Haven’t people always been eating grains and aren’t whole grain products supposed to be healthy?
I used to think that way too, but only until I found out that only after the advent of grain agriculture within the last 10,000 years humans began to consume grains. Before that, humans were primarily fruit eaters, so humans, no matter what age or gender, aren’t designed to digest grains.
But why avoid grains/gluten if you don’t have a Celiac disease or any symptoms? Grains like wheat, rye, barley, oats, spelt and rice contain a lot of insoluble fiber, which harms the inner lining of your gut and leads to an increased level of lubricating mucus. Whole grain products and fiber supplements are causing more harm than good because they destroy the gut lining, prevent the reabsorption of nutrients and lead to nutrient deficiencies. The soluble fiber that’s found in fruits and vegetables provide a much better quality of fiber which isn’t harsh on the gastrointestinal tract.
People with Celiac disease react more strongly to grains/gluten than those without the disease, but even though you don’t have any noticeable reaction, the symptoms are sneaky. Hypothyroidism, diabetes, leaky-gut, brain fog, depression, cancer, a weak immune system and obesity can all be related to gluten. Our body has the genetic potential to develop antibodies against gluten and when the body doesn’t react against gluten immediately, gluten proteins can enter the blood stream more easily and trigger immune reactions elsewhere in the body, e.g. the thyroid or pancreas.
Due to Dr. William Davis (the author of “Wheat Belly”), the gliadin in wheat products can even increase your appetite and make you addicted, which is why you can eat one cookie after another and still want some more.
Bread, cakes, pasta and the like are not the only foods that contain gluten. It can nowadays also be found in many convenience foods as well as vegan products, especially seitan, which is made of pure gluten.
Even though grains have become very popular, they are very low in available nutrition, hard to digest, fattening and acid forming in the human body, which needs to be slightly alkaline.
Another crucial factor is that grains must be cooked in order to be edible. Grains are made up of complex sugars (sucrose, dextrose, maltose, lactose) but since our body can only use simple sugars (glucose, fructose) it has to break down the complex sugars into simple sugars in order to use it to fuel our cells. The excess is then converted into and stored as mostly fat.
The constant consumption of grain products can thus lead to cancer, arthritis, chronic fatigue and hypothyroidism.
- It destroys the gut lining,
- it reduces mineral absorption,
- it causes gas & bloating and
- it makes constipation even worse.
Very good substitutions: Millet, quinoa, amaranth & buckwheat and of course whole fresh fruits & veggies! 😉
Grain free cracker recipe:
Ingredients
1 lb shredded carrots or carrot/beet/veggie pulp
3 tbsp linseeds (soaked for 1h)
2 tbsp diced parsley (fresh or dried)
1 tsp crushed caraway seeds
½ tsp curry powder (salt free)
Directions
Add all ingredients into a bowl and toss to combine. Add water if necessary.
Spread the carrot dough onto dehydrator sheets and dry it at a low temperature (104°F) for 6-12h, depending on how thick you spread it and how crisp you want it to be.
