WHY ARE SO MANY OF US SENSITIVE TO WHEAT/GLUTEN ?

[Marz]

Over the years the food industry suffered financially if a crop of wheat failed - either due to weather or pests. As a result they have altered the wheat ( not quite GM ) until it is no longer recognised by our guts/immune systems. It has been hybridised in order to prevent any loss of crops - and of course money ! The wheat eaten today is NOT the wheat eaten by our parents and grandparents - and for some of us not the wheat we ate as young people !

This has created a worldwide problem with allergies to wheat/gluten, The coeliac tests in the UK/Europe are far from adequate and people often have a negative result. When in fact they do have a problem. Again the Medical profession only recognises extremes - rather than the varying shades of grey.....

This could well be causing the worldwide epidemic of Auto-immune Diseases - as we are aware that gut inflammation leads to an immune response which can be the precursor to other chronic conditions within the body. Hashimotos Thyroiditis is the most common form of thyroid illness throughout the world and is an Auto-immune condition.

Calming inflammation in the gut is so very important for our well being - and not just the thyroid - fibromyalgia - rheumatoid arthritis - lupus and other immune responses - but also for our brains. Alzheimers and Dementia have their root causes in inflammation as well. People with auto-immune illness have higher risks to the aforementioned.

Time for Action - ! I am reading the book by Datis Kharrazian - Why isn't My Brain Working ? - which is full of amazing information and from where some of the above points were gleaned. It should also have a second title - Why isn't My Gut Working ? ! We are aware of the gut/brain connection - and there is lots to learn. Tips about activating the Vagus nerve and so on ! He is of the opinion when we start to forget where the car keys are - it is time to start nourishing the brain - and not wait until we do not recognise people ! He blames conventional medicine for not recognising early symptoms of brain de-generation. His explanations make good reading - and as usual there is information overload - so just take it slowly

I have Hashimotos - Crohns - and FM - so I am on the case ! - now where did I put my car keys !......

[Moggie]

Great blog Marz and as I work in the wheat/barley/oats etc industry I know first hand of the huge amount of chemical that is put onto the seed even before it is planted. Some farmers will put three or four different "seed treatments" on a certain variety of wheat/barley to stop all sorts of different things from slugs to disease (and every thing in between), and if anyone tries to claim that this chemical is not evident in the final product (the seed harvested for bread etc) then they are lying. You don't have to be a rocket scientist to work out that if its in the seed then it is in the bread and eventually finds it way into us!!!!!

And to answer pettals - the reason it is now so small is so that a) it is easier to combine and b) the plant can put more energy into bigger, fatter seed rather than taller stems. The plant breeders have crossed one variety of wheat with another and another and another until they get the desired effect.

Moggie x

[Marz in reply to Moggie]

Thank you Moggie - yes I remember when the wheat harvest failed in Russia - way back - it affected the American Food Markets badly ! That's when they started to mess with the weather as well as the hybridization to ensure it never happened again.....

[snowinok in reply to Marz]

Messed with the weather?...how?

[Marz in reply to snowinok]

Pumping chemicals in the air so it would rain - it was a drought that decimated the crops.....can't remember the detail - but it must be out there somewhere on the net.

[Hidden in reply to Marz]

'seeding clouds' it was called.

[Moggie in reply to Hidden]

Hi - I had an email to say you responded to my comment and asked about organic but I cant see it on here - which is really weird - so thought I would answer you this way.

No organic wheat/barley does not have chemicals on it - we (the firm I work for) just go in and clean it, which means we get all the straw and dirt etc out of the grain but do not put chemicals on it. One thing to watch out for with organic wheat is a thing called Ergot which is quite dangerous - google it.

Moggie x

[chlorophyle]

The protein part of the wheat is now larger and more difficult to digest.

An excellent read is "The Paleo Answer" by Loren Cordain. There is a very large section on which foods cause gut permeability and why. Cordain is an eminent scientist and meticulous in quoting a multitude of references. Lectins (proteins) in gluten grains, legumes and nightshades ( think potatoes) are a disaster for the gut. They can attach to blood cells and travel to many different parts of the body and attach to connective tissues and organs. The body then attacks these "invaders" and our own tissues get damaged.

[Marz]

...when it is shorter it is not so vulnerable to high winds and strong rain. Growers find it almost impossible to harvest flattened wheat ! Moggie - see below - also has a comment to add. Thanks pettals - enjoy the book.

[Hidden]

Hey

The leading researcher on this is Alessio Fassano - read an interview with him here: chriskresser.com/pioneering...

Rebecca

[Marz in reply to Hidden]

Thank you for your post. I am a Chris Kresser fan too. .....

[Hidden]

Could say same about asbestos fibers and being hard to digest

But alass no one likes talking about our toxic heratage and crisis in our citys

[Marz in reply to Hidden]

It is covered in the book - Why Isn't my Brain Working ? Did reply to your post yesterday - but it disappeared ! There are so many reasons why our brains stop working well - and he covers most of them....crisis in the countryside too with all the chemicals leaching into the water supplies from the polluted soils. Oh well we have to make the best of things and hope that our well educated grandchildren can sort it all out !!

[ourfriendsinthenorth]

Excellent post - thank you

[Helenabc]

If you are willing to make your own bread, there are various lovely flours. There is no need to eat non-organic wheat products, or modern wheat at all. Flour options include spelt -- an ancient wheat -- and a wheat descended from the ancient Egyptian wheat. And there are the flours produced from special grains organically grown in Northumberland: Gilchesters. There are also good breads baked for you from good organic flour.

Commercial bread today nearly all contains soya flour, added to help in the distribution of other additives. Soya is hard to digest and a frequent cause of allergies, apparently. I do wonder whether many people who believe they have an issue with wheat, actually have an issue with soya instead. Soya flour is added to most things containing wheat flour.

Hypothyroidism slows down digestion, leaving stuff lying around too long inside. So, for those of us with hypothyroidism, the key way to get a happy gut is to get enough effective treatment for the hypothyroidism. It is also important not to get anxious about foods, because an anxious habit can hype up the nervous system and upset the digestion.

[Silver_Fairy in reply to Helenabc]

Definately agree re soya in wheat flour. When I was helping my partner find out what it was that was giving him gut issues and other symptoms of an allergy I stopped giving him any form of gluten then started adding it back in to his diet. We found it was actually the soya in the flours that was to blame and once we stopped all soya products the acid reflux, indigestion, stomach cramps and loose bowels all stopped. We have found though that he is intolerant (as opposed to allergic) to gluten and can only eat a small amount at a time before it causes problems.

[MommyWhoop-Whoop in reply to Helenabc]

Hi Helenabc, this is a really interesting thread. I'm autoimmune hypothyroid and sensitive to wheat, eggs, soya and dairy! I recently purchased a bread maker, but haven't had any success in making my own bread, after 3 hours I end up with an inedible BRICK! Do you have any suggestions to making bread eliminating all these ingredients so that I can eat something palatable please?

[Helenabc in reply to MommyWhoop-Whoop]

Hi Drumbo, I am sorry to hear you are sensitive to so many things. But it probably won't be for ever. I really don't know how to make bread without wheat. A long time ago, I experimented with rye, but got -- -- -- bricks - which I ate!

For breakfast, I mix some rolled buckwheat with rolled oats, raisins and fruits. The buckwheat is the nicest rolled 'cereal' I have discovered apart from oats. It is actually NOT a cereal but from an entirely different kind of plant, and I eat it for that reason: to broaden my diet.

Some people who have problems with the usual things get on will with that quinoa stuff.

[Marz in reply to Helenabc]

...thank you for your post. Living in Crete does make it harder - but we now have Spelt Flour - at last !

[snowinok in reply to Helenabc]

But isn't soya what we turn to when we can't eat wheat?

I read somewhere that soya is ok as long as it's fermented prior to consumption...the Japanese apparently, won't touch it unless it's been fermented...and I believe it's a staple in their diet.

[Marz in reply to snowinok]

The Japanese version is fine. Most other soya is from American beans and mostly GM - thank you Monsanto.....

[Chippysue]

I was about to get some housework done and read you post which then led me on to reading a section of this book on the Amazon website. I am about 4 weeks into changing to gluten free and feel so much better too. Thank you for sharing this, I am going to buy the book. I need to get the actual book rather than on kindle as I need to share it with my support group. There is another book that people talk about too called the wheat belly amazon.co.uk/Wheat-Belly-Da...

Don't forget when buying anything on line to go through one of these so that we can raise a little for Thyroid UK. thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/go_sho...

Sue

thyroiduk.org

[Marz in reply to Chippysue]

Thank you Suze - the book is more than just about wheat as you have found no doubt. The brain is a complex subject but he makes the understanding of it pleasurable reading....

[hairyfairy]

The main reason why there have been changes in food production in recent years is to try to feed an ever growing world population. If population growth had been checked years ago, this wouldn`t have been necessary. There`s also the fact that far more premature babies are surviving now, & such babies tend to have lifelong health problems, including allergies & food intolerances.

[alchemilla12]

try to find an organic box scheme in your area -they generally contain local or at least mainly uk grown stuff. however organic food grown overseas still has to comply with that countries organic food regulations

[Xtine50]

There is a really excellent website called nutritionFacts.org

Run voluntarily by a doctor (Dr. Michael Greiger ) it has an amazing amount of info regarding diets and nutrition and the latest studies about inflammation etc. also you can sign up for a daily blog/vid or you can check him out on you tube.

Recommended.

[Marz in reply to Xtine50]

Thank you - that sounds good. The blood/ brain barrier is well worth understanding and studying....

[alchemilla12]

oh thats a shame -normally box schemes are very cheap delivery or sometimes free. mine costs £2.40 per delivery. whereabouts do you live ?

[Moggie]

PROFIT

Moggie x