Some of the most nutritious foods are hard for the body to digest, making it difficult to absorb important nutrients. Sprouted whole grains and their flours make foods easier to digest. They are diabetic-friendly and may also benefit people who have mild sensitivities to wheat.

According to the USDA, grains provide us with fiber and essential vitamins and minerals, including the B vitamins (niacin, riboflavin, thiamin and folate) which improve metabolism and are important for a healthy nervous system, iron (which carries oxygen through the blood), zinc (which helps build a healthy immune system) and magnesium (which builds healthy bones).

Sprouted Grain Flour

To provide customers with the most nutritious whole grain pretzels on the market, Unique Pretzel Bakery’s Sprouted “Splits” and Sprouted Shells are made with a revolutionary new sprouted whole wheat flour from Essential Eating® Sprouted Foods. This sprouted grain flour has excellent baking characteristics, great flavor, is kosher certified and USDA Certified Organic, but one of its best features is that the body can digest it like a vegetable rather than like a starch.

Grains, Enzymes and Digestion

Carbohydrates are present in many foods, such as whole grains, fruits and vegetables, and are the main source of energy for the body, brain and nervous system. Complex carbohydrates include starch and fiber, which can be difficult to digest but high in vitamins and minerals. Simple carbohydrates, also known as simple sugars, are easily digested because they are metabolized by the body as vegetables.

Complex carbohydrates require enzymes to digest them and break them down into simple sugars so that the body can absorb the nutrients. A fluid produced by the pancreas, called pancreatin, does most of the work. But most bodies do not have an abundance of these pancreatic enzymes. The pancreas may become overworked, causing a variety of digestive disorders. Simple sugars, on the other hand, do not need these pancreatic enzymes for digestion. Instead, they are broken down by vegetable enzymes.

Traditional un-sprouted whole grain flours are starches (complex carbohydrates), and difficult to digest. The enzymatic action that occurs during the sprouting of whole grains turns them into simple sugars, which the USDA considers vegetables. When made into flour, they are more easily digested than un-sprouted flour.

Sprouted Flour versus “Mash”

Until recently, most “sprouted grain flour” products have been made using a wet-milling or “mash” process, and not with flour. Soaked grains, which may or may not have actually sprouted, are ground into a paste and used for baking. Mash products are coarser in texture, bitter tasting (which means sweeteners must be added), and may contain foreign matter because they have not been rinsed and sifted.

Newer processes, such as the one used by Essential Eating, involve rinsing, drying, sifting and milling the sprouted grain into 100% whole grain flour. Turning whole sprouted grains into flour instead of mash allows them to be:

  • rinsed to remove bacteria
  • tested to guarantee sprout action
  • dried to stabilize and extend shelf life
  • sifted to remove foreign matter
  • milled to produce smooth-textured, great tasting  100% whole grain flour

As a result of baking with sprouted whole wheat flour, each serving of Unique Pretzels’ Sprouted “Splits” and Sprouted Shells gives you a higher percentage of healthy whole grain in every bite and all of the important vitamins and minerals you would miss out on in products made with refined flour. Try this healthier snack today; you will find them at your local Wegmans, Fresh Market, Whole Foods or Giant stores or purchase them online.