WHAT IN THE WHEAT?!

 

Wheat has always been a mainstay in people’s diets. It’s sustained civilizations for thousands of years. So why it is that more and more people are becoming sensitive to wheat and gluten? 15 years ago most people had never heard of a gluten allergy. Yet today, when you walk into a grocery store, you’ll find an almost overwhelming assortment of packaged foods labeled “gluten free”.  It doesn’t stop there. Restaurants have entire menus dedicated to those of us who’d prefer to not have our food be gluten full. Some restaurants even go so far as to not serve gluten at all. So when did wheat become the enemy?

In order to understand the sudden rise in celiac disease and gluten sensitivity we have to look at what’s happened to wheat in the last hundred years. Yes, the wheat of today is not the wheat our ancestors once ate. Dr. William Davis, author of “Wheat Belly”, puts things into perspective when he says that humans and chimpanzees are more similar genetically than modern wheat is to its ancient origins. Dr. Gary Young, of Young Living Essential Oils, calls modern wheat toxic and says it’s not fit for human consumption. That’s because today’s wheat is the product of over 40 years of genetic experiments.

Thousands of genetic experiments were carried out to create today’s high yield semi-dwarf strain. These experiments went on further to create something called Clearfield wheat which is grown all across the northwest. Using a process called chemical mutagenesis; the already hybridized wheat was exposed to a highly toxic chemical called sodium azide. Sodium azide is so poisonous that the CDC recommends in cases of accidental human consumption that you should not perform CPR on the victim (essentially letting them die) because you will be exposed. Its effects upon ingestion are similar to that of cyanide. Scary stuff!

Along with sodium azide, wheat embryos were exposed to radiation (gamma rays and x-rays), in order to induce mutations. These techniques were very crude and unpredictable, far worse than genetic-modification. Shockingly, this is all unregulated because it falls under the umbrella of “traditional breeding methods” and “hybridization.”

As if it could get any worse, modern day wheat has at least 10 applications of chemicals from start to finish. The seeds are sprayed to make them sprout followed by hormone sprays to make their stalks strong. The wheat fields are then drenched with glyphosate (Monsanto’s Roundup) right before harvest to kill the wheat. The wheat in turn releases its seeds all at the same time allowing for a greater yield and early harvest. Then they have fumigants in the warehouse. And that’s just the beginning before they start processing.

 

The use of glyphosate just before harvest started in the late 90’s. Below is a chart from a 2013 study published in the Journal Interdisciplinary Toxicology which shows a direct correlation between the increase in the use of glyphosate and the rise in celiac disease.

How does glyphosate contribute to celiac disease? By destroying our ability to digest wheat and gluten. The argument for glyphosate is that it only kills plants and bacteria. Well, we are 10x more bacteria than we are human cells. Glyphosate wreaks havoc on our microbiome. It disrupts our gut bacteria by killing off our good bacteria such as Enterococcus, Bifidobacterium, and Lactobacillus. These are the bacteria that actually help to digest grains and break down gluten. Bad bacteria such as Salmonella and Clostridium are highly resistant to glyphosate. So our gut flora becomes more and more pathogenic. It is also important to note that 90% of our neurotransmitters are made in our guts. If we don’t have enough good bacteria in our guts to make neurotransmitters then our brains don’t work as well as they should. This is important because once the neurological system becomes damaged then you can get symptoms anywhere.  80% of our immune systems are also located in our guts. This explains not just the rise in celiac disease but also the increase in chronic illness.

You might think you’re safe with organic wheat bread but even that originates from genetics research.

So what wheat can you eat? Well, there is ONLY ONE wheat that has NEVER been hybridized and it’s called Einkorn wheat. Einkorn is Earth’s most ancient wheat dating back to the beginning of time. “Einkorn’s natural genetic code and low gluten levels make it a superior choice because of the compatibility with the human body when compared to the modern hybrid wheat of today. Einkorn grain is easier to digest, so nutrients are better absorbed.” says Dr. Gary Young.  Dr. Young advises that no one eat wheat today unless it’s Einkorn. He also says that he’s fed Einkorn wheat to people with gluten sensitivities and they were able to eat it with no reaction.

While Einkorn wheat has 14 chromosomes, modern day wheat has a whopping 42 chromosomes! The 42 chromosomes makes it a super starch, super sugar and super addictive. In fact 2 slices of whole wheat bread will spike your blood sugar more than 6 teaspoons of table sugar. That’s because wheat has two starches, amylose and amylopectin. Amylopectin is the faster releasing and digesting starch. It has the ability to increase blood sugar faster than any other carbohydrate. This super starch makes up about 75% of the starch found in hybridized wheat. Einkorn wheat’s starch, on the other hand, is made up mostly of the slow digesting starch, amylose.  Gliadin (a protein in wheat) now acts as an opiate. This altered gliadin stimulates your appetite by suppressing your body’s ability to communicate that you’re full. Research shows that people who eat wheat eat an average of 400 calories more per day than people who don’t eat wheat. The amount of gluten has doubled in hybridized wheat and has modified into a sort of super gluten, damaging the gut lining and creating full body inflammation.

Another difference between Einkorn wheat and modern wheat is the traditional farming method that allowed the grain to germinate. Einkorn wheat was cut before it was mature, chopped and then left to stand in the field for 10 days. The dew from the rain would stimulate the kernel to germinate; activating enzymes that facilitate digestion, decreasing gluten proteins and increasing nutrients such as vitamin C, vitamin E, beta-carotene, folate, fiber and protein, while decreasing carbohydrates and lessening anti-nutrients. This traditional practice doesn’t happen with modern wheat. It is cut when it is mature and never gets the chance to germinate. Modern wheat bread also doesn’t follow traditional preparation techniques of fermentation. It used to take a couple of days to make a loaf of bread. Today it’s made in two hours. The fermentation process is important especially if the wheat is not germinated because it helps to break down all of the anti-nutrients and irritants that are naturally in wheat.

Where can people find Einkorn wheat? Dr. Gary Young started looking for Einkorn wheat in 1990 after watching wheat continue to get shorter and shorter. He found small patches growing in the Hunza Land of upper Pakistan and Anatolia, Turkey (it was nearly extinct at this time). Today he grows over 200 acres of Einkorn at his farm in Utah and over 2,000 acres in France. Dr. Young follows the traditional methods of organic farming and harvesting of wheat. You can buy his products through his website where he sells Einkorn flour, pasta, pancake waffle mix and granola.

For people who have serious gluten allergies and stick to a gluten free diet it’s important to know that the FDA in America have set the limit for gluten free at 20 parts per million. If it’s got less than that then it can be labeled “gluten free”.  This is a serious problem because it allows manufactures to cross contaminate and there are some people who cannot tolerate even one microgram of gluten. It’s important to know where each of your ingredients is coming from so always read labels and make your own food. Watch out for ingredients such as, glucose, multi-dextrose and dextrose which are all wheat based sugars. Even ascorbic acid (vitamin c) is made from wheat although most commonly GMO corn is used.

Also, it’s not just ingesting wheat we have to be careful of. We are constantly being exposed to wheat on our skin as well. Because wheat is a subsidized crop it makes it a cheap ingredient and unfortunately 80%-90% of the skincare industry uses wheat in their products. What we put on our bodies is just as important as what we put in them. Remember, it only takes 26 seconds for ingredients in your cosmetics to enter your bloodstream. While you may not feel an immediate reaction, overtime it will create inflammation in your body.

Because most gluten free products are loaded with junk, here are some of my favorite gluten free alternatives:

Grindestone Bakery Quinoa/ Millet Loaf

BREAD SRSLY Sourdough Bread Rolls  

truROOTS Sprouted Quinoa

Sunfood Coconut Wraps

Nature's Hilights Brown Rice Pizza Crust

Cauliflower Pizza Crust

Spaghetti Squash

Zucchini Noodles

Cauliflower Rice

Garnet Yams 

Yukon Gold Potatoes

Plantains

Nori
 

Sources and more information:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4-3ylnK6TE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UbBURnqYVzw
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3945755/
https://www.youngliving.com/en_US/products/book-ancient-einkorn-todays-staff-of-life
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/wheat-belly-william-davis/1100823429?ean=9781609614799
https://whatswithwheat.com/