Grains: Good and healthy or something else?

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dvocates of Stone Age Diet give many reasons why grains should not be included in the human diet, just like they should not be included in the diet of cattle. We are not biologically adapted to eating grains. The USDA Food Pyramid and the Canadian Food Guide both suggest that a healthy diet should include five to 12 servings of grain products and expresses that grains are the foundation of a healthy diet. 

Why would these countries state this if it wasn’t so? Let’s examine what we know.

Authors of books advocating abstinence from grains in the diet note that our Paleolithic ancestors lived on wild meat, greens, vegetables, seeds and berries. These researchers and authors also note that the human body has not changed significantly since those times, but our food certainly has to become a major cause of disease and “dis-ease.” History has shown that when an early civilization increased its dietary dependence on grain, degenerative diseases rose proportionately.

Even though the Bible mentions eating grains, that reference only goes back a few thousand years, to right around the time that people were engaged in agriculture and domesticating animals. People have only been farming, rather than hunting and gathering, for about 15,000 years. In the span of our whole history, that is a very short time.

Grains contain phytic acid, which blocks the absorption of the minerals calcium, magnesium, iron, copper and zinc. All grains contain phytic acid in the bran. Sprouting grains increases the content of many important vitamins and also breaks down phytic acid which can reduce its mineral blocking activity.

Another issue with consumption of grains is the associated spike in blood glucose levels, which in turn spikes the insulin response and leads us down the pathway of metabolic syndrome, insulin resistance and diabetes. The added carbohydrate load from grains not only involves the pancreas and the hormone insulin, but also calls into play the adrenals and the hormones cortisol and adrenaline so that our immunity and our endocrine systems both are compromised. When a whole grain is ground into flour, the surface area increases by 10,000 times. This means that it hits your blood stream like pure sugar. 

Now consider that flour many times is combined with sugar to make desserts and treats and you got a plate of diabetic coma right in front of you.

Gluten is a sticky water soluble protein that is found in many grains such as wheat, rye and barley. Grains such as corn, rice and oats have less gluten but have other proteins that are not optimal for human consumption either. Gluten and these other proteins break down the microvilli in the small intestine and over time can cause “leaky gut syndrome” wherein little bits of undigested food leaks into the bloodstream causing allergies, digestive issues and autoimmune difficulties.

Lectins, the other factors in grains, are mild toxins which inhibit the repair of the gastro-intestinal tract and also cross over into the blood stream causing allergies. Gluten and lectin also cause the gall bladder to form stones by inhibiting the release of bile into the damaged small intestine and causing a build-up inside the gallbladder.

History reveals that in the last 130 years of increased grain consumption in America, chronic diseases have skyrocketed, fertility rates have fallen, and the body weight of the average American has risen. Research from the University of Missouri has shown that grain consumption not only caused decreased fertility but also shrinks the size of testicles in test subjects. 

It makes much more nutritional sense to get your nutrients from vegetables, roots, some fruit, wild fish and meat just like our ancestors did.

We have been socialized to support the dairy farmers, the wheat farmers and the whole agricultural industrial complex by trusting that our best interests are always at the forefront. A brief review of history and a look at the ancient Hawaiian diet tells us a story worth considering. Eat local, eat wild, eat organic and pure.

• Jane Riley, M.S., B.A., C.P.T., Certified Nutritional Adviser, can be reached at janerileyfitness@gmail.com, 212-1451 or www.janerileyfitness.com.