Better choices concerning grains

First consider

You can substitute vegetables for grains in a meal

E.g. Sustitute rice or noodles with "Cauliflower Rice" (recipes galore on the net) or chopped cooked cauliflower, or spaghetti squash for pasta

Wheat in any form is probably not good for you. Eat wheat products sparingly, if at all

Wheat - "Ain't what it used to be"

Grains must be properly prepared to be more healthful

"Look for organic, stone ground, sprouted or sour dough whole grain breads and enjoy them with butter or cheese."

- Sally Fallon, Weston A Price Foundation

OVERCONSUMING UNsoaked / UNgerminated WHOLE grains (i.e. by eating them as a regular part of your diet) could be a major cause of your health problems - benefits of these traditional preparation steps include:

Produce natural enzymatic activity to make the grains more digestible - and so make its nutrients more available to us.
Removes many antinutrients (E.g. phytate, lectins, tannins, others) contained in whole grains- which, if they remain, can cause nutrient deficiences, overgrowth of harmful bacterial and irritate the intestinal lining, possibly causing a so-called "leaky gut". The scene is set for many potential health problems, including (to name just a few):
- Food intolerances / allergies;
- Gluten (50% lectins) insensitivity
- Impaired immune function - Lectins are associated with auto immune disease
- Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)
- Osteoporosis
- Chronic Inflammation
- INSULIN resistance - Involved in metabolic syndrome, obesity / weight gain, Type 2 diabetes
- Blocked mineral and protein absorption - Active phytic acid blocks both protein and minerals both in the grain food and in other recently consumed foods; minerals blocked include calcium, iron, magnesium, copper and zinc;
- Decaying teeth - Resulting from mineral deficiencies

To make WHOLE grains more digestible, make their nutrients more available, and partially remove phytic acid they must be soaked (usually overnight), then soured (fermented as in sourdough) or sprouted at a low temperature- these methods encourage phytase enzymes to break down some of the grain's phytic acid content, but in those grains with a low phytase content, much of the phytic acid will remain unscathed;

Grind organic, WHOLE grains yourself using a grain mill or buy organic, 100% stone-ground, whole-grain flour (usually found at a natural health food store) - freshly ground grains generally have more phytase enzymes than older flour with which to break down phytate;
"Unfortunately studies do NOT tend to support the significant reduction of the lectin "wheat germ agglutinin (WGA)" in WHOLE wheat by either soaking, sprouting and/or souring - WGA is particularly high in the wheat germ (agglutinin is also abundant in peanuts, soybeans, and red kidney beans) and even small amounts have been shown to cause inflammatory activity in the immune system. WGA's trail of devastation includes gut inflammmation, activating immune system's white blood cells, attaching to nerve-protective myelin sheath, and cellular toxicity and death. There are many reasons not to eat wheat, It is probably prudent to steer clear of WHOLE grain wheat altogether, since WGA is contained in the wheat germ of the whole grain seed and is difficult to remove. It almost "kills" me to say this :) . . . but if you insist on including wheat as a regular part of your diet, then your health would probably be better served by eating white wheat bread rather than whole wheat!

Grains -SOAK + SOUR or SPROUT for healthier consumption

BTW - Wheat used to be left to sprout in the fields after harvesting - prior to modern farming methods, harvested wheat was left in the fields for several days, where the morning dew provided enough moisture to partially sprout the wheat, thus enhancing its nutritional bioavailability by removing phytates.

Eat grains with nature's fat-soluble vitamins A and D

"Fat-soluble vitamins A and D found in animal fats like butter, lard and cream help us absorb calcium, phosphorus, iron, B vitamins and the many other vitamins that grains provide. Porridge eaten with cream will do us a thousand times more good than cold breakfast cereal consumed with skim milk; sourdough whole grain bread with butter or whole cheese is a combination that contributes to optimal health."

- Sally Fallon, Weston A Price Foundation

Are there any good store-bought breads?

Prefer organic, stone-ground, sprouted or traditionally processed sour dough, whole grain breads

Unfortunately , sprouted wheat grain breads still contain the harmul wheat germ agglutinin (WGA) - since it resists degradation by traditional methods

To refrigerate bread, bagels, bread products or not?

	Fridge	Room temperature
Freshness	Goes stale up to 6 times faster	Stays fresh longer
Mold rate	Slower	Faster

Best solution - leave enough bread products for a couple days anticipated use at room temperature and freeze the rest (stops mold growth).

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