Nutrient Dense

Bulgur Wheat is packed with important B vitamins, minerals and is fibre rich. Just one serving provides a whopping 75% of the RDA of manganese – a mineral that protects the body from oxidative stress as a component of the body’s own antioxidant enzyme SOD (super-oxide dismutase). It also contributes to strong and healthy bones, connective tissue and is essential for the metabolism of cholesterol, amino acids and carbohydrates. It also provides around 20% of the RDA of magnesium and phosphorus, minerals that must be present for calcium to work properly. Bulgur is also a good source of B vitamins which support the brain, central nervous system and the immune system. 

Heart Healthy

The fibre in Bulgur Wheat benefits the heart by reducing the inflammation that leads to high cholesterol levels. Inflammation causes damage to the arteries, causing the liver to send cholesterol (the body’s repair mechanism) to patch up the damage. The “Journal of Nutrition” recently published a review of 66 studies that found a diet high in whole grains and fibre correlated with a reduced risk of coronary heart disease.

Bulgur Wheat is also high in heart healthy magnesium which relaxes the muscles that control blood vessels, allowing the blood to flow more freely. This can help to reduce high blood pressure – an important factor in decreasing the risk of a heart attack of stroke. Magnesium also helps to keep the coronary arteries from having spasms that can cause the intense chest pains known as angina. It is relatively well known that a deficiency in magnesium is the most common cause of these spasms.

Digestive Health

Again, it is the high fibre content of Bulgur Wheat that aids in the digestive process. Consisting of around 90% insoluble fibre, it is this type of fibre that keeps food moving through the digestive system, helping to maintain bowel regularity.

Whole grains such as Bulgur also promote the growth of healthy gut bacteria which produce short-chain fatty acids, supporting digestive health and normal digestive function.

Balances Ph Levels

The body’s blood Ph works within a very narrow range of acid/alkaline balance, being slightly alkaline at around 7.45. Whilst acid forming foods are not inherently bad, it is the overconsumption of these foods and the under-consumption of alkaline foods that can lead to an imbalance, causing the body to pull alkaline forming minerals from wherever it can to correct the balance. Disease and sickness find it much easier to take a firm foothold in an acidic body.

The fibre in Bulgur Wheat is in the form of resistant starch and oligosaccharides, carbohydrates of which around 90% escape digestion and produce short-chain fatty acids in the gut, which help to balance the blood Ph level and prevent it from becoming too acidic.