I was in America recently and saw a talk by Dr William Davis, author of Wheat Belly. There were a number of interesting opinions that Dr Davis put forward about eating wheat and in fact all grains.
Grains of the seeds of grass. For example, corn is a grass from Mexico, millet a grass from sub Saharan Africa and wheat a grass from the Middle East. It is estimated now that 50% of all human calorie consumption comes from the seeds of grasses. If you look at human evolution beyond 10,000 years ago humans did not eat grass. Humans ate a number of different foods; meat, fish, seafood, poultry, eggs, vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds, but not of grass or the seeds of grass, or for that matter beans and legumes.
Grains contain a number of substances that make it difficult for human digestions. The most obvious is gluten found in many different grains particularly wheat. Dr Davis suggests that wheat has genetically changed over the last 10,000 years; the wheat that we eat now is not the type of wheat from the times of the bible or from 10,000 years ago. This may be a contributing factor to the increase in prevalence of coeliac disease that we are seeing in the western world.
Wheat also contains a protein called gliadin that people can also have a problem with. Gliadin is digested in the gastrointestinal tract to small peptides that act as opiates and bind to the opiate receptors of the human brain. Depending on the genetic make up of the person this can lead to a number of different health problems such as binge eating, food obsession, ADHD, schizophrenia or depression, suggests Dr Davis.
Wheat also contains wheat germ agglutinin, another protein that blocks leptin and cholecystokinin molecules that should trigger satiety, leading to overeating and carbohydrate addiction. Wheat germ agglutinin cannot be digested in the human GI tract and can create inflammation and lead to leaky gut syndrome and a disruption in the human micro biome, that may contribute to a variety of autoimmune problems such as rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis or lupus.
Finally wheat can affect blood sugar worse than eating plain table sugar. A lot of wheat and grain based products, even the so-called healthy wholegrain products, are moderate to high glycaemic load. This high blood sugar leads to high insulin levels and ultimately insulin resistance and Type II diabetes, which in turn can lead to increased visceral adiposity and all of the complications of diabetes.
Food manufacturers are becoming aware of gluten and the public’s concern about eating wheat and grains. However, Dr Davis suggests that we should avoid eating gluten free products as there are plenty of other potentially harmful non-nutrients in these products.
A lot of gluten-free foods have more potato starch, tapioca starch and corn starch in them, all of which have a higher glycaemic load than wheat.
Perhaps the best thing to do would be to avoid all grains and wheat based products, such as breads, pasta, rice, all gluten free products and eat a more Paleo based diet including foods such as meat, fish, seafood and poultry with fruits and vegetables and nuts and seeds.
For more on this topic read Dr Davis book Wheat Belly available from Amazon.co.uk.
