Wheat – The Mother of all Health Threats

French toast on the griddle! Mmm.

Wheat in Our Diet

This is going to come across a little aggressive: Give me even one compelling reason to eat wheat or products made from it. I double-dog dare you to come up with even one health-related reason. There is literally NO nutritional benefit to having wheat in your diet. Prove me wrong.

Paleolithic man ate very tiny amounts of any grains. When they did, it was by eating individual seeds from the stems. As we’ve evolved, we learned to grow, harvest, and mill grains. Later, we learned how to genetically modify them through selection and get more of it per acre. It has only been in the last 500 or so years that wheat has become featured in mankind’s diets. Today, however, wheat and other grains are a cheap and effective caloric intake for the poorest of our global poor. It does have its place in saving people from starvation, but beyond that?

Why not Wheat?

Now, I’m not going to go all earthy here on you, spouting GMO and organic mantras. I do want you to stop and think about all the ways you ingest refined grains every day. Crackers, bread, pastries, breakfast cereal, granola bars, candies, blah blah blah. Are any of those health foods? Whole grain or not, are they really?

There is a mounting body of evidence that wheat is not only unnecessary to us, it may be a silent killer. That sounds a bit melodramatic, but I’m one hundred percent convinced it is the truth. There are two primary ways that wheat is killing us all, slowly.

Carbohydrates

Refined wheat is nearly all composed of carbohydrates. Both white and whole wheat bread have a glycemic index that is higher than table sugar! This by itself stresses our pancreas to the max, flooding our bodies with insulin. Insulin tells our liver to ramp up fat storage (times of plenty and all that). Body fat and a chronic tax on our pancreas and liver start to wear down our body and we become insulin-resistant. The next phase of this cycle is full-blown diabetes.

To sum up the impact of a refined carbohydrate diet rich in wheat and sugar, we are literally fattening ourselves up for slaughter. Why do we feed corn or grain to slaughter cattle or to geese to fatten their livers for pate? Is there anyone left out there who believes being fat and/or diabetic DOESN’T lead quickly to things like heart disease, cancer, neural disorders, and a host of other really bad things?

Gluten

Oy! Gluten is a protein a component of some grains, particularly wheat. Gluten is particularly good at harming our small intestines. It’s what it does. Gluten has been linked to leaky gut, irritable bowel syndrome, Celiac disease, Parkinson’s, diabetes, Multiple Sclerosis, food allergies, heart disease, and a whole host of autoimmune diseases.

Pizza and Beer – Splurge or Core?

Gluten harms the mucosal lining in your gut. If it enters your bloodstream because of this damage, it creates inflammation throughout your body. This transfers to a crazy number of maladies. I’ve eaten wheat all my life. I will never know the damage it has done to me, but I have had fatty liver (NAFLD), removed gallbladder, and weight gain. Who knows what other damage has been done. Maybe I’m just lucky.

The Case for Wheat

Well, whole-grain wheat provides fiber and that is good, right? Yes, that is good, but there are a billion other ways to get fiber without the risks of ruining your gut and your health. So is there a case for wheat? The case for wheat, in my opinion, is focused around two areas. The first is world hunger. Wheat, rice, corn, barley, oats and other grains are how we keep really hungry people from dying. It is cheap and you can get a lot of calories out of a single square foot of ground. This is important to humanity.

The second area where wheat and other grains shine is in the beautiful diversity of flavors and treats in our diets. Beer, whisky, cake, pie, pastries, crackers, breads, soups, candies and all other sorts of ridiculously good things come from wheat. This is the problem, sort of. Wheat triggers endorphins. Wheat makes us hypoglycemic. These two traits cause us to crave more, and so we spiral…

Everyone?

No healthy person that isn’t malnourished benefits from wheat. The evidence is mounting that perhaps the majority of us are being harmed by wheat in some way. Some of us are more or less tolerant of the effects of chronic carbohydrate-based diets and the effects of gluten. Most of us aren’t tolerant, but the vast majority of those folks aren’t aware.

Do you have arthritis? Irritable bowel? Migraines? A high percentage of body fat? Gal bladder pain or problems? NAFLD? Leaky gut? Chronic constipation. Skin or autoimmune disorders? Joint pain? Fibromyalgia? Late-onset food allergies? Bloating? All of these can be derived from gut problems or insulin issues arising from wheat consumption. Sugar is horrible too, but at least it doesn’t contain gluten.

Is there any compelling reason NOT to remove refined wheat and sugar from your diet? Quit hiding behind the bullshit “everything in moderation” mantra. I’m not listening. You don’t put gasoline or rat poison in your mouth in moderation do you? If you want fiber in your diet, and you most certainly do, eat vegetables, nuts, and fruits, all simply loaded with fiber…oh, and vitamins and minerals to make you happy! Quit hiding behind the whole grain hoax. If you want whole grain, eat flax, chia, or oats, but don’t use it to excuse your wheat fix.

My Idea

Almost every one of us can benefit from eliminating wheat (and sugar, corn syrup, and a few other low-hanging fruits) from our diet. Full stop. What else can I say here?

Perhaps for a majority of us, pure abstinence isn’t the cure. I don’t really know, as it is a little bit like having a drink, a joint, or shooting up a little heroine once in a while. Most of us simply can’t regulate it down to one or two servings per week. Even then, why are you doing it? My answer is we do it because we crave the stuff, just like alcohol and any other nasty habit-forming or addictive substance.

Cotton Candy – Health Food?

I propose that if you can afford to replace wheat (and sugar) in your diet with healthy vegetables, fruits, nuts, and other whole foods, you simply should. If you keep wheat out of your diet on principle, then it shouldn’t be any issue to have a piece of cake or donut once or twice a month. Just abstain completely for two months. Then, first of all you may see some weight loss or other unexpected benefits, but you won’t suffer any side effects from wheat elimination!

It is hard to bake and cook without wheat (and sugar), but it can be done. Almond, flax seed, and coconut flours can be used in pie crusts, gravy, pizza dough, and a number of other ways. Bread is a tough one, it is so lovely when it is warm and fresh and steamy when you slather butter….mmm. Ok, I get this won’t be easy, and substitutes are hard when you are used to ridiculously tasty treats.

And Finally

Don’t believe me? Ok, well I sure as heck am not an M.D. or even a lowly Ph.D., but I’m curious, concerned, and read a lot. If you want some additional resources to help you decide whether this journey is right for you, I will recommend the following titles. Also if you click on the link it will take you to amazon.com and slap a cookie onto your computer that makes me money if you buy anything there. I say that so you can type it into amazon yourself if you want to deny me my $0.12 or whatever!!

Eat Dirt! Why Leakey Gut May be the Root Cause of Your Health Problems and 5 Surprising Steps to Cure it, by Dr. Josh Axe

Wheat Belly Total Health: The Ultimate Grain-Free Health and Weight-Loss Life Plan, by William Davis M.D.

Wheat Belly: Lose the Wheat, Lose the Weight, and Find Your Path Back to Health, by William Davis M.D.

Grain Brain: The Surprising Truth about Wheat, Carbs, and Sugar-Your Brain’s Silent Killers, by David Perlmudder, M.D.

How Not to Die: Discover the Foods Scientifically Proven to Prevent and Reverse Disease, by Michael Greger, M.D.

Brain Maker: The Power of Gut Microbes to Heal and Protect Your Brain – For Life, by David Perlmudder, M.D.

The Dorito Effect: The Surprising New Truth About Food and Flavor, by Mark Schatzker

If I had to pick, I’d start with Eat Dirt, Wheat Belly, and Grain Brain, but they all add something significant. If you can afford whole foods, then kick the wheat and other refined grains right out of your diet. Sugar should have been gone long ago.