Wheat, Gluten, and Celiac Disease
Most whole grains are gluten free. But most prepared foods are made with just a few flours and grains that do contain gluten. Wheat is the main source of gluten. Rye and spelt also contain gluten along with barley to a lesser amount.
Rice, corn, buckwheat, quinoa, millet, teff, and amaranth are some of the many grains that do not contain gluten. They can be cooked in their whole form and eaten with veggies and legumes for a well balanced meal. Flours can be made from these grains as well as from almonds or coconut.
Oats are gluten free but may contain wheat in growing and processing. With crop rotation some other grains may be mixed in the fields so the end product may be cross contaminated with wheat, barley or rye. This may also be true to a lesser degree with corn. For most people who are gluten sensitive corn and oats are usually tolerated. But for someone with severe celiac, a true gluten allergy, these foods may need to be avoided.
Gluten allergy is an allergy to the protein in these grains. An allergy is an IGE (antibody) mediated response which affects the immune system. With continued exposure this becomes a chronic condition which affects many systems of the body in addition to the GI tract.
Gluten sensitivity manifests in someone as discomfort, gas bloating or other symptoms by eating gluten without having an allergy. Gluten sensitivity has been only recently recognized as a true problem by the medical community at large, and the pathway is still not well understood.
Wheat prior to industrialization and monoculture use had great genetic diversity. Wheat is the most widely grown crop on our planet, yet industrial breeders have transformed these ancient grains into a non-diverse cash crop. Not only is the lack of diversity causing health problems, modern wheat depends on synthetic fertilizer and herbicides that damage our health, land, water, and environment.
Heritage wheats that evolved over millennia in the organic fields of traditional farms do not need biochemical intervention to yield bountifully. They are gluten free and have rich flavor and high nutrition. Yet the robust, majestic wheats that nourished our ancestors are on the verge of extinction.
In Restoring Heritage Grains, author Eli Rogosa of the Heritage Grain Conservancy, encourages readers to restore forgotten wheats such as delicious gluten-safe einkorn, emmer the grain of ancient Israel, Egypt, and Rome, rare durums that are drought-tolerant and high in protein, and many more little known wheat species. Each has a richer and more diverse taste than modern wheat.
Gluten allergies have increased at epidemic proportions. In children the rate has skyrocketed in recent decades. The National Institutes of Health convened its first conference on celiac disease only in 2004, concluding that the condition is “widely unrecognized” and “greatly under diagnosed.” Gluten allergies and celiac disease are at least four times more prevalent today than they were sixty years ago.
Most individuals who suffer allergies to gluten are not diagnosed and suffer with symptoms ranging from poor nutrient absorption and discomfort to unexplained weight loss and bloating. Celiac disease is a gastrointestinal malabsorption disorder resulting from the ingestion of gluten. Allergic responses to gluten are highly variable and can include inflammation of the intestinal mucosa, which may result in atrophy of intestinal villi; malabsorption of nutrients; and a variety of clinical manifestations that can include diarrhea, abdominal cramping, pain, and distension. Untreated celiac disease and gluten allergies may lead to vitamin and mineral deficiencies, osteoporosis, anemia and other systemic problems. The only treatment for celiac disease is a gluten-free diet.
Celiac disease sufferers should avoid all gluten. But even for those of us without celiac, modern wheat may be impacting our health adversely. Modern wheat Is less nutritious. Mineral content in modern wheat cultivars has significantly decreased, including copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, selenium, and zinc. High levels of these nutrients can be found in old low-yielding varieties. Selection for high yield has caused a decrease in overall protein and mineral content and a loss of nutrition and flavor.
The Broadbalk Wheat Experiment, spanning more than a century, has documented the decline in the nutrition of modern wheat. Since 1843, generations of investigators have grown wheat in parallel plots. Each year the harvest was tested for nutritional content. The findings are alarming. Although yield suddenly increased in 1968 when dwarf wheats were introduced, the nutritional value plummeted 18 to 29 percent in mineral content of zinc, iron, copper, magnesium, phosphorus, manganese, sulfur, and calcium. We are eating an empty harvest, craving more calories to get the basic nutrition we need.
The modern dependence on agrochemicals contributes to climate change by nitrogen leaching, greenhouse gas emissions, and pesticides. Although there is an increase in the yield in shorter modern wheat, it requires higher chemical input. Shorter plants cannot compete with weeds. Stubby roots have lower nutrient uptake capacity. Weakened plants are bred with dependence on agrochemical protectants to survive. In pure line varieties diseases spread epidemically when all plants are the same. But this isn’t the case if there is diversity within the population, because then there are varying resistances in the field.
Modern practices have changed dietary habits. Current agriculture produces monocultures of cereal grains, while traditional agriculture incorporates nutritionally balanced polycultures of grain, legumes, and vegetables. Polycultures produce more nutritious food and soils.
Those eating these depleted grains are more affected by iron or vitamin deficiencies. In contrast, emmer and einkorn are exceptionally high in health-promoting phytonutrients and antioxidants. Einkorn has high levels of lutein and beta-carotenes.
Lutein, an antioxidant, reduces the risk of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the leading cause of vision loss among older Americans. Lutein also provides protection against heart disease and cancer. In North America, the daily intake of lutein is far below the recommended level and is declining. Beta Carotene is converted by our body into retinol (vitamin A) which is a vital nutrient for vision, plays a critical role in cell growth and in maintaining healthy organs like the brain, heart, lungs, and kidneys.
Modern wheat breeding has increased in the protein parts that cause celiac disease, known as epitopes. Norman Borlaug, the Nobel Prize–winning wheat breeder, not only introduced higher-yielding wheat but inadvertently created a high-gluten wheat. The worldwide rise in celiac disease occurred at the same time as the introduction of dwarfed monoculture wheat.
Dr. Hetty van den Broeck has long studied wheat and the gluten proteins that are responsible for celiac disease. Dr. van den Broeck is part of a research group in Holland that compared gluten proteins in modern wheats and in landrace wheats grown a century ago. The presence of the celiac disease stimulatory culprit, the Glia-α9 epitope, is alarmingly higher in modern wheat.
Hidden gluten in our diets is contributing to the problem. Modern gluten is not only in bread, but it is hidden in many food products from soups, sauces, meat products, potato chips, candies, ice creams, even in medicines and vitamin supplements. It is sticky and has useful adhesive properties in processed foods.
Dr. van den Broeck and her team are trying to find solutions by identifying which species and varieties of wheat, ancient or modern, do not cause an allergic response. They are looking for wheat varieties that are low in celiac disease epitopes, so that they can be used by breeders to create new varieties of wheat with safer gluten for consumers.
To avoid over exposure to gluten, eat a variety of grains. Avoid overly processed foods that may have hidden gluten such as in chips, candies and sauces. Make your own sauces and treats that have quality ingredients and no additives. Freeze some for later avoiding the need for preservatives. If you do buy prepared foods, read labels. The fewer ingredients the better. Avoid nonfood ingredients like dyes and chemicals.
Food should nourish our bodies and fuel our minds. It should be satisfying and bring us joy. Enjoy shopping and cooking and eating with your family knowing you are providing a whole foods diet full of life.
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