A grain of wheat

Over the years much has been published about wheat and there is no getting away from the fact that people suffer from wheat allergies and gluten allergy.

Wheat is a relatively recent addition to our diet, which is something we either forget or are not aware of. As such our bodies have not yet adapted to digesting wheat; this, in turn, causes allergy, resulting in a common food allergen.

Additionally, wheat can be addictive (note how difficult it is to stop eating bread for a few weeks for some people) and together with sugar is a major contributor to obesity. (Brostoff J., Gamlin L., The Complete Guide to Food Allergy and Intolerance, Bloomsbury Publishing).

What is not widely known is that every grain of wheat contains wheat germ agglutinin (WGA). Even in small quantities this can have profoundly adverse toxic effects.

It can pass through the blood-brain barrier and may inhibit nerve growth factor, important for the growth, maintenance and survival of neurons. WGA is also involved in the body’s pain pathways (Scand J. Gastroenterol., 2010; Biol. Psychiatry, 2010).

Taking all this information together, it points to the fact that wheat may contribute considerably to the pain and suffering of arthritis as well as to other significant health problems. It is ironic therefore that wheat is one of the few foods for which most countries food producers are permitted to make health claims on labels and packaging.

It is the food airlifted to many starving countries. The health claims are particularly true for wholegrains and bran, for which we are told, can reduce heart disease and even some cancers.

Phytates (especially phytanic acid), which is found in the fibre content of wheat, is known to inhibit the uptake of calcium, iron, zinc and possibly even magnesium. When bread is made, these phytates are broken down in the process and should no longer affect mineral metabolism; however, the wholegrains added to ‘wholegrain bread’ are unaffected by the leavening process and thus contribute to the ill-effects of wheat.

Iron deficiency is among the most common deficiencies seen in Europeans, and the phytates in wheat fibre reduce iron absorption. This means that unleavened bread, wholegrains, bran and bran-based foods should not be consumed by those at risk of iron deficiency.

This group includes children under the age of two, menstruating women and those who eat little meat, especially if they also drink tea (Davies S, Stewart A, Nutritional Medicine: The Drug Free Guide to Better Family Health, Pan Books).

Looking at the evidence against wheat, it is clear that our overarching reliance on wheat and its related grains (rye and barley) may be one of the primary culprits behind poor health, and why anthropologists only find traces of diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, heart disease, tooth decay, diabetes, cancer, short stature, anaemia, bone disease, infectious diseases and a reduced lifespan after the historical introduction of these grains into a human diet (Bond G., Deadly Harvest: The Intimate Relationship between our health and our food, Square One Publishers).

Even more bad news shows that WGA disrupts the endocrine function, thereby contributing to weight gain and insulin resistance by blocking leptin receptors in the hypothalamus; it also interferes with the production of secretin from the pancreas, thereby leading to digestive problems and an unhealthy enlarged pancreas. (J. Pharmacol. Exp. Ther., 2003).

Wheat, rye, barley and soy all contain exceptionally high levels of glutamic and aspartic acid, making them ‘excitotoxins’ – in other words, they cause over-activation of nerve cell receptors that can lead to calcium-induced nerve injury.

WGA also stimulates the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines found in the intestine and immune cells which, in turn, cause a variety of chronic inflammatory conditions.

WGA is also capable of halting the cell cycle and causing cell death. (Toxicol. in Vitro, 2004). As it crosses the blood-brain barrier, WGA often pulls other compounds along with it, resulting in neurotoxic effects in the brain (Toxicol. Appl. Pharmacol., 2011).

The many effects of WGA lead to describing it as ‘humanity’s bane from the wheaten grain’. So what can be eaten instead of bread? Initially, weaning off bread is the first step, then try adding sweet potato, millet, quinoa, sago, rice, gram flour, chickpea flour, tapioca and Indian rice to the diet instead.

Learning to be less reliant on bread is the key to success. Sandwiches are so quick and easy to rely on. Bread is a great filler for adults and children when they are hungry. So planning a replacement in advance is vital.

More and more outlets are selling baked potatoes as a snack, which can be chosen instead of a sandwich. In the UK the sandwich market is a billion pound business, goodness knows what it is worth in the US, and globally it is beyond belief.

However, there are many Asian countries where there is little, if no, reliance on wheat and it takes some planning, determination and the evidence of feeling much healthier, to motivate the elimination of wheat into our lives.

kathryn@maltanet.net