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Rethinking the Gluten-Free Craze
“After a while the young man sat up and looked at the heavens, at the twinkling white stars, and then away across the shadows of round hills in the dusk. … The dreaming hills with their precious rustling wheat meant more than even a spirit could tell. Where had the wheat come from that had seeded these fields? Whence the first and original seeds, and where were the sowers? Back in the ages! The stars, the night, the dark blue of heaven hid the secret in their impenetrableness. Beyond them surely was the answer, and perhaps peace.”
Zane Grey, The Desert of Wheat (1919)
From the book: Harvest Heritage
by Richard D. Scheuerman & Alexander C. McGregor
After some years of enjoying delicious grain recipes, I actually got to the point where I was about to toss the grain baby out with the bath water! Why? Well, from many of the friendly Weston A. Price Foundation discussion groups and blogs that I and another WAPF buddy of mine follow, it seems of late that the urgent message to go gluten-free was the last great impetus since man landed on the moon!
I began to see a deluge of recipes featuring alternative flours for baking. Almond flour was the most frequently suggested replacement for wheat flours. This new standard is not only a regular part of many WAPF-friendly blogs, but can be found virtually all over the Internet and is sadly becoming the norm. Additionally, there are the many affirmations that at last, we have finally come to realize (drum-roll) that it was the gluten that caused all those health problems! Give up the glutenous poison and a near nirvana state of health would be ours! Who could argue with these claims?
In addition to blogs and the Internet pointing us in the direction of gluten-free baking and cooking, all we need to do is visit any commercial grocery or health food store. The grand proof that we have at last found the latest health panacea of the moment lies in the fact that shelf after shelf groans under the weight of gluten-free foods to appease even those of us who have never been bothered by eating gluten! Further, a sizable library of books, and some written by good doctors newly crowned the super-stars of the gluten-free craze, bolsters the faith of the recently converted. Unfortunately much of this information has served to hurt the wheat industry as a whole, and has also scared the common sense out of anyone who would dare to put a slice of wheat bread in his mouth!
Sensing that there was something wrong with this picture and noting a definite departure from what I’d been used to eating, I, too, came under the spell and found myself at one of those stores looking for a sack of (gluten-free) almond flour! Of course I wanted to be sure I purchased the best organic almond flour I could find! This brazen act was perpetrated in spite of the fact that almonds and other gluten-free flours have some distinct disadvantages when compared to organic grains. So why was I looking to feed my family a wholesale diet of cookies, cakes, breads and numerous other foods made from gluten-free flours while choosing to ignore the nutritious grain recipes in books like Nourishing Traditions?
Something inside me asked whether I could also perhaps be succumbing to the message? Just maybe I had not done my homework. It genuinely bothered me to see the proliferation of the gluten-free credo in a good many of the WAPF-friendly blogs and websites. I wondered how we could prevent the situation we recently experienced with the popular Paleo diets which were misunderstood to be a re-interpretation of the WAPF and ancestral diets. My instant conclusion was, here we go again!
Suddenly, I felt I absolutely must investigate this issue further, and a faint sadness settled on me to think that going gluten-free may now also be misinterpreted as being endorsed as part of the diet espoused by the Weston A. Price Foundation. For newcomers that fallacy could be a real disaster as the diverse diet encouraged by the WAPF is the only diet that I know of that does not condemn any food groups such as meats, fruits, complex carbohydrates, saturated fats, and other foods, including those that contain gluten. WAPF encourages us to eat from all the food groups while focusing on the healing of our gastrointestinal system or, as I like to call it, the body’s “central processor,” so as to be able to enjoy and receive nourishment from all of it!
Yes, I put the bag of almond flour back on the shelf and came home to dig into the gluten-free craze a little deeper. After nearly six months of meetings via email, reading many books, and numerous private phone conversations with some fantastic authors, business owners, and growers of ancient and heritage grains, I respectfully submit to you my findings. After a long absence due to my perceived fear of gluten, I now sit down to a delicious, warm slice of real sourdough bread and homemade butter. Ah, to eat what Grandmother served so frequently, and of which we relished every last bite, always eager to be right there when the fresh loaves were taken from the oven. This in my opinion is the way it should be, and I hope by the time you’ve read the rest of this article, it will be your opinion also.
THE TRUE GLUTEN-FREE CANDIDATE
Possibly the only true candidate for a totally gluten-free diet is a person who has damage to the tiny, fingerlike protrusions lining the small intestine called villi. Villi allow nutrients from food to be absorbed into the bloodstream. When damaged, the body cannot absorb nutrients properly, leading to malnutrition—regardless of the quantity or quality of food eaten. This is celiac disease and those suffering from it must abstain from gluten in all forms. Unfortunately, celiac disease can be misdiagnosed as irritable bowel syndrome, Crohn’s disease, diverticulitis, intestinal infections, iron deficiency, anemia and even chronic fatigue syndrome. It is estimated that about one percent of the U.S. population has celiac disease.
Although this article is not meant to discuss or address celiac disease as such, I am including information about the necessary testing that may determine whether a complete gluten-free diet is even advisable. The results of a blood test can help detect celiac disease. If a blood test comes back positive for the appropriate antibodies an upper endoscopy may be performed to assess possible damage to the small intestine, more specifically the duodenum. If there is flattening of the villi, those finger-like projections that absorb nutrients, the doctor will work with the patient to create a gluten-free diet. Genetic testing is also helpful for relatives of those with celiac disease, as the disease is hereditary and common among first-degree relatives.
NEWER APPROACH IN DIAGNOSTICS
A fairly new approach that seeks to provide more sensitive, complete and early screening is available from EnteroLab. Their test is based on earlier research which demonstrated that anti-gliadin antibodies appear in the contents of the intestines before they appear in the blood. EnteroLab utilizes stool samples to test for these antibodies in gluten-sensitive individuals with the hope of positively identifying the condition before more extensive damage to the body has occurred.
People with non-celiac gluten sensitivity generally have an unpleasant response to eating gluten. Symptoms can be similar to those of IBS (irritable bowel syndrome): bloating, diarrhea, and flatulence following the consumption of gluten-containing foods. They may also experience headaches or fatigue following the consumption of gluten. Unlike a true celiac sufferer, these reactions may not occur every time gluten is eaten; there is also no correlation with autoimmunity, making this very different from celiac disease.
Wheat allergy—the third form of gluten intolerance—is a histamine response to any of several different forms of protein, including gluten, found in wheat.
GOING GLUTEN-FREE
Some of those going gluten-free may have decided to give up just baked goods like breads or cookies, and other easily recognized wheat-based foods, failing to understand that they are still getting plenty of gluten from other sources. One of the reasons a diet completely free of gluten is so challenging is that gluten is present in many processed foods, not just those whose main ingredient is wheat, barley, or rye. Just a few of these include frozen vegetables, sauces, soy sauce, many foods made with “natural flavorings,” vitamin and mineral supplements, some medications, and even toothpaste. Of course, this is one more in a long list of reasons to stay away from most processed foods, and focus instead on those you prepare yourself!
According to Dr. Leffler, director of clinical research at the Celiac Center at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, a true gluten-free diet is time-consuming, expensive, and restrictive. “It’s a gigantic burden for those who have to follow it,” says Dr. Leffler. “Many people with celiac disease are understandably frustrated when they hear in the lay press how wonderful this diet is.”
The potential disadvantages of many glutenfree flours are similar to those of any refined flour: too much starch, too little fiber, and a lack of important vitamins and minerals. Just because something is gluten-free doesn’t mean it’s not refined. Many gluten-free bread and baking mixes have added sugar, and many recipes and mixes require the addition of xanthan or guar-gum to provide the structure found in flours containing gluten. Almond meal, which is currently one of the most widely used gluten-free flours, while rich in protein and other nutrients, is expensive, as well as high in phytates and omega-6.
Coconut flour, which I personally love and use often for reasons other than avoiding gluten, is the only other flour I bake with because it has several desirable characteristics which, according to Dr. Bruce Fife, author of Cooking with Coconut Flour, “makes it a promising substitute for those who absolutely must avoid wheat flour. It is a good source of a variety of nutrients, including protein. It contains about 10 to 12 percent protein, which is the same as whole wheat flour. It is an excellent source of dietary fiber, reducing its digestible carbohydrate content thus making it the only truly low-carb flour. Another benefit of coconut flour is its mild taste. You would think that it might taste like coconut, but it doesn’t. It is nearly tasteless. When used in baking you cannot detect any coconut flavor. This is good because it takes on the flavor of the product being made. The primary benefit of coconut flour is its complete absence of gluten.”
Coconut flour is also low in phytates, and has a great fatty acid profile. It does take a lot of eggs to make satisfactory baked goods with it, so baking can get expensive, and there are a fair number of people with egg sensitivities which may make using coconut flour, an otherwise healthy gluten-free flour, impractical for some.
DEALING WITH THE SYMPTOMS
I could write volumes on the dangers of making gluten-free flours your sole source for your baking and cooking needs; however, I wish to proceed to the substance of this article, and introduce ancient and heritage grains and organic whole wheat flour, which far outweigh the nutrient value in all gluten-free flours. (Some also happen to be low-gluten.) How many of the issues we so readily attribute to this recently identified poison called gluten are really issues with overall digestion or, as happens with many of us, are simply the result of being swept up in the gluten-free craze? Most important, do we understand that it is not necessarily an issue with wheat overall, but a misunderstanding about the types of wheat and grains that were used in a healthy ancestral diet and which very few of us now use?
If you are experiencing symptoms that you believe may be attributed to gluten, and when you’ve not had your condition diagnosed via the tests I mentioned earlier to determine whether you are in the category of a true case of celiac disease, it may be time to deal with your symptoms by addressing the most problematic issue—that of healing the gut and slowly reintroducing one of the earliest and most healthful foods enjoyed by our ancestors.
You may be pleasantly surprised that you, too, can finally get off the gluten-free craze. Remember that when we stop consuming a food, we naturally stop producing the enzymes that help digest that food. That fact by itself may explain why each time you try to go back to consuming wheat breads or other wheat products, they make you sick. You may be one of the unfortunates who have now lost the enzymatic capacity to digest almost any form of gluten. The sad part for me is that many parents are allowing this to happen to their children and other family members while not realizing that this may truly create a life-long inability to enjoy wheat products.
Katherine Czapp, in her article titled Our Daily Bread, notes that her father, Vasili, diagnosed with full-blown celiac disease, could eventually eat whole grain sourdough bread, slow-fermented in traditional Russian fashion, with no digestive issues. It is crucial to note that this occurred after nearly two years of very concerted effort to restore his gut health. While this success may not be possible for everyone, this should certainly offer a more sensible direction for us to pursue what may be more sensible than going through the challenging exercise of making gluten-free baked goods from substances like almond, potato, tapioca, and bean flours, which may or may not be necessary for a short period of time while you re-introduce your digestive tract to the high-vitamin, mineral, and fiber-endowed heritage grains such as einkorn, emmer, spelt and even some heritage organic whole wheat or one of our more modern organic whole wheat breeds that are grown without chemical treatments.
ANCESTRAL GRAINS: POSSIBLE CURE TO THE GLUTEN-FREE CRAZE
Landrace, heritage and ancestral grains are best defined as those that originated in one of their native countries such as Iran, Syria, Turkey, or Russia, and have gratefully made their way through history without a complete change in their make-up. The three that are now slowly being brought back into use are einkorn, emmer, and some forms of spelt. Organic whole wheat varieties are best defined as wheat which may or may not be landrace grains, as not all grains that have had an evolution from landrace grains to our modern wheat varieties are to be avoided. What is of critical importance for those of us following an ancestral diet is that our sources of whole wheat are grown organically without the use of pesticides or chemical fertilizers.
A CLOSER LOOK AT ANCIENT GRAINS
Now that we all “know” that even heritage grains (which include einkorn, emmer, spelt, and triticum landrace) and organic whole wheat varieties, rye, and barley (and maybe oats) contain gluten, let’s look a little closer at the actual structure of grains so we can better understand the differences that make these heritage grains so valuable to our health.
Somewhere in our own history, we discovered the value of the concentrated source of nutrients in every ancestral grain or wheat. Properly prepared (by soaking, sprouting and dehydrating, or leavening with wild yeasts), the nutrients stored within the grains were freed to be used by our own bodies, and use them we did, supplementing the other foods that had nourished us for thousands of years: animal-sourced foods and other plants.
Every kernel of grain has protein, fats, carbohydrate, and fiber, stored neatly in a package protected by a fibrous outer layer called the hull. The bran is the outer layer of the grain. Next is the endosperm. The heart of the grain is the germ. The bran (14.5 percent of the kernel’s mass) is made of protein, fiber, starch, fat, and many B vitamins (all these are lost, of course, when grain is milled, removing the bran). The relatively high fat level in bran means that the grain—once hulled—can quickly go rancid (a good reason to store whole grains in a cool place and use them quickly once ground).
The endosperm is the largest part of the kernel, with 83 percent of its total mass; in wheat, this is the part of the grain that, once the bran and germ have been removed, is milled into white flour. The endosperm nourishes the germ it wraps around until the seed has taken root and started to grow into a new plant. While it is rich in starch, it also contains about 75 percent of the protein plus iron and B complex vitamins.
Finally, the germ, the smallest part of the wheat kernel (2.5 percent of the whole), also contains numerous B complex vitamins and vitamin E. About 8 percent of the protein found in wheat is in the germ.
Minerals found in grain can include calcium, iron, phosphorus (bound up as phytic acid), magnesium, potassium, manganese, copper, iodine, chlorine, sodium, and silicon. One bonus supplied by wheat is betaine, a substance that protects our cells against stress, and stimulates the body’s production of vitamin B12.
EINKORN (FARRO PICCOLO)
With its simple chromosomal structure, high lutein content (which supports eye health), and long history of cultivation (dating back nine thousand years or so), einkorn can be handled by many people who react badly to readily available commercial wheat, and is low (mellow) in gluten content. Emmer, also known as farro medio, is another grain known to history even longer than einkorn. Emmer also holds the distinction of having more protein than any other member of the wheat family, a whopping 28 percent. Spelt, the favorite grain of St. Hildegard of Bingen, a mystical healer of the 12th century, is only slightly younger (references to it date to around seven thousand years ago). It is the first of the hexaploid grains but can still be considered ancient. It too is often easier to digest than newer forms of wheat. (Though, in their defense, even bread wheat—soft or hard, red or white—dates back at least six thousand years.) Rye, which does not contain true gluten, can be problematic for celiac sufferers because of the similarity of the protein structures, but often presents no problems for those with sensitivities to gluten.
BREAD WITH BUTTER
One of the mistakes we have made in the modern world is to eat our grains without any fat. Yet good quality fat makes bread more digestible and supplies fat-soluble vitamins so essential for gut health. Arachadonic acid supplied in butter and other animal fats is needed to make tight cell-to-cell junctures in the skin, including the “skin” lining the intestinal tract. So always look for teeth marks in the butter (or ghee, lard or bacon fat) that you are spreading on your bread. If you can’t see teeth marks, you are not putting enough on!
PARTING THOUGHTS
My main objective in writing this article is to remind myself and others of the fact that by going too far afield from our ancestral diets we may unfortunately impart to others a fear of eating foods that have sustained mankind for thousands of years. It is unfortunately easier for some just to avoid ancestral foods that we incorrectly indict as the culprit rather than doing the detective work to resolve the real issues with our digestive imbalances.
Finally, it is wise to remind ourselves that we are in real danger of losing the privilege to enjoy and benefit from these ancient grains grown by enough farmers to supply the demand. My heart truly went out to many small growers I spoke with who struggle to make a living to supply us with one of the most precious commodities known to mankind: ancient grains. Promise yourself some serious consideration of the subject and try making your next step a commitment to heal your gut. Then you may be ready to step back into the time when ancient grains were considered the staff of life. And indeed, they still are.
SIDEBARS
WHILE WE ARE AT IT, LET’S BUST SOME WHEAT MYTHS
I know I can’t digest wheat because I stayed away from it for a full year and then got sick when I ate a slice of bread.
“Use it or lose it” works for enzymes in our gut, too. Stay away from a food for a long time and your body will ramp down the production of enzymes needed to digest that food. So when you’re reintroducing any food you’ve avoided for a long time, start with small amounts and don’t eat them every day. Your gut will start producing the proper enzymes if you give it a chance. Disclaimer: There are many cases of people suffering from wheat allergies who do in time lose that allergy; however gluten intolerance in the case of celiac disease is not reversible, although I’ve recently talked to a learned holistic practitioner who disputes that claim. For the present, always follow your medical doctor’s recommendations.
Wheat makes us fat and foggy-brained.
Ancestral grains and wheat have been part of the human diet for well over ten thousand years, and have supplied valuable nutrients to those who cultivated it. However, the wheat varieties developed since the 1950s as part of the Green Revolution (semi-dwarf wheat and, later, mutagenic wheat), the most common forms of wheat available, are different from earlier forms, and are much more likely to cause a whole host of problems. Please don’t blame thousands of years of perfectly healthy grains just because of problematic offshoots that are not being grown organically and which for the most part are only about fifty years old. In addition, although wheat is not genetically modified (not yet!), it is treated with the herbicide Round-Up a few days before harvest. Only recently we are learning that Round-Up is associated with a host of problems, including digestive disorders, gluten intolerance and even autism.
Consider using healthy grain and wheat sources without the modern wheat consequences by sourcing landrace, heritage or ancestral grains. In 2000 Monica Spiller founded the non-profit Whole Grain Connection to promote whole organic grain foods for everyone and particularly to supply farmers with locally appropriate organic wheat seed. She states that organically grown modern whole wheat varieties that have not been treated with pesticides and chemical fertilizers may also be a safe alternative for some. Certainly you would want to test this for yourself.
Modern wheat is bad because it has too many chromosomes.
Some of the oldest forms of wheat, starting with spelt (which dates back to 5000 BC), have the same number of chromosomes as modern wheat. The problem is with a specific fraction of the gluten and suspect proteins in modern semi-dwarf wheat, not the number of chromosomes it has. Cereal grains come in varying genetic complexity. If you believe in eating less complex grains, einkorn , barley, and rye are diploid, with two sets of chromosomes; emmer and durum including kamut are a little more complex; they’re tetraploids with four sets of chromosomes; spelt and bread wheat varieties are hexaploid with six sets of chromosomes. All of these are perfectly edible and need not be avoided when your source of ancestral grains and modern whole wheat is carefully chosen.
Wheat was never part of our healthy ancestors’ diets.
On the contrary, all grain has been prized in those cultures that grew it. However, up until industrialization wheat flour contained the bran and germ of the kernel; the modern roller mills remove the healthiest parts of the kernel and make modern flours nutritionally deficient. Since neither commercial yeast nor mills to grind the grain without its bran and germ did not exist until the modern era, all grains were eaten in an unrefined state and prepared in ways that not only preserved them but enhanced their nutrition. Long-fermented wild yeast breads (sourdough); sour-leavened flatbreads (like pappadum or pita in India, for example); fermented sourdough noodles; and fermented porridges (kishk and nuruk are both wheat-based) all provided solid nutrition for our ancestors.
Grains are the problem; wheat is just the worst offender.
Grains—including wheat—have been part of traditional diets for thousands of years. Also note that we are part of the first generation or two in which chemically grown wheat treated with pesticides may be virtually the only wheat some of us have ever eaten. Add to this the fact that most are eating foods damaged in one way or another by modern processing overall, such as extrusion to make breakfast cereals (not to mention eating completely new foods and additives). Further, our guts have often been more or less damaged by not just these foods but by courses of antibiotics and other gut-compromising pharmaceuticals. Is it any wonder that so many people have digestive issues that can be exacerbated by a form of wheat that itself is novel before it’s even ground into flour?
HEALING THE GUT: OTHERS HAVE DONE IT AND YOU CAN TOO!
The following are suggestions from Sally Fallon Morell:
1. Get off all improperly prepared grains initially and then slowly re-introduce heritage grains and organic whole wheat properly prepared.
2. Lots of bone broth is needed as the villi rest on a layer of collagen that must be supported. Plus bone broth has numerous other benefits: http://www.westonaprice.org/food-features/broth-is-beautiful
3. Learn to make and regularly consume fermented foods and beverages.
4. Take cod liver oil and high vitamin butter and other good fats.
5. Always avoid all improperly prepared grains, such as granolas, muesli, and extruded breakfast cereals.
6. Work with a WAPF practitioner to help guide you.
7. Dr. Thomas Cowan in a recent email suggested the use of a Standard Process supplement called Okra-Pepsin E3 which is gluten-free, along with our nourishing traditional diet recommendations to also assist healing the gut.
From Nourishing Traditions, page 493:
Weston Price’s studies convinced him that the best diet was one that combined nutrient-dense whole grains with animal products, particularly fish. The healthiest African tribe he studied was the Dinkas, a Sudanese tribe on the western bank of the Nile. They were not as tall as the cattle-herding Neurs groups but they were physically better proportioned and had greater strength. Their diet consisted mainly of fish and cereal grains. This is one of the most important lessons of Price’s research—that a mixed diet of whole foods, one that avoids the extremes of the carnivorous Masai and the largely vegetarian Bantu, ensures optimum physical development.
From Nourishing Traditions, quoting Jacques Delangre, page 491:
In books on baking and even in nutritional/medical writings, the two techniques (for making bread), natural leaven (sourdough) and baker’s yeast, are often mingled and confounded….Baking with natural leaven is in harmony with nature and maintains the integrity and nutrition of the cereal grains used…The process helps to increase and reinforce our body’s absorption of the cereal’s nutrients. Unlike yeasted bread that diminishes, even destroys, much of the grain’s nutritional value, naturally leavened bread does not go stale and, as it ages, maintains its original moisture much longer. A lot of that information was known pragmatically for centuries; and thus when yeast was first introduced in France at the court of Louis XIV in March 1668, it was strongly rejected because at the time the scientists already knew that the use of yeast would imperil the people’s health. Today, yeast is used almost universally, without any testing, and the recent scientific evidence and clinical findings are confirming the ancient taboos with biochemical and bioelectronics valid proofs that wholly support the age-old common sense.
RESOURCES
1. Gene Spiller PhD & Monica Spiller: What’s with Fiber www.wholegrainconnection.org
2. Victoria Bloch-chapter leader–http://www.meetup.com/Los-Angeles-Whole-Food-Nutrition-Meetup-Group/
3. Mandy Finan/Einkorn recipe creator and Weston A. Price chapter leader-NC
4. Marsha Cosentino MA-: Spelt Healthy
5. Richard Scheuerman: Harvest Heritage: 2015 Grower rscheuerman@hotmail.com
6. Don Stinchcomb-Consulting: Vita Spelt/Natures Legacy- http://www.natureslegacyforlife.com/
7. Brooke Lucy-Blue Bird Farms-Consulting: – http://www.bluebirdgrainfarms.com/
8. Rene Grun-Lentz Spelt-Consulting: http://www.lentzspelt.com/
9. Carolyn Graff-chapter leader/WI-Shopping Guide Mgr. Shoppingguide@westonaprice.org
10. Comment: Dr. Leffler, director of clinical research at the Celiac Center at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston: http://www.bidmc.org/Centers-and-Departments/Departments/ Digestive-Disease-Center/Celiac-Center.aspx
This article appeared in Wise Traditions in Food, Farming and the Healing Arts, the quarterly journal of the Weston A. Price Foundation, Summer 2014
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I was well on my way down the gluten free path until I read more on what was in the gluten free products I was so eagerly consuming and baking. I thought ” how can this possibly be better for me? It doesn’t seem to make me feel better”. Meanwhile I am missing bread like crazy!
Wonderful, wonderful article. I hope many people really read this thoroughly and then, maybe, decide against a gluten free lifestyle unless it is medically necessary.
I am so happy to be making my own sprouted manna bread and enjoying it so much where I thought I would have to give up sandwiches and, ( gasp!), toast, forever! Making sprouted breads and a regular loaf with fresh ground flour and home grown sourdough starter is not nearly as intimidating as it sounds. And, oh boy is it ever worth it!
HI Elyse,
Can you please share your recipe? Much appreciated:-)
Kathy
Readers:
I wish to apologize and also to make a correction to the title of the book at the top of the article, and listed under the poem.
The title now reads:
Heritage Harvest
It should read:
Harvest Heritage
It nevertheless comes up on Amazon properly. My apologies!
This is an incredible article. A lot of great information to take in and well thought out. I have had a suspicion in the back of my mind that the gluten free craze was in many ways dangerous and leads us down another ‘nutritional rabbit hole’ as to the root of many of our health issues. How and where can we support these small farmers growing these ancient varietals? Thanks!
There are lots of sources in the WAPF Shopping Guide.
You can get a WAPF Shopping Guide here for only $3, which includes shipping.
http://www.westonaprice.org/about-the-foundation/shopping-guide
Or join WAPF and get one for free along with their great quarterly journal. Click on the green Join Now on this page
http://www.westonaprice.org/about-the-foundation/shopping-guide
Even better than the paper Shopping Guide is the new App which is more up-to-date and has more sources listed than the paper version. You can get it here
http://realfoodmobileapp.com
Carolyn Graff
WAPF Shopping Guide Coordinator
Maria, Thank you for an incredible article. I can feel intuitively that you are exactly right about the dangers of blindly going down this gluten free path. It always comes back to eating real food like our ancestors did. So simple! Can you mention some resources to read on the perils of using baker’s yeast? I would definitely be interested in reading more about the origin of the use of baker’s yeast and why it is bad for us. Thank you!
Hello Amelia:
Thanks for the kind words on the article. I did reference some very goo information regarding the use of yeast in the article. Its on page 49 of the article, and on page 491 of nourishing traditions. More research on the Internet may lead to to find the bottom line answer that you are seeking. It is one of those substances that came when it became popular to have an easier way to bake breads. Making sourdough is easy, inexpensive and infinitely healthier.
Maria
Really good article. Are whole grain oats beneficial or are they improperly prepared?
Hello Will:
I like oats as they contain one of my favorite minerals, Silica. Nourishing Traditions has great information on oats, especially how to soak them, and for sure they are always important as part of a healthy diet. Do however, make friends with the friendly family of heritage grains that I mention.
Maria Atwood
I think more investigation into Lectin and Phytic acid is needed in this article. Ancestry and traditional processing methods reduce some of these elements, but Gluten isn’t the only “villian” here affecting gut health. There is a lot more to this picture, and reversing the food pyramid is a good start… Grains should be the minority in any ones diet, and unless they are soaked, sprouted or fermented they should not be consumed. Even then the bad elements still exist so this should be a minor portion to ones diet, possibly relegated to special occasions or the rare treat. Otherwise we continue down this path of foods that are high carbohydrate, bind to minerals and strip our bodies of essential minerals, are acid in the body and affect our body PH, promote inflammation and so many other undesirable effects. I would encourage people to learn about leaky gut and so much more. While I am glad people are learning about Gluten, sadly they still don’t know enough about the “what, why, how” and the other parts of this story that can really help them. There are benefits to greatly reducing these foods completely, not finding substitutions for them. Then only pull out the traditional recipes for these foods for those special occasions. Your body will thank you for it… Thanks for the article. I do agree that people need to “think” before they jump… Now it is time to think “deeper” and consider the proper balances of these foods in our diet and how they fit the bigger picture… Less processing, more fresh foods and less dependency on things that really are hardly sustainable the way that they are produced today… Grains were highly prized because of the incredible effort it takes to plant, grow, raise, harvest, and turn them into things people could consume. When you looked at something like a bread it actually represents huge numbers of people hours, work and effort… It was a representation of wealth, and a food source that could be stored and kept to get them through droughts and famines. So we need to look at the bigger picture of what those grains meant then and what it takes today, right now in the costs of equipment, energy, transportation and processes… So there is a lot to contemplate here… Again thanks for the article. I personally prefer more Paleo with a small mix of WPF food solutions for a healthy balanced diet. It changed(saved) my life, and my health… I encourage everyone to take charge of their health, food is the best medicine…
Hello Wade:
Yes, there is a lot to contemplate in the article, and there is no need to dispute which of all the diet recommendations out there, yours included is the best. If Paleo and or other types of mix and match diets work best for you, then enjoy them to the fullest, We all have free will you know :>). The major point is that the GF craze in my opinion was watering down the WAPF message, by distorting our ancestral diet as is in Nourishing Traditions and all that Sally teaches. Too many of us were after months/years of all the avid marketing of GF health benefits; thinking that excluding grains and substituting with almond flour was good thing, and somehow approved by WAPF, which it is not.
Be Well
Maria Atwood
Dear Maria,
While I applaud your research and writing skills, my experience with gluten sensitivity leads me to a different conclusion that I would like to share with you.
Enterolab is able to test for the celiac gene and the gluten intolerance gene. In my own testing, I tested positive for the gluten intolerance gene and negative for the celiac gene. I also tested very high for antigliadin antibodies and the lab recommended a strict and permanent GF diet.
I have Hashimoto’s thyroiditis (an autoimmune disorder) that I do not need medication for if I follow a GF diet. About 2 years ago, I did an experiment and reintroduced gluten into my diet fir a month. My thyroid antibodies skyrocketed from 5 to 286. They dropped back down to 14 within 6 weeks of going GF again. This leads me to the conclusion that my gluten intolerance is very much tied to my autoimmune condition.
Going GF and doing a few candida cleanses cured my chronic fatigue and fibromyslgia. I had my kids tested and they also had very igh antibodies – in the 60’s (normal is below 10). Taking the kids off gluten cured a bladder control problem and asthma in one daughter. It cured acid reflux and calmed environmental allergies in another. My girls missed over 20 days each of school the year before we committed to going GF. Last year they missed a few days each, and one daughter missed those days after getting a fever and a cough after she was fed gluten at a friend’s house.
I spent my childhood with chronic tonsilitis and bronchitis. Now I never get sick.
I have spent 13 years studying holistic nutrition and experimenting with healing diets. There was no healing our gluten sensitiviies. I am grateful for the Enterolab tests. Our non-celiac, gluten intolerant family is healthy and grateful for all of the gluten free options now available. In addition, while it may tug at your heartstrings to give up beloved foods, the people that I know who are completely commited to a GF diet are the healthiest and most vibrant people that I know.
I do want to say that I am in full agreement with you the necessity of eating plenty of fats. Most important is to focus on achieving a 1:1 ratio of Omega 3:Omega 6. It is estimated that most Anericans have a 1:25 – 1:50 ratio due to the imbalance if fatty acids in CAFO meat and the abundance of vegetable oils in processed foods.
Regards and keep up the research. There are lots of connections between gluten intolerance and autoimmune disorders.
Shawn Blount
Please ignore the typing errors. I typed this comment on my phone.
Thanks for your reply Shawn, and yes your situation may indeed require special attention to being GF; however as I mentioned to others, it was not my intent to get everyone off their special diets if they truly needed to be on them, and especially if that the case with your doctors advice, but rather to remind us that we must not throw the grain baby out with the bath water,remove the almond flour as what’s become the king of the GF craze, and too look to the time when with healing we can return to eating all the foods so wonderfully taught in Nourishing Traditions.
Regards
Maria Atwood
I, like Shawn, was tested through Cyrex Labs (they do the same tests as EnteroLab, only more detailed), and I and my husband were positive for non-celiac gluten sensitivity. We also had very high levels of anti-gliadin antibodies as well as multiple organ-specific markers showing which organs had already begun to be destroyed by the auto-immune reaction. I also had Hashimoto’s, which caused my prolactin levels to be suppressed significantly enough to prevent me from breastfeeding. Thankfully I was aware of the WAP homemade formula and used that for my daughter. Long story short, and I hate to sound cliche, but I think the key is moderation and common sense. Obviously, the highly-processed, boxes-and-bags, refined gluten-free diet products are going to be detrimental to your health if you consume them regularly. On the other hand, if you’re making baked goods with almond flour or other gluten-free grains such as millet, sorghum, or teff, and consuming them multiple times a day, every day, that too will be detrimental to your health. I see nothing wrong with a 100% gluten-free diet that DOES NOT largely consist of processed store-bought gluten-free items, but rather a conservative amount of home-made, properly prepared, grain-free or gluten-free baked goods, served with plenty of good fats. After all, one of the tribes Dr. Price studied subsisted on nothing but milk, blood and meat, so grains are not essential to life. And I don’t believe almond flour is as high in phytates as you might think, since it has been blanched and the skin removed (where most of the phytic acid is). According to Rami Nagel in his book Cure Tooth Decay, grains need to be sprouted, then low-temperature dried or fermented. Just soaking is NOT sufficient. Oats are the worst offenders. The preparation method Sally Fallon suggests does nothing to reduce the phytic acid content of the oats, as the phytase needed to deactivate the phytic acid has been destroyed by pasteurization. Since virtually all oats have been pasteurized, soaking does NO good. The only way oats can be safely consumed is to buy certified gluten-free RAW oats, then sprout them yourself, low-temp dehydrate them, then roll or crack them, then ferment, then cook. (This is what I’ve learned after reading Nagel’s book and pages and pages of his online forums. Someone please correct me if I’m wrong!)
I love Sally Fallon and I mean her no disrespect, so please don’t take my comment to be tearing her down in any way.
I don’t know anything about the author of this piece but this write-up doesn’t ring soundly with me at all. There is no way I’m going back to gluten, nothing except the threat of possible death by starvation would lead me back through the hell it inspires. I tried everything to keep it in my diet but in the end, paleo with WAP principles was all that has saved me. As one blog-poster said once; ‘The road to hell is paved with gluten.’ I believe it.
“According to Dr. Leffler, director of clinical research at the Celiac Center at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, a true gluten-free diet is time-consuming, expensive, and restrictive.”
I’ve never heard such bull in my life. If your eating whole foods, it should be none of those things.
To the author: Have you read Grain Brain,by Dr. David Perlmutter? Do you mean to refute what he, as a neurologist, says about the effects of gluten in sensitive individuals, and the fact that there can be sensitivity with serious consequences even though the person does not have celiac disease?
Bette, it appears you need to go back and read the article in full. The author makes it very clear that if you are a non-celiac who is sensitive to gluten, then going on a gluten-free diet may be the right path. So many of you who are commenting completely missed the point of the article, which was to address the number of individuals who are choosing gluten-free diets simply because it’s the latest craze and not because there is a real need for it.
Hello Christina:
Good for you, you hit it right on the nose! – I have made and continue to make the point that many of those on the GF Craze, NOT THOSE WHO have been diagnosed with damaged villi, and possibly others that have now lost the ability to produce the enzyme to digests gluten. The less you eat of any food the more problematic it will be to go back to it. Many of you sound almost bitter and angry with me, but I would remind you that these articles are reviewed by a highly qualified certified nutritionist with numerous degrees and a substantial amount of real world experience, namely Sally Fallon Morrell. She would not have allowed this article to be published if in fact it contained damaging or untruthful information. My main points all along like Christina apparently did understand are:
(1) If you’ve not been tested and cannot say for certain that the villi is damaged, then you possibly have another type of gastrointestinal issue which are clearly covered in the article, and that MAY respond to healing by following Sally’s recommendations. It is infinitely easier for us to give up a food that is bothersome to us, rather than to do the hard work of reintroducing it to our body so as to restart the missing enzyme. Its interesting to note that when your allergist finds your allergic to eggs, the shots they give you are in fact low levels of egg type substances so the body will apparently begin to create the enzymes to digest them, and therefore you lose the sensitivity to them! That may be the same with grains if you are not diagnosed with Celiac or some other form of villi damage.
(2) If you’ve not ever eaten ancient grains or have not eaten them for many years, depending on your age, and as did our ancestors, you are more than likely one of those who had the misfortune to eat only grains that have been hybridized and or grown with chemical and pesticides, and you possibly no longer have the enzymes to digest even ancient grains. Ironically, our ancestors ate grains as a main-stay. The inability to digest grains on the grand scale it is now happening is relatively new in comparison with those that had the good fortune to have eaten ancestral grains as did my grandmother.
(3)Go back and start from the beginning of the article and read it slowly and without any prejudice. The doctors in my opinion that have written those scary books are talking about the new chemically raised wheat. They cannot possibly be talking about Einkorn, Emmmer and or some of the ancient forms of Spelt that have been used since the 12th century. otherwise we would have many of our ancestors that would have detailed in some sort of way the damaging effects of grains and would have stopped growing them thousands of years ago. Those records to my knowledge do not exist. What does exist are the massive cases of those who have Gluten intolerance AFTER the newer chemical and pesticide raised grains were introduced. We’ve just taken the easy way out and are using almond flour and or not eating any grains at all. Please pick up the book “What’s with Fiber” by Gene Spiller PhD and Monica Spiller. That’s a thrilling east to understand study of the goodness of ancient grains.
I have personally lost over 30 pounds since I read that book, started making sourdough bread and am eating bread to my hearts content. With lots and lots of butter of course :>)
Be Blessed
Maria
Thanks for the article. I think the key is healing the gut.And also thanks for the book recommendation! I will look into it.
I would love to get a recipe for The bread in Ezekle 4:9! Anyone have one. Looks like it’s not all wheat but a combo of a bunch of stuff:-) Love it. I have gluten sensitivity and would love to get my gut used to bread again. I think these non commercial grains and beans might do the trick. thanks!
Yes, I do think it’s important to point out that there are some of us (I’m celiac, but people with other immune diseases like the two commentors above) who can never have gluten, ancient grains or not. I hope that someone who needs this doesn’t read this article and come away thinking they’ve been making a mistake by going gluten-free.
Additionally, if you suffer from gluten ataxia (like my mother does) gluten does affect memory and neurological functions.
One more thought. I too was diagnosed with gluten sensitivity thru diagnose techs saliva, alcat blood tests, and muscle testing. My gut is healthy but I just don’t tolerate too much grain of any kind very well. I do better with a low grain/legume diet. One thing I will say is everyone is a bioindividual with different tolerances. So much goes into this. Illness, medications, other aspects of the diet, heredity, etc. Personally, I stopped eating gluten when I started treating for Lyme. and even though I’m done treating, my gut is healed, and I eat lots of fermented foods, etc…I still don’t tolerate gluten or too much grains. I just don’t think my body is wired for it.
I do agree that most of the foods in the GF isle are JUNK. High in sugar and if they are not organic GMOs and other bad ingredients and highly processed. You’re better off of make your own or really read the labels. I may try the ezekle recipe though. because I have not tried the sprouted wheat breads. I’d love the recipe! thanks!
I don’t understand this article. What about the work of Dr. Alessio Fasano, Gastroenterologist from Boston? His discovery of the zonulin/gluten affect on intestinal permeability is not to be ignored. What about non-celiac gluten sensitivity? Completely testable now through cyrex labs. Very black and white issue. What about all the new discoveries about the gluten/autoimmune disease connection as promoted by Dr. Tom O’Bryan and discussed at length by scientists around the world at the Gluten Summit?
Of course, you cannot just eat junk food marked gluten free and think this is good for your health. Living gluten free to me, just means avoiding gluten, not replacing gluten with gluten free bread. I cannot see how this is an unhealthy change. I do actually have celiac disease and I would have never known it if it wasn’t for the lectures presented by the Gluten Summit. Celiac is not that rare. It isn’t only one percent of the population. 30% of Americans hae the genes for celiac. They estimate that 97% of celiacs are undiagnosed. I got my diagnosis at age 37… was following Weston A Price guidelines and eating my sourdough bread with plenty of butter. Didn’t notice any gut feelings when eating bread… but have struggled with brain/mood issues for a long time. Read Grain Brain by Dr. Perlmutter.
http://tv.greenmedinfo.com/celiac-disease-gluten-sensitivity-with-dr-tom-obryan/
Great article! Thanks for the good, common-sense information. I think some comments above miss your point that some people need to follow a gluten-free diet, but that there are many more that don’t have to if they’re eating the right, properly prepared grains.
I don’t understand your will to defend gluten despite evidence. Even while forgetting the fact that grains are not optimal food for humans – they are just substitutes for animal fats and fruits, the human body just survive with grains, it is not built to thrive on them – you cannot deny gluten grains are the worst of all.
Gluten, by evolutionary use and purpose, is a protein built to impair the digestive system of animals, so that some grains can get out of the gut indigested, able to sprout.
In the past, people used to bear this light though continuous aggression, but now, with all chemicals that also attack the digestive tract, this is just TOO MUCH for more and more people that cannot stand this major digestive stressor any more.
Personnally, like many people I know, my life just changed after quitting gluten and casein. Then I was able to quit all my medicines for asthma, whereas I was neither coeliac neither detected intolerant to gluten. Previously, quitting casein only had not worked.
It seems in most cases, gluten is a “stealth” but major key you must supress to get the digestive tract able to repair itself.
Then you should not blindly exonarate gluten, otherwise you will prevent some people from actual recovery, even people that are neither coeliac neither diagnosed gluten intolerant, I repeat.
Pierre C., from France.
One caveat that I would add, for clarification, is that it is very likely, due to the increase in processed foods as a proportion of the Western diet in the past forty years, that the younger you are the more likely you are to be suffering from gluten intolerance caused by damaged gut lining. While this issue is about nutrition for the elderly, there may be younger readers who believe they can follow the same advice. However, each generation is becoming more and more susceptible to disease earlier in life that were once reserved for the elderly, largely due to the 100% processed-food diet many of us grew up on. Many people born in the 1980s were never afforded any of the protection that a traditional diet in the formative years might have otherwise provided, leaving many of us in worse condition than our parents at much earlier ages. We must all be very careful about the advice we take, and understand where it is coming from and to whom it is directed.
Additionally, well-informed followers of a gluten-free lifestyle are not dependent on substitutes for our once-favorite foods. We eat a diet rich in real, whole foods, from which grains are rarely missed and would add little, nutritionally.
Historically speaking, grains were generally reserved for the lowest members of society in Europe, making up a large portion of the diet of peasants who, beginning with the Western agricultural revolution of the early middle ages, were hardly the pictures of health, with the appearance of cavities and diseases of degeneration in larger numbers than ever before seen, while the aristocracy’s diet remained much lower in grain and higher in animal fats. One historian has even postulated that spelt was used as a means of social control during the High Middle Ages, keeping the mental performance of the peasantry low in order to prevent uprisings. Following the Black Death and famines of the 14th and 15th century, the population and economic recovery was facilitated by a decreased dependence on grains. However, as populations stabilized, cereal grains became popular crops again, fueling an artificial population growth in which the birth rate soared, but populations suffered from higher disease rates and became subject to absolutist governments. Not a great advertisement for grains, in my book!
Diets are the new religions. Whoever says anything less-than-positive about veganism or gluten-free-ism gets fanatically attacked.
While I appreciate the concern over potential “throw the baby out with the bathwater” responses (something like Paleo dieters who forego butter and Roquefort), the bottom line is that this article greatly oversimplifies the issue of digestive health. It’s not as simple as “celiac disease/no celiac disease”. Natasha Campbell McBride’s GAPS book remains the most helpful introduction to this topic, and there are several articles by here on WAPF’s own website. The fact that this article doesn’t mention her or her book makes me suspect its thoroughness and reliability.
There’s no question that it can be both psychologically and culinarily difficult to adopt something strict like the GAPS diet, but when followed correctly it generally allows people within a few years when the gut has healed to return to traditional grains, properly prepared. But both extensive reading and general experience lead me to think that more people would benefit from a strict fast from most if not all non-GAPS-legal foods than many at WAPF would like to admit. And I love Weston Price and WAPF – but the terrible state of most of our digestive tracts and the difficulty in digesting grains and starches for modern enervated people seems to be a hard truth for some affiliated with it to swallow at times. With a year of practice and some culinary ingenuity a gluten or grain free diet really can stop seeming like a hardship.
Those who just can’t live without pancakes won’t take the time to go into the details. I sympathize: There’s a letter from St. Jerome, one of the fathers of the desert, who gave up a prosperous live in Rome to live strictly as a monk in Bethlehem. In it he says that it was easier to give up his family and friends than to give up the foods he was accustomed to.
In short, there’s no blog post that can substitute for reading Dr. Natasha’s book. Like, all the pages. 🙂
Interesting article, thank you for the information. I would like to ask how many years of gluten free diet is enough to loose those gluten digesting enzymes. It worries me since my son had gut issues and he is on GAPS diet for 2 and half years, we are trying to reintroduce some proper grains at this point. Thank you in advance!
I was found to be gluten intolerant by Enterolab and have avoided gluten for well over a year, trying to heal multiple food sensitivities. My naturopath now wants me to take a standard process product called Gastrex to help heal my stomach/gut. Unfortunately this product has wheat germ in it. Should I take it? Will it be a major set back for me? She is refusing to address my concerns and I need advice. I don’t want to ruin all my hard work avoiding gluten. Thank you.
My story is lengthy, but trying to make it short. I was diagnosed with low thyroid though antibodies came back negative for 3 years. I decided to go gluten free because of all the talk of how it affects the thyroid. I did not find many changes in my health. The only one being MAYBE less cycle pains but so many other things have been going on that I cannot make a true connection.
I also chose to take one child off gluten for a while to clear a rash the naturopath was helping with and not introduce my baby to it until after age 2. My baby did have diahrea the first time trying wheat and it was organic. I tried spelt and got the same reaction. Unfortunely, they were not soaked or sprouted the first time because of the situation we were in and where we were at when she was exposed. I kept her off of it many more months then at almost 3 tried sprouted Einkorn mixed with Jovial all purpose. No bowel intolerance noted. I also note loose bowels but not diahrea with sprouted oatmeal and eggs. I tried the egg yolk with her many times but she dislikes eggs. Cow milk does not seem to agree with her as she gets water retention under the eyes. I have noticed that with sheep also. Anyway, I have also allowed very limited Einkorn homemade bread in the past couple of months and feel very panicky about it due to all the negative talk and my thyroid issue. I am currently off my thyroid meds and working with a Naturopath in healing my body so I want to take things very slow. I guess my point is, everyone is different and everyone will have to try things for themselves to see what works. I know I have been very grateful for finding Sally Price’s book Nourishing Traditions. Even though my baby can not tolerate everything she suggest it has allowed me to think about our food and where to buy it and how to prepare it. I am overly grateful for that knowlege whether I can continue to eat my spouted Einkorn bread or not. Fermented foods and drinks are now normal in my house as is bone broth being made weekly.
By the way, I also heard Tom O’Bryan say in an interview that at one point he believed people could tolerate gluten. This makes me confident that it is a number of things not just the actual gluten. Gut status is a big one Tom talked about. I think the other just based on my opinion is the quality of the grain and how it is prepared. Tom did say he didin’t believe the gluten issue was just a fad that would go away, I agree. It’s going to takes years of healing for people and getting our food right again before this will die down some and then there will always be some people who cannot due to celiac or other diseases.
great article. i am in complete agreement. i love my spelt sourdough bread and have far fewer issues with it than i had with gluten free products i tried off and on for a year after buying into the ‘gluten is bad’ fad. gluten free paleo recipes caused bloating and horrible discomfort. sourdough bread does nothing but nourish and satisfy. love it with lots of butter and cheese. yummy.
Great rounded article. Everyone is responsible for their own health and knowing their own body. The article did not tell everyone to eat gluten!
One misconception that I noted was that wheat is sprayed with round-up prior to harvest. I grew up farming in Kansas and have worked in agriculture. Not once did or do we use round-up on wheat. The only instance I know of where that happens is in colder climates where the wheat will not dry down enough to go through the harvester. An example would be northern Minnesota or North Dakota. The majority of wheat harvested has not ever had Glyphosate (round-up) applied to it.
I’d like to know if gluten, extracted from the wheat berry, has phytic acid.
I have been trying to heal and reintroduce only to get sick again. Alas
The longer I am off gluten or dairy the longer it takes to get sick again. Quite the opposite to what is said in article. After four years of gluten free I was able to have it for about two months before it hits me again, and so on. I am again at the point to eliminate it as all my symptoms came back again after the third time. I guess , it is enough.
Once I re-introduced them, I tested for IgE and was positive. So,mi would think it is very debatable topic to assume that we simply loosing the ability to digest… May be. But that certainly was not my case…
Everything in this paragraph is problematic: “lthough this article is not meant to discuss or address celiac disease as such, I am including information about the necessary testing that may determine whether a complete gluten-free diet is even advisable. The results of a blood test can help detect celiac disease. If a blood test comes back positive for the appropriate antibodies an upper endoscopy may be performed to assess possible damage to the small intestine, more specifically the duodenum. If there is flattening of the villi, those finger-like projections that absorb nutrients, the doctor will work with the patient to create a gluten-free diet. Genetic testing is also helpful for relatives of those with celiac disease, as the disease is hereditary and common among first-degree relatives.”
1. Only the potential for the disease is passed on. The disease may not have activated yet. And the genes we know cause it may not be the only genes that cause it.
2. A person with many neanderthal variants in genetics has a higher tendency to react in an autoimmune way to any irritant. Including gluten. This is not yet elucidated by science, but the tendency is real. Ultimately, you may force some relative of yours to eat things that make them ill, telling them there is no evidence, then when they are dying of lymphoma, a news article finally reveals the science they were telling you about all their life. Butt out of other people’s decisions.
3. the IgE test is rarely given to someone who has problems wtih wheat, but it will detect whether someone has an allergy, just like peanut allergy… to wheat. You fail to mention this.
4. If someone has an immune response to wheat, but it does not result in celiac, they will manifest that in other ways, such as becoming Type 1 diabetic because the immune response has killed the islet cells, or their thyroid becomes inactive or cancerous… or their spleen swells up, or they manifest arthritis or rheumatic illness of some kind…. etc. The antibody will damage something eventually, so the usual TTG + IgA levels screening is useless for optimal health. And excuse me but I thought the point of WAPF was optimal health, not “good enough health for a year or two.”
5. it’s not the doctor that plans the diet for you, it’s the dietician. Celiacs get dieticians. People with Gluten Intolerance get dieticians. People with Wheat/or other allergy, get dieticians, especially if they have multiple allergies.
6. Although 1 in 100 people is the estimate, it is also estimated that 83% of those who have actual celiac (with flattened villi) are NOT YET diagnosed. Many of them have probably already adopted a gluten free diet in order to save their life, career, fertility, etc… all of these things WAPF supposedly cares about.
But I guess it’s more fun to bang a drum and call people hypochondriacs.
Pappadum is not made with any grains but rather with lentils and spices.
The problem I have with the article is it implies that if one doesn’t have obvious symptoms after eating wheat, it means they are not wheat/gluten intolerant. I did not seem to have problems with wheat. However, I had the GI-Map test, which is a stool test that tests for several problems, one of which is anti-gliadin antibodies. I was quite surprised to see that I had antibodies to gliadin. The best place to look for antibodies is in the intestinal tract, not the blood.
My point is, unless a person has a stool test for gliadin antibodies, they do not know if they can safely eat wheat. Ir cannot be based only on how they feel. Celiac disease is only one disease of gluten intolerance, the disease that has been researched extensively. There are many other autoimmune diseases caused by gluten, but research hasn’t been done with the other autoimmune diseases, so people think it is safe to eat gluten, even though they have one or more autoimmune diseases. The book, Dangerous Grains, gives a list of almost 200 diseases and disorders associated with gluten.
I cannot give kudos to the article. It is much too simplistic. I do agree that most commercially available gluten free substitutes are junk, much worse than the grain products they replace, for other reasons.
I also disagree that going gluten free is a hardship, etc. It is very simple to cut grains from my diet. I do not miss them, at all. I have no desire to ever include them back in my diet. I am quite happy eating meats, eggs, low carb veggies and fruits, and natural, unadulerated fats. One of my favorite books is “Know Your Fats,” by the late (and great) Mary Enig, PhD.
Hi
I was planning on making some sourdough with Jovials Einkorn Flour and I just wanted to clarify, Is it best to buy the all purpose flour or the whole grain flour from them? Obviously buying the wheat berries and milling yourself would be best but I do not have the option of milling at the moment.
The author shares some useful information, and I share her hope that the ancient grains such as einkorn and emmer will survive. I’d like to see the modern wheats go by the wayside!
But the clear implication from the start is that anyone who has not been diagnosed with Celiac Disease is just unthinkingly jumping on a “craze” for no good reason. I think we can all agree that most gluten-free commercial baked goods are high in starch and low in other nutrients, and expensive as well. I think their success must come from the desperation some people feel to have something resembling their beloved wheat-based foods that won’t cause intestinal distress. Does anyone really rely on them as staples? Most are just tasteless junk. I suspect most sales go to people who try them once or use them only occasionally. The author seems determined to get everyone back to eating “properly prepared grains,” when giving them up entirely really is a fine, viable option for many people, and a lot simpler. There is nothing to be found in wheat, ancient or not, that you can’t find elsewhere. Animal foods are the true nutrient-dense foods.
Human beings are prone to generalize to everyone else what works for us personally, and experience with gluten-free diets is no exception. The author does well on homemade sourdough bread, that’s great. It makes me fat. Many commenters have shared how following the author’s advice has *not* worked for them, and she is too dismissive of many serious problems with grains, ancient or not. My parents (late 80s) grew up on farms, eating their homegrown food, and the benefits of going gluten-free might be negligible for them, but raising me on extruded cold cereal, store-bought bread and margarine made me intolerant of many of the foods they grew up with such as milk and dairy. (I indulge in raw milk occasionally but it still gives me gas, even if I drink it regularly. Hence, I don’t.) Properly preparing grains never really worked that well for me. I became a pretty good baker, especially after going to culinary school, and experimented with homemade sourdough. It was certainly delicious, but it made me just as bloated and prone to cravings and weight gain as the regular stuff made with yeast. While your advice may work for some people, please don’t dismiss those for whom it does not work as people who are merely on some “craze.” Such dismissive terminology rubs me the wrong way, much as Sally Fallon Morrel did in her infamous diatribe against the Paleo movement. I stopped renewing my WAPF membership at that point and haven’t read anything on this site since then until this article, and it exhibits the same mentality, which is disappointing. WAPF seems to have become a bit cultish, devoted to maintaining a certain interpretation only of Dr. Price’s work. I revere Dr. Price, but his is not the only research that I pay attention to. I appreciate the great contribution that Sally Fallon Morrel has made to bringing back many “wise traditions,” but I don’t think she’s the leading voice in health anymore.
I had studied the Dinka as well as the Massai and Nuer and all were cattle keeping tribes- I was using them to write a paper on Goats in the Bible (proving the various fats people actually at and what animals they ate and that God wanted the fat not because it was unhealthy for man because He wants the best, and you know it always says it is a sweet savour unto the Lord. ). Here is an article on the Dinka;https://kwekudee-tripdownmemorylane.blogspot.com/2012/10/dinka-people-great-cattle-herders-of.html
I have been diagnosed with Hashimoto’s, however, I did not test positive for gluten sensitivity or celiac. I’ve been told that I should be gluten free anyway. Your article is very enlightening, but I am still so very confused as to whether I should be gluten free or not. I really miss my homemade breads!! A doctor said I had “leaky gut”, but he determined that by muscle testing which I truly don’t believe in.
You never once mentioned the elephant in the room –glyphosate. Glyphosate is gut-damaging and often the reason people have a bad reaction to wheat. We need to talk about pesticides. I don’t know why we act like they don’t exist or that they are safe for consumption? They harm the human body.