Grains - choices, how to prepare for health
Wheat - Ain't what it used to be
Wheat - "Ain't what it used to be"
Wheat species
Buckwheat, Durum, Semolina/CousCous
(purified from Durum), Spelt, Bulgar, Triticale (a wheat hybrid), Kamut, Einkorn
and Emmer (two of the earliest cultivated forms)
Many bible verses refer positively
to eating bread, especially unleavened bread. However, the wheat of today is quite
different to that of bible times
Wheat is not what it used to be due
to hybridization and GM strains
The wheat plant no longer identifies with "the
amber waves of grain" of more than a hundred years ago . . . now
it has an efficient, shorter (~ 18" high) stalk, resisting damage by storms
and pests, making it easier to harvest. Also American wheat has been
bred to have a higher gluten content than European wheat.
Modern wheat and the high quantities consumed seem to have induced
several negative health effects
Including causing:
Accelerated weight
gain. One of the main sources of carbohydrates, wheat
actually has a higher
glycemic index at 71 (average for refined white and whole wheat flour) than table sugar
(sucrose) at 65! Also a recent in vivo study determined that
both WHOLE wheat and REFINED WHITE flour bread have a similarly high glycemic
response. Zafar et al, 2020
Cut the wheat, Cut the weight
Appetite stimulation. Gluten- related
maladies. E.g. Celiac Disease, nervous disorders, and others. Blood sugar
roller coaster ride. With INSULIN
resistance as a consequence. Inflammation,
osteoporosis, arthritis, joint pain, more. Due to its acidity
and anti- nutrients, such as phytates and lectins.
Modern refining process removes nutrients / adds chemicals / damages
fat
A wheat kernel (or berry or seed)
is composed of:
The bran
(Outer seed coat) - ~14% of kernel; rich in fiber, B vitamins, trace minerals;
removed by refining process ;The wheat
germ (small core) - ~3%; the sprouting portion of the kernel; rich
source of vitamins B and E removed by refining process ;
The endosperm (the middle) - ~ 80- 85%; the mainly starch + protein food
supply for the sprouting seed. Low B-vitamin and fiber content.
High milling temperatures turn grain's fatty acids rancid.
According to Sally Fallon, at the Weston A. Price Foundation, rancidity
increases when milled flours are stored for long periods of time, particularly in
open bins. Wheat used to be ground slowly at cool temperatures (sometimes using
big stones, which leave most of its nutritious bran intact), but now it is ground
using high- speed, high- temperature steel rollers .
White flour is bleached, nutrient deficient and contains
harmful chemicals
8429 Sliced crispy white breadfreefoodphotos . Licensed
CC BY 3.0
White flour has been
chemically bleached at the end of the refining process. A chlorine bath
(producing chlorine oxide) is the industry standard for whitening processed flour
for eye appeal, since oxidation during the refining process leaves the flour a less
attractive grayish color. This process also ages the flour to improve its gluten
(and thus its baking quality), replacing the need to actually take time to age the
flour. Diabetes-causing
alloxan is produced as a by-product of the flour bleaching process - Alloxan
is used to purposely develop diabetes in lab rodents, since it destroys pancreatic,
INSULIN-producing beta-cells by greatly increasing damaging free radical presence
in them. If you don't want to risk getting diabetes, then you don't want this
toxin in your body, even in small amounts White flour is commonly
the main ingredient in hamburger buns, tortillas, pastries, pasta, breads and cakes .
Nutrients lost from white flour along the refining "road"?
Almost all its
vitamin E
90% of its
magnesium
80% of its
iron
70% of its phosphorus
50- 80% of its
B vitamins
50% of its
calcium
50% of its beneficial
unsaturated fatty acids
And many more nutrients
Additives add insult to injury - "synthetic
vitamins and an unabsorbable form of iron added to white flour can cause numerous
imbalances; dough conditioners, stabilizers, preservatives and other additives add
insult to injury ."- Sally Fallon
Cereal by dankeck . Licensed CC0
1.0
Extrusion processes make interesting cereal
shapes and fancy looking crackers, but ensures even fewer surviving nutrients - "Slurries
of grain are forced through tiny holes at high temperatures and pressures in giant
extruders, a process that destroys nutrients and turns the proteins in grains into
veritable poisons. Westerners pay a lot for expensive breakfast cereals that snap,
crackle and pop, including the rising toll of poor health .."- Sally Fallon
Wheatgerm contains gut-perforating wheat germ agglutinin (WGA)
Even small concentrations of the lectin WGA
can cause proinflammatory activity in the immune system
leading to gut inflammationWGA can bind to and activate white blood cells
- again interfering with the immune system.WGA can penetrate the blood- brain barrier
- and
attach to the myelin sheath protecting the nerves. WGA can be toxic to cells and induce cell death. WGA is found in extremely high amounts in the wheat germ
(even compared to high amounts of agglutinins in beans) - but
WGA is also significantly present in its young sprouts
and since it resists degradation by traditional methods, it is also present in sprouted
wheat grain bread ; there is no WGA in
the endosperm Miskind
et al, 1980
A word on bran
Removed bran (of any grain)
eaten in unnaturally high amounts seriously interferes with
digestive metabolism and mineral absorption. Referred to as a
functional fiber, isolated bran is sold separately as a supposed health food.
Not only did nature intend that the bran stay with the grain for their
synergistic consumption, but also, bran contains the highest amount of
anti-nutrients (namely
phytic acid
and lectins )
of any food, and when it is consumed in abnormally high amounts as a "healthy"fiber
food, these anti-nutrients wreak "digestive havoc"
by perforating the gut lining, reducing the body's absorption of minerals,
and interfering with digestive enzymes .
References Miskind et al (1980, Nov), Distribution of wheat germ agglutinin in young wheat plants, Plant
Phys. (1980 Nov) 66(5):950- 955
PubMed
Zafar TA, Aldughpassi A, Al-Mussallam A, Al-Othman
A. Microstructure of Whole Wheat versus White Flour and Wheat-Chickpea Flour
Blends and Dough: Impact on the Glycemic Response of Pan Bread. Int J Food Sci.
2020 Oct 5;2020:8834960. doi: 10.1155/2020/8834960. PMID: 33083447; PMCID:
PMC7557900.
PubMed
