for weight loss, reach for rye instead.