Bulgur

BULGUR  – Nutritional Profile

Bulgur is a processed form of various types of wheat.  The wheat is usually parboiled and looses a small amount of the bran during the process before being dried for storage.  It should not be confused with cracked wheat which is processed in a different way.

As the wheat used retains more of the whole grain that wheat used to produce white flour it is understandable of greater nutritional value.  A single 1 cup serving of bulgur provides  just 151 calories with less than 1g of fat, 6g of protein and 33g of carbohydrates and 8g of fibre.

Bulgur is also very high in potassium  with 124mg per cup and contains approximately 55% of the recommended daily allowance (RDA) for manganese and 15% RDA for magnesium.  Each cup is also rich in folate, niacin, phosphorus, copper and zinc at approximately 5% of RDA.

BULGUR  – Health Benefits

The insoluble fibre present in bulgur has a beneficial effect on colon health.  Fibre of this sort will absorb toxins that cause inflammation as food passes through the colon.  It will also absorb water and ensure that transit is speedy enough to minimise the impact of those toxins not absorbed.  The minimising of inflammation has a beneficial impact on the likelihood of contracting colon cancer as inflammation is an early cause of cancerous cells.

Vegetable proteins such as those present in bulgur are also considered preferable to animal proteins as they do not have the health risks associated with animal fats.  It also has a low Glycemic Index which makes it particularly important for those living with diabetes.

BULGUR  – Product History

Bulgur is not a crop, rather a process that can be applied to any form of wheat.  The grain is par-boiled and then dried and the prcess0ing removes little of the whole grain goodness.  Most often bulgur is made from durum wheat, particularly hard wheat that is also used for making the best pasta flour.  It most often used in European and Middle Eastern cuisine but its rich health benefits are seeing it becoming more important in America where it is  more usually made from