Eating the
wheat grain, including wheat flour products, is harmful to health, as
wheat has thousands of irritant proteins and acids that are toxic to
humans,
including
lectin, gliadin, gluten and phytic acid.
Millions of
people are allergic to wheat without knowing, especially to the gluten,
which may cause uncomfortable
digestive tract disorders, especially celiac disease or "sprue".
The various compounds in modern wheat effect nearly everyone
who eats it.
Of the many people who have a
known wheat allergy, it is described as a gluten allergy. Wheat allergy and
gluten intolerance are very common.
Gluten is the sticky protein in wheat that makes it popular for baking
bread and pastries. The gluten holds the items baked with wheat
flour together.
The problem is, most of us are
eating too much of the starchy part of the wheat, where most of the
gluten and other toxic proteins are found, and
missing the great goodness wheat has to offer.
White flour products
are especially poor, as they have little of the goodness and most of the
starch, gluten and irritant proteins. The nutritious wheat germ and the fiber of the
bran, which is beneficial for bowel elimination, are often separated from the
flour in milling white flour.
Gluten is not the only allergy problem with wheat.
The lectin in wheat is particularly damaging
to the arteries where they branch. It has been found to be a major
contributor to circulatory disease, particularly hardening of the
arteries (atherosclerosis). Gliadin is an opiate
compound in modern wheat varieties that binds to receptors in the brains
and stimulates appetite, contributing to excess weight problems and
diabetes. Phytic acid in wheat is a significant cause of arthritic
trouble.
Today's
wheat has was developed from hybrids of earlier strains of wheat, such
as emmer, and other grasses. Modern wheat has more of the gliadin
protein. Spelt, kamut and emmer are older varieties of wheat, whereas
triticale is a hybrid of wheat and rye that does not reproduce itself.
The best way to use wheat
family grains for food is by sprouting, which reduces some of the
harmful compounds, and even better to grow the kernals into wheat grass for juicing.
You can also chew the grass to extract the juice, which is high in
chlorophyll, beta carotene, enzymes and minerals.
It is quite a challenge to
avoid wheat as it is so common in the modern diet. Nonetheless,
eliminating it would be a great benefit for health. Barley, rye and oats
eaten as grain or cereal are somewhat better, but do also contain
gluten. As raw whole grains these can be
sprouted into beneficial grass as well as wheat.
