Why Wheat is Bad For You

Eat your healthy whole grains everyday for ultimate heart health! That's what you're told day after day by  doctors, nutritionists & the big agra businesses pushing their sugar latent cereal to your children. But are whole grains, more specifically wheat really healthy or even necessary for optimal health? 

Present day wheat

The wheat that is in our modern day foods isn't anything close to what our ancestors consumed on a daily basis. The wheat mass produced today is an experiment to gain yield per acre not supply nutrition. Wheat is in everything we consume today from the massive bread aisle in your super market to the snack aisle & every aisle in between. In fact it is one of the most consumed grains on the planet being responsible for approximately 20% of all calories consumed!  The simple reason it is a staple ingredient in our diets is because it is so cheap to grow & it is continually subsidized by the US Government.

Gluten 

Gluten is the main protein in wheat responsible for making dough stretchable rollable & elastic. It is made of two primary families of proteins known as gliadins & glutenins. Gliadins are the proteins responsible for the negative reaction to wheat in Celiac sufferers. Even if you don't suffer from Celiac disease gluten still has an inflammatory affect on your gut. In fact most everyone who consumes wheat has a negative reaction. It may be in the form of acne or rashes or more serious conditions and auto immune diseases. 

Anti-Nutrients in Wheat

Wheat contains anti-nutrients called phytates. Phytates actaully bind to minerals like magnesium,calcium, zinc & iron and literally remove them from our bodies. Phytates also make minerals bio unavailable or non digestible so any "healthy" minerals in wheat are null and void.
There are also things called Lectins. Lectins are proteins that are in plants that are for protecting the plant (think defense). They protect the plant or seed by attaching to the intestinal lining when consumed causing considerable intestinal distress. Then further they may wear down the stomach lining causing leaky gut syndrome. 

The Insulin Response

Symtoms of high blood sugar.

Wheat has a unique ability to raise blood sugar levels through the roof.  In fact two slices of whole wheat bread raise insulin levels more than a Snickers Bar! Wheat products raise blood sugar levels more than any other carbohydrate period! With this spike in insulin levels comes with it the inevitable crash. You know the feeling after eating a big bowl of pasta, or eating a whole pizza. This roller coaster response inherently causes the body over time to become insulin resistant & then diabetic. High insulin levels also create inflammation in the body & in the arteries causing cracks & allowing the buildup of plaque.   

Welcome to the future of nutrition!

Do you struggle with being over weight? If you're like most Americans today the answer is probably yes. You are not alone & I was there myself for the majority of my life. I struggled with my weight from early childhood right into my early thirties & it began to affect my health. That is until I found the principles of the Paleo Diet!