The facts about grain

I have kind of stressed over this post for a couple of days now because it is very important for me to clearly express the very scary facts about wheat and I know that some of you are going to be immediately turned off because taking wheat out of your dining equation is just NOT AN OPTION. And there is actually a scientific reason behind your very attached feelings to wheat and I'll get to that in a second. So please read on and don't fall into the 'ignorance is bliss' state of thinking...or not thinking.

Because of my health food store I come into contact with a lot of people who are looking for answers for their health problems. I have been absolutely amazed at how many of my customers have become "gluten-free" and many of their health issues, irritable bowel syndrome, headaches, sleeplessness, inability to lose weight, lack of focus, acne, low energy, went away or decreased significantly. I tell you this because I want you to understand that I feel confident in what I'm doing and hopefully teaching through this blog because I have not only read the science behind it but I have observed it for several years. Anybody can pretty much prove whatever they set out to prove with data by only publishing those studies that prove their agenda. This really does happen and I have found that the majority of the studies published are by the very companies that benefit financially from them...in a really big way.

So lets start at the beginning...
Quite literally in the beginning God created EVERYTHING and that included grain...and it was good. But about 50 years ago man (with the best of intentions) messed it all up. Through hybridization we were now able to yield more for less cost. Sounds good right? Except for the fact that our health is what pays the price. Wheat gluten proteins have undergone significant structural changes including additional proteins that did not exist in the parent wheat plants. And now we have wheat that has a higher number of genes for gluten proteins that are associated with celiac. Okay, I know what you are thinking..."I don't have celiac." Read on. The evils of wheat don't stop here.

Now this part is a bit sciencey so hang on. Wheat breaks down like this:

70% carbohydrate

10-15% protein

10-15% indigestible fiber

remaining% fat

 

The complex carbohydrate in wheat breaks down like this:

75% amylopectin that is converted to glucose and absorbed in to the blood stream rapidly causing blood-sugar to increase

25% amylose that is less efficiently digested therefore less of it enters the blood stream

 

The study that launched the concept of the glycemic index(GI) found the following:
 The GI of table sugar or sucrose was 59

The GI of white bread was 69

The GI of whole grain bread was a whopping 72

 

All this means is wheat bread increases blood sugar more than table sugar when compared gram for gram. Here is a crazy quote from the book, Wheat Belly by William Davis, MD, "The GI of a Snickers bar is 41-far better than whole grain bread." YIKES!

 

Why is this a big deal? Your pancreas produces a little hormone called insulin. Insulin is good because it allows glucose into the cells of the body which provide your body energy. Insulin is triggered when blood-sugar levels increase and therefore the higher the blood-sugar levels the more need for insulin. Now here is where the problem lies...your body can only store so much in your cells. In fact, it takes 45 minutes of very rigorous exercise to expend your glucose energy sources. But then you eat and replenish. The key is to not eat more carbs than our body can store because when that happens we get fat. It has to go somewhere and that special place is usually around our tummies. But we have been told to eat more whole grains so we keep increasing those blood-sugar levels and adding inches to our middle and we don't understand why we can't lose the weight. And then it gets worse because weight gain turns into decreased insulin sensitivity and therefore we are facing the ugliness of dealing with diabetes.

 

Wheat also effects your bones. This may not concern you immediately but I guarantee you that when you are looking at 60 or 70 you are going to want those bones strong and healthy and the best time to start working on that is now. Wheat messes with your pH balance in your body. It is a huge source of sulphuric acid. That's right, the same stuff found in car batteries. Small amounts of sulphuric acid are not going to kill you but from the amount of wheat we eat our bodies are very acidic which can then pull calcium from our bones to try to correct our pH balance. (Which by the way I think is pretty incredible that God made our bodies in such a way that it naturally tries to balance itself.) And we all know our bones need calcium. It is interesting that despite all the "calcium rich" milk, cereals, and supplements there is still a huge general deficiency in this important mineral. 

 

And the last thing I want to touch on is the very addictive nature of wheat/grain. It has been found that the polypetides from digested gluten have the odd ability to penetrate the blood-brain barrier and then bind to the brain's morphine receptor. This induces a mild feeling of euphoria. You've been getting high and not even known it! But this is one of the very big reasons why we crave grains in a very unhealthy way. You have to admit that the idea of cutting out all grains scares the snot out of you and that is a natural reaction for an addict. And let me be the first to say I was the biggest addict out there. I thought my choice of whole grains was healthy and smart when really it was a need for a fix. And boy did I have withdrawals. In fact our whole family did. But we survived and are much better for it and you will be too.

 

So this was a lot of information but I basically summed up much of what I have learned about the dangers of grains. I really encourage you to pick up the book Wheat Belly. I've got a few ordered for the shop and you can get a copy there sometime next week. I am not a doctor or licensed anything. Please understand that this is my truth based on my observation of myself and others and based on my efforts to continually educate myself with various materials. I encourage you to do the same.