Rethinking Wheat And Whole Grain Diets

As an integrated health coach, and clinician, I have followed nutrition and food policy in the US for many years. Not only do I want to have the most current information and best diet strategies for my clients, I want to provide the healthiest and safest food for my family. I intentionally buy organic and make homemade meals for most dinners as well as having a plentiful selection of fresh fruits, nuts and vegetables for snacking at home. In the last few years, I have discovered simple changes in diet can improve health especially if you have struggled with obesity, allergies, asthma, fatigue, chronic pain, headaches, or gut symptoms including diarrhea, constipation and gastric reflux.

Growing up in the 60s, my mother worked for a grocery chain store bakery and we ate TV dinners, fried chicken, pizza, hamburger helper, and sugared wheat cereals like Wheaties and Frosted Shredded Wheat. Mom packed brown bag lunches with bologna Wonder bread sandwiches, a piece of fruit and a Ding Dong or Hostess cupcake. Dinner always ended with a selection of cupcakes, chocolate eclairs, pie or a slice of German chocolate cake for dessert. Looking back, most of the food I grew up with promoted cellular inflammation.

Of course in those days, we didn’t know cellular inflammation would lead to increased obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, autoimmune disease and cancer. The effects of that diet initially are transparent but eventually a diet based on wheat and laden with high fats, sugar, processed foods, and food additives, takes a toll on the human body. My generation grew up on convenience food. My parents were proud to be able to provide plentiful meals. They had no knowledge of the possible effect of consuming artificial ingredients, chemicals, herbicides and processed foods.

When I trained in medicine we learned about celiac disease as a disease of mal absorption. In a tiny group of patients, their intestines couldn’t tolerate the protein gluten that is in wheat, rye and barely. In all my years in practice, I never saw a single case of celiac disease presenting as someone who was malnourished. However I saw plenty of asthma, arthritis, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, obesity, auto-immune illness, gastrointestinal diseases, allergies and fatigue most of which occurred due to unexplained causes. Not knowing what was causing so much illness, we just focused on treating the illnesses with medicine and follow up visits.

We know now there is more to the story of wheat, the American diet and illness. I found the details of the real story of wheat in a new book called Wheat Belly by Dr. William Davis, MD, a cardiologist, that was recently published. Dr. Davis explains that the wheat we ate in the 1960s is not the wheat we eat today. Food science has genetically modified wheat to be compatible with specific fertilizers and pesticides in order to produce more grain. The wheat we eat today could not even grow in the wild. The original chromosome count of wheat has been modified from 28 to 42 chromosomes in order to produce bigger seed heads, shorter stalks and a shorter growing time. What I discovered in reading Wheat Belly is that wheat has been hybridized over the last 50 years without any testing to determine safety for human consumption in the quest to end world hunger. An additional concern is that wheat’s glycemic index (70 to 71) is higher than table sugar (60 to 65) . When you eat a slice of whole grain bread you get higher glucose levels and a bigger insulin response than eating a tablespoon of table sugar. No wonder we are a fatter population who feels tired much of the time.

The US government recommends whole grains as an essential food in a balanced daily diet. In truth, we are a nation a burdened with a growing obesity problem. As I ponder the government’s daily whole grain recommendations, I think back to my experience as a horse owner. Horse owners soon learn the fastest way to put weight on a horse is to add grain to its diet. It’s not rocket science. Farmers have known for years that to put weight on livestock, you grain them. So why as a nation with an epidemic of obesity are we are recommending a diet based on daily plate portions of whole grains?

I suspect that the big food corporations have a hand in current government dietary recommendations. Consider that corn and wheat are government subsidized to keep grain production cheap and profitable. Take a stroll down the interior aisles of your grocery store and look at the ingredients in a variety of food products, and you will discover most contain wheat and or corn as cheap fillers.  Food manufacturers dress up the food products with whole grain high gluten containing flours and a few seeds. Then the food manufacturers claim it is heart healthy to eat.

Part of my coaching practice includes clients who are looking for better self- management in the areas of nutrition and weight control. In this area, my health coaching includes the essential strategies, successful goal setting, and individual support needed to implement diet changes. There is a sense making, and measured approach to eliminating gluten from one’s diet. With the correct preparation and mind set, a whole new experience of optimal health is available.

As for me, I celebrated a wheat free year in January of this year. The changes in how I feel have been revolutionary- more energy and mental clarity, less arthritis pain, less headaches, less cardiovascular risk and less gut symptoms. An added benefit from reducing consumption of all whole grains is that I find my personal weight management infinitely easier.