What is Wheat?
Wheat products make up large portion of various diets. Nutrients & Fiber in whole grains have beneficial impact on glucose level, intestine & weight management. Diet consisting on whole wheat grains also helps in preventing cardiovascular diseases.
Wheat grain has three parts- bran, germ & Endosperm. Bran contains most fiber , B Vitamins & minerals such as iron, magnesium & Zinc. Endosperm is starchy ingredient of grain & has most carbohydrates & protein. Germ contains fats, vitamin E & B Vitamins. The bran & germ are the healthiest part of grain since it helps in controlling lot of chronic diseases.
The two types of wheat- Normal & Durum offer different nutrient content. Durum wheat has high protein content with low gluten as compared to normal wheat.
What is Maida & how does it fair up compared to Whole wheat & Semolina?
Nutritional value of durum flour depends upon how it is processed. Whole wheat durum flour contains more nutrients than white durum flour. Refining wheat into white flour removes upto 75% of phytochemicals as well fat & fiber in the process. Basically, refining whole wheat flour removes germ & bran to leave very fine four known as maida. It is nothing, but endosperm part of grain which consists of only carbohydrate since vitamins, minerals & protein are stripped. As such, White flour( or maida) is low in calories, fiber, proteins, minerals & vitamins over whole wheat flour.
Maida spikes up your sugar levels because it has very high glycemic index. To match up with the sugar spike, pancreas has to work to release insulin in sufficient quantity to match up with sugar. If you are using maida frequently then insulin production will gradually reduce thus making you diabetic.
Maida is called all-purpose flour as it can be used to make cakes, as well as chapattis. It is also used to make parathas.
Semolina ( or Suji/Rava) is coarsely ground endosperm of durum wheat which comes from starchy endosperm as does Maida However, it has a high protein content. This makes Semolina a perfect ingredient for preparing pasta.
Maida & Semolina both are essentially made from wheat, but have different processing to get the end product.
Maida is a finely milled, refined, and bleached wheat flour. On the other hand, semolina is a very gritty, coarse type of flour, usually made from durum wheat. It comprises of the nutritious heart (endosperm) of grain, which is left behind when the fine flour is sifted after milling.
