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Whole wheat flour

What the research shows

Prototype

No concerns

none of the findings here link it to harm

3 health findings on this page, all in people · See the findings

A flour made from the entire grain, including the bran, endosperm, and germ.

Written from English Wikipedia1

What research says

Studies in people

  • Benefit

    Long-term disease risk2

    People who eat more whole wheat tend to have lower risk of obesity, diabetes, heart disease and cancer.

  • Benefit

    Long-term health effects3

    Long-term whole-grain wheat consumption is linked to better health, though single studies do not always show this.

  • Benefit

    Hunger after overeating4

    People who overate whole wheat foods felt less hungry the next morning than those who overate high-fructose corn syrup.

Study type not stated

  • Open question

    Gut bugs and burnt toast5

    Overcooking whole wheat bread lowered digestible protein and starch, but gut bugs made more butyrate.

  • Open question

    Calcium and bone health6

    Whole wheat flour crackers with added tuna bone powder had more calcium and protein and less fat.

How it’s made and used

  • Bread bitterness7

    Adding schaftoside to whole wheat flour made bread taste less bitter in tests.

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.

References

  1. 1Wheat flour. Wikipedia. Accessed September 26, 2026.
  2. 2Liu J, Yu LL, Wu Y. Bioactive Components and Health Beneficial Properties of Whole Wheat Foods. J Agric Food Chem. 2020;68(46):12904-12915. doi:10.1021/acs.jafc.0c00705
  3. 3Hoevenaars F, van der Kamp JW, van den Brink W, Wopereis S. Next Generation Health Claims Based on Resilience: The Example of Whole-Grain Wheat. Nutrients. 2020;12(10). doi:10.3390/nu12102945
  4. 4Ibrahim M, Bonfiglio S, Schlögl M, et al. Energy Expenditure and Hormone Responses in Humans After Overeating High-Fructose Corn Syrup Versus Whole-Wheat Foods. Obesity (Silver Spring). 2018;26(1):141-149. doi:10.1002/oby.22068
  5. 5Ding W, Liu S, Yang Q, Bai Y, Perez-Donado CE, Rose DJ. Influence of overcooking on in vitro digestion and fermentation of ground beef and whole wheat bread. Food Res Int. 2024;178:113953. doi:10.1016/j.foodres.2024.113953
  6. 6Benjakul S, Karnjanapratum S. Characteristics and nutritional value of whole wheat cracker fortified with tuna bone bio-calcium powder. Food Chem. 2018;259:181-187. doi:10.1016/j.foodchem.2018.03.124
  7. 7Cong W, Schwartz E, Peterson DG. Identification of inhibitors of pinellic acid generation in whole wheat bread. Food Chem. 2021;351:129291. doi:10.1016/j.foodchem.2021.129291