Wheat has been around for thousands of years, but all of a sudden people have started to question its righteousness. Think about it, since the dawn of time bread has been a symbol of wealth, comfort, charity and wholesomeness; why has this all changed?
The wheat myth begins with the popular notion of 'healthy whole grains'.
90% of the grains eaten are wheat. The truth is that there is no good reason to eat it at all, now this may seem provocative and polarising, but grains are really quite nutritionally sparse. (Yes, even the types with added vitamins. But that's a story for a different post)
It can be taken a step further; grains of all sorts are not only nutritionally sparse, but they also contain substances which will alter your brain chemistry, cause inflammation, upset your stomach lining and make your overweight.
They are very destructive.
The point at which grains went from being an essential part of every day life, to one of the major contributors to the biggest epidemic in the history of civilisation, was when we began to tinker with the wheat of old, to make it more productive.
In order to produce enough food for the ever expanding population, governments began to fund agricultural research. They wanted their daily bread to be cheaper and more abundant then ever before. So as a result geneticists were called in to produce a new strain of wheat, fit for the modern world.
The result was a wheat strain which was completely different to the plant from which it originated, but yielded 10 times more usable produce.
It goes further, current techniques involve the exposing wheat plants to sodium azide to induce chemical mutagenisis or exposing them to radiation. .
Here are three compelling reasons to give up wheat:
1. Wheat proteins
Wheat contains gluten, which when broken down in the stomach produces a protein called gliadin. It has been known for decades that gliadin is a very bad protein for humans.
Researchers in the 70's found that gliadin binds to opiate receptors in the brain. Unlike other opiates like heroine and morphine, it doesn't make you high or reduce pain, wheat protein stimulates appetite.
So when other researchers gave people naloxone (an opiate blocking drug) to counteract the effects of the wheat
they ate approximately 400kcals less over the period of a day.
2. Blood sugar control
Bread also plays havoc with your blood sugar, take this example:
Whole wheat bread is healthier than white bread, because it has more fiber and will therefore have a slower rate of digestion. This results in less insulin, less fat gain and generally better health. The GI rating of whole wheat bread is 69 compared to white bread which is 70.
The rating of sucrose (pure table sugar) is 65.
2 slices of whole wheat bread raises blood sugar more than 6 teaspoons of sugar. This is because the type of carbohydrate within wheat is extremely digestible, and hits our blood stream fast.
GI is not the be all and end all of blood sugar management but it does help to demonstrate that the 'complex carbohydrates' in bread are not as healthy as they are said to be, especially if you are overweight and want to lose fat.
3. Wheat Germ Agglutinin
The wheat plant uses a compound called Wheat Germ Agglutinin to protect itself from attacks by fungi and bacteria. Gliadin breaks down intestinal tissue, much like someone who suffers from coeliac disease, allowing WGA to make its way into your blood stream. For a great explanation of why this is a bad idea then follow this link.
A standard wheat based diet:
- Makes you more resistant to insulin
- Disrupts the intestinal lining
- Allows foreign bodies into the blood
- Increases the incidence of hundreds of diseases
- Makes you hungrier
Bibliography
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Wheat-Belly-Weight-Health-ebook/dp/B00571F26Y/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1376995492&sr=8-1&keywords=wheat+belly
No comments:
Post a Comment