Modern Wheat

[Larry Lyons]

I recently ran across a book titled "Lose the Wheat, Lose the Weight." by Dr. William Davis, a preventive Cardiologist. He writes that virtually all of the wheat grown by American farmers and that is used in the food industry is a dwarf, high yield plant that was developed over decades by plant geneticists to meet the needs of the growers and the food industry. They developed the plant by selectively crossing original varieties of wheat and native grasses until they got a dwarf plant with strong stems to support the heads of grain which was easier to harvest and yielded much more to the acre than the original. However, somewhat like GMO (which it is not, at least technically speaking) the wheat is not the same as what grandma used to bake with.

Dr. Davis took many of his patients off of all food products containing wheat.
   "After three months, my patients returned to have more blood work done. As I had anticipated, with only rare exceptions, glucose had indeed often dropped from diabetic range to normal.
   But its what I didn't expect that astounded me. They reported that symptoms of acid reflux had disappeared and the cyclic cramping and diarrhea of irritable bowel syndrome were gone. Their energy improved, they had greater focus, sleep was deeper. Rashes disappeared, even rashes that had been present for many years. Their rheumatoid arthritis pain improved or disappeared, enabling them to cut back, even eliminate the nasty medications used to treat it. Asthma symptoms improved or resolved completely, allowing many to throw away their inhalers Athletes reported more consistent performance."

The author goes on to say that, "[his book] "explores the proposition that the health problems of Americans, from fatigue to arthritis to gastrointestinal distress to obesity, originate with the innocent-looking bran muffin, or cinnamon raisin bagel you have with your coffee every morning."

Dr. Davis goes into detail about the differences in the modern wheat from the original wheat. I am wondering if the seeming epidemic of gluten intolerance indicates a wider problem.

 Dr. Davis also wrote a book titled "Wheat Belly"  apparently covering some of the same information.

Has anyone heard anything about this?

[Vicki]

A church member told me she read "Wheat Belly," removed wheat from her diet, and her digestive problems went away. If I recall correctly, there are other varieties of wheat that can be used with safety.

[Larry Lyons]

A church member told me she read "Wheat Belly," removed wheat from her diet, and her digestive problems went away. If I recall correctly, there are other varieties of wheat that can be used with safety.

I have not finished the book I have, but I gather from what I have read so far that the original wheat varieties such as kamut and spelt would be safe. However, I recall that Ellen White wrote that grains should be cooked for hours or else they are not digested well. Agatha Thrash confirmed this in her own lab. She found that it takes much longer than is commonly known to cook grains to the point where the starches they contain are broken down to where they are properly digested. She believes that the molecular "starch chains" that are not broken down by cooking may get through the intestine walls and into the blood stream. She believes that this may be the cause of the minute scarring that is found in brain tissue of many autopsied cadavers. (She was trained as a pathologist) It appears to me that perhaps we should heed what Ellen White wrote about cooking grains. This is apparently one of the many things concerning diet and health that the Spirit of Prophecy has given us that is widely ignored.

Agatha Thrash's article about this can probably still be found on her website. She has a chart as to appropriate cooking times for various grains.

[colporteur]

I have heard this and some people seem to be affected more than others. I have also heard that bulgur wheat is ok. I have been little slow to move on this because our food options are getting narrowed down so much. We have cut excito toxins out of our diet such as Braggs, soy sauce, and malted barley etc.etc.. We have been told that Organic Tamari is alright and use that.

I have heard Agatha Thrash talk about grain needing to be cooked two hours or more. We do that with our rolled oats in the oven at 190 degrees for 2 or more hours. i wonder how that works with bread as you cannot bake bread that long unless you only make Zieback.

[Plain Adventist]

I have read quite a bit about the gluten free diet, although I realize you are discussing a wheat-free diet here, which is not the same as gluten free. I thought that gluten might be causing problems for me and leading me to be tired for no real reason. I even got blood testing for celiac disease, which came back inconclusive. I went on a gluten-free diet to see how it would go, and the results of that have been inconclusive as well. 
However, what I wanted to say is that, if you have a problem with wheat, unfortunately you cannot eat it. But I would not go so far as to say that we should all cut wheat out of our diets. I think that whole wheat is healthy food, especially for those who already choose to eliminate other food items because of the diseases they may contain.
I make my own bread, but it is not appetizing in the way that wheat bread is. Also, I will confess that to get my bread to hold together, I use eggs, apple cider vinegar, 1/2 cup cornstarch per loaf,  and guar gum. It may be that I could do better and do not know it. However, it might be good, if one is contemplating a gluten-free diet, to look into some of the recipes. Gluten-free does not mean it is actually healthier than wheat. I have to avoid barley, rye, and commercial oats as well as wheat, to be on a truly gluten-free diet, so I use flours from soy, buckwheat, brown rice, and corn. However, the "glue" (gluten) from the wheat is missing.
Again, please do not think I'm advocating unhealthy articles, but I am saying that in my own opinion, whole wheat bread can be a healthy food, and I personally wouldn't recommend that all need to give up wheat. However, if the doctor in this book thinks that rye, spelt, kamut, barley, etc. are OK then that would likely make his diet easier to carry out than a gluten-free one.

[colporteur]

 I read today from wheat farmers that gluten is not the biggest problem with wheat. While wheat has been hybridized and changed by crossing it with some grasses therefore causing mutations the biggest problem is what is done with the wheat out in the field. Not only is wheat sprayed with Round Up (glyphosate ) to kill weeds but often the wheat is drenched in Round Up just before harvest. Why ? Three reasons. #1 To Kill weeds. #2 it kills the wheat and causes it to all ripen evenly. #3 The wheat  packs in a couple more kernels before expiring therefore increasing the yield. This is not done by all wheat farmers but it is done by some of them. This is illegal with other crops but for some reason it is permitted with wheat. A heavy concentration of glyphosate enters the kernel of wheat and when eaten affects the eater's digestive tract and messes things up. Proponents of round up claim that Round Up is harmless and to prove it they foolishly drink it sometimes at events. Because it does not kill quickly does not mean that it does not kill. To drink a little Round Up equates with smoking a cigar and saying " see here, it is harmless."

[Richard Myers]

What wheat farmer told you this, cp?  It does not sound right. Spraying wheat would kill it. I don't think they have a round up ready wheat. It was abandoned from what I understand.  As for spraying roundup on ready to harvest wheat, that would seem pretty far out. It is expensive and who would want to buy wheat "drenched" in roundup? 

Do you have an industry article that expresses this as appropriate practice?  There are two concerns that I have that might help explain heath problems with wheat.  I think  I  wrote on this in another topic. New York sent its sewer sludge to farmers in Colorado to use as fertilizer. This is a very dangerous practice. Another concern that I Just posted is that spongiform diseases are contracted from prions that can be bound up on in soil and then taken up by plants. It appears that the prions can move up from the roots into the plants. Prions can be excreted through urine and feces by cows sheep, deer and other animals that have been infected. It can remain in the soil many years and retain its ability to infect animals and humans.

[colporteur]

What wheat farmer told you this, cp?  It does not sound right. Spraying wheat would kill it. I don't think they have a round up ready wheat. It was abandoned from what I understand.  As for spraying roundup on ready to harvest wheat, that would seem pretty far out. It is expensive and who would want to buy wheat "drenched" in roundup? 

Do you have an industry article that expresses this as appropriate practice?  There are two concerns that I have that might help explain heath problems with wheat.  I think  I  wrote on this in another topic. New York sent its sewer sludge to farmers in Colorado to use as fertilizer. This is a very dangerous practice. Another concern that I Just posted is that spongiform diseases are contracted from prions that can be bound up on in soil and then taken up by plants. It appears that the prions can move up from the roots into the plants. Prions can be excreted through urine and feces by cows sheep, deer and other animals that have been infected. It can remain in the soil many years and retain its ability to infect animals and humans.

This is one of the articles.    http://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/real-reason-for-toxic-wheat-its-not-gluten/

I grew up on the farm and have used Round Up myself. This was before it was sprayed broadcast. The amount that Round Up is used on wheat is controversial and subjective. However, they pretty much all agree that it is used some. Others say it is used a lot. I suppose it depends on location and such. Glysophate is not harmless like many would have us believe and they continually increase the amount  allowable as weeds become more resistant to the chemical.

Spraying the wheat and killing it is the idea. That makes it all ripen together. They do not do this in the middle of the season but at the end.  As far as who would want wheat drenched in Round Up ? The same people that buy corn, soybeans, and Alfalfa drenched in Round Up. It is not realized by the public as a problem.  More than one farmer has said this. I would have to google again to find the site. Probably the more chemical the farmer uses the cheaper it is and it is diluted with water.  They may dilute it enough so the crop does not die instantly. I have a farmer friend/ class mate that says that beans that have been sprayed with Round Up produce 2-3 more bushel to the acre. Apparently Round Up does affect the beans even though it does not kill them and they put a few more pods on because of it. Round  Up in the grain is not a god thing for people to consume.

[Richard Myers]

Thanks, cp.  The article was excellent.  I found this that answers my question about industry protocols.  HGCA

HGCA is the cereals and oilseeds division of the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) in the UK.  It is funded by the ag industry and exists by statute.  Drenching the wheat in roundup is indeed a practice within agriculture. I am sure many do not participate, but apparently it is acceptable.

[colporteur]

   Chemicals as well as modified, hybridized seed is big business. One 50 lb. bag of seed corn is now $160.00. One bushel  of harvested corn sells right now for about $3.50.

[Ed Sutton]

Roundup ie > glyphosate > autism > google search - limited search

  http://www.globalresearch.ca/monsanto-glyphosate-roundup-herbicide-triggers-autism-in-children-mit-scientist/5433023   

  http://www.medicaldaily.com/autism-rates-increase-2025-glyphosate-herbicide-may-be-responsible-future-half-316388        Ed's note notice digestive intestinal flora issues

http://www.naturalnews.com/049065_glyphosate_autism_GMOs.html#

  https://youtu.be/6zOlGf_MWsg

http://www.inhabitots.com/mit-scientist-links-autism-to-monsantos-roundup-and-predicts-half-of-u-s-children-will-be-autistic-by-2025/