Wheat flour

Studies in people

• No harm found

  Anaemia and iron levels³

  In people, wheat flour with added iron may make little or no difference to anaemia or iron deficiency.

• Concern

  Heavy metals in food⁵

  In children in a polluted area, eating wheat flour carried lead and cadmium above the level scientists consider safe.

Study type not stated

• Open question

  Vitamin A deficiency⁶

  Mill-rolled wheat flour can be fortified with vitamin A, though big gaps remain in what is known.

• Benefit

  Anaemia in the general population⁷

  Iron-fortified wheat flour may lower anaemia risk, but scientists do not yet know its effects on other health outcomes.

• Benefit

  Nutrient intake from fortified food⁸

  Fortified wheat flour can add vitamins and minerals to diets, but how much people actually get varies by country.

• No harm found

  Heavy metal exposure levels¹⁰

  Wheat flour contained small amounts of metals like lead and cadmium, but well below the levels considered risky.

How it’s made and used

• Toxin levels in food⁴

  Most wheat flour samples contained deoxynivalenol, but eating it added little to people's daily intake.

• Dough thickening behavior⁹

  Adding buckwheat or millet to wheat flour changes how the dough thickens, sets and holds together.

• Gluten protein makeup¹¹

  In lab studies, wheat flour gliadin extract also contained glutenins and avenin-like proteins.

The signal at the top counts the findings in people and in animal and lab studies. A concern in studies of people outranks animal and lab studies, and “No concerns” needs at least two findings in people. Findings whose study type is not stated are shown but not counted. This page is a reference, not medical advice. It describes what regulators and published research say. Talk to a doctor or dietitian about your own diet.