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I'd like to share some research with you that may make you think twice before eating your next sandwich on white bread. It will also help your efforts to lose weight and will improve your health.

Eliminating white flour in favor of whole wheat has long been the foundation of healthy eating and is a big part of the latest eating right pyramid put out by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Studies now show that there is a chemical in white flour, called alloxan that makes it look 'clean' and 'beautiful'. The problem is that alloxan damages the beta cells of the pancreas so they no longer produce enough insulin and the cells malfunction and die. So you may be devastating your pancreas and putting yourself at risk for diabetes by eating 'beautiful' flour.

In fact, the Textbook for Natural Medicine calls alloxan 'a potent beta-cell toxin'.

Scientists have known about this for years because diabetes researchers commonly use the chemical to induce the disorder in lab animals. In a research sense, giving alloxan to an animal is similar to injecting that animal with a deadly virus because alloxan and the virus are both being used to cause illness.

It also applies to brown rice compared to white rice. The unprocessed brown rice is more natural and therefore has a higher nutrient content, better protein digestibility and a lower insulin response.

It's also wise to get in the habit of checking the labels of grain products because they're not all created equal. Although originally they were until we started tampering with it to make white flour and other enriched products.

The bottom line is that whenever you take a natural food and change it by deleting nutrients or adding chemicals, you will always have less nutritional benefits. Whole grains are just another example that nature knows best.