As the name suggests, it is another form of wheat, just that it is black in color. It gets its color from the presence of a naturally occurring antioxidant called Anthocyanins. Anthocyanins are the pigments that give the color red, purple, and blue to plant-like berries, jamuns, etc. They are the pharmaceutical ingredients that are antidiabetic, anticancer, anti-inflammatory, anti-obesity, and prevent cardiovascular diseases. One hundred grams of regular wheat contains about 5ppm of Anthocyanins, whereas Black Wheat grain has 140ppm. This means around 30 times more antioxidants to fight off our lifestyle diseases. Black Wheat has about 60 percent more concentration of Iron compared to regular wheat. Also, Zinc in standard wheat is about 28 percent whereas Black Wheat has 35%. Clearly, Black rice is the victor in every aspect.
Black Wheat is a hybrid quality of Wheat which was produced by National Agro-Food Biotechnology Institute University, Mohali Punjab, and today this institute holds the patent for this wheat.
Benefits of Black Wheat;
A healthier outside starts from a cleaner inside. And when you consume Black wheat, it polishes you from within to present a radiant you.
Combats diseases- The oxidant rich black wheat with the presence of Anthocyanins helps fight many diseases like blood pressure, inflammatory diseases, heart diseases, urinary tract infections and many more. It also improves your cholesterol levels and increases your metabolic rate resulting in the control of diabetes.
Builds up immunity- Being rich in antioxidants, the anti-bodies and free radicals are controlled in our body thereby increasing the immunity of our body.
Controls weight – Black wheat, which is rich in fiber, promotes less eating as it keeps you fuller for long. This results in weight loss and control of obesity. Another factor for losing weight is the increase in metabolic rate, which results in weight loss.
Cures constipation- Consuming Black Wheat promotes bowel movement, thus relieving one of bloating, cramps, and uneasiness. The roughage in the flour being insoluble in water provides bulk to the stool, helping it eliminate the body.
Cholesterol levels improve – Black wheat flour is full of unsaturated fat, which is healthy for the heart. People who consume this flour find that their level of bad cholesterol takes a dip while the good cholesterol rises.
Beneficial for the eyes- Lower intake of Anthocyanins leads to night blindness, which can be corrected with the intake of this anthocyanins rich berry called Black Wheat. It protects the eyes from the loss of vision and also corrects night vision.
Delays ageing- The presence of Anthocyanins makes the grain antioxidant rich, which helps delay age by cleaning up the free radicals that damage our DNA.
More facts about Black Wheat:
It is not gluten-free. Just like regular wheat is avoided by people who are Celiac, even Black Wheat needs to be avoided.
Black Wheat is not a Genetically Modified or GM Crop. Black Wheat is made by bio- fortification which is a technique of breeding crops to increase their nutritional value. It is grown like any other crop and imposes no threat to biodiversity or our ecosystem.
It is used like any other regular wheat to make chapatis’, puris, parathas’, – the only difference is that things made with Black Wheat are much heathier than ones made with regular wheat.
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