Students improving life: Using research to examine the process of wheat milling and effects on nutrition and digestibility

“Food is health, you are what you eat, and people should know that.” says Hala Amer, a PhD candidate in the Department of Food Science.

Hala is an international student from Egypt, where she completed her undergraduate and master’s degrees in food science with a focus on product development.

After learning about her family’s history of diabetes and high blood pressure and seeing their challenges, she decided to dig deeper into researching the nutritional aspects of food.

During her first year at the University of Guelph, she wasn’t passionate about her research project and was able to find the support she required to change the scope of her PhD.

“It was very touching and moving to have the support of the Department of Food Science,” shares Hala. “Although I had struggled for the first year, I discovered there was a very good, and strong support system here. I was very lucky and switching labs was a better experience for me.”

Her passion and research are currently focused on exploring the effects of food processing on health, specifically on wheat milling. 

“We are trying to figure out if we have advanced wheat milling to a degree where the end product is not as nutritional compared to the entire wheat kernel itself.”

Hala explains that current legislation has been created to standardize the product, only from a legislative perspective and not focusing on the impacts of processing.

“The standards for white flour in Canada have a mandatory enrichment of white flour and eliminates an entire fraction of the kernel composition,” says Hala.

For her research, she is using ancient to modern milling techniques, including primitive techniques like mortar and pestle, stone hand-milling, and modern milling techniques. The resulting flour is processed through a TNO Gastro-Intestinal Model (TIM) which allows her to look at digestion and how it happens.

“The theory is that if you were to eliminate the natural structure of the kernel, you would end up having more digestibility and more sugar intake because you have processed it. I am looking at how much the digestibility of flour has changed over time.”

Hala emphasizes how there is a major gap in knowledge and research on how processed foods affect our health.

"The major advancement in food processing started after the industrial revolution. With rapid technological advances, came the enhancement in food processing techniques and packaged food gained popularity to accommodate our busier lifestyle. Yet, food was modified to look, smell, and taste better with the main focus to satisfy consumers' preference for "refined" products with minimal information on the impact of these changes on nutrition and health."

She explains the progression in food processing has likely resulted in epidemics that were not present 200-300 years ago, like obesity and diabetes, especially in children.

“We are trying to find out why this is happening. A lot of research is pointing to humans, maybe we caused this, we enhanced the techniques of food processing so much that maybe it affected the nutritional benefit of the food itself.”

As she continues this research, she hopes that the food industry will shift in a new direction with health and nutrition at the forefront.

“My dream is that the industry will focus on food that is healthier, sustains us, live longer, and free of diseases.” 

Interested in learning more?

This research is being conducted in Dr. Mike Roger’s lab. The lab focuses on understanding the implications of processing and the effects on health.

Check out Episode 21 of the Why & How Podcast on “How do the processed foods (we love) affect our health?” to learn more about research on processed foods.