The Truth about Grains

It seems as if everyone has jumped on the gluten free band wagon these days! Stores are over flowing with products originally designed for people with celiacs, but these products are purchased by just about everyone!! What's the big deal about gluten and why do we cut all grains in a Paleo / Primal diet?

The truth about grains and their nutritional value may be a new thought to you. The main purpose of a grain is to reproduce for it's parent plant. It is a little package specially designed to help it grow into a new plant itself. To make this little package something desirable to eat, it needs to be processed. During processing the bran and germ portion of the grain seed is removed, and thereby removing the fiber content. Later fiber is added back in to these foods, but adding it back in does not provide any benefits.

Some may ask, what about whole grains? They have fiber that is useful to the body! If you look at whole grains only for their fiber content you may see them as beneficial. But when you look at the whole picture it doesn't seem worth it to get your fiber from whole grains instead of fruits and vegetables that pack a nutritional punch along with their fiber content.

Aside from fiber, whole grains contain a problematic protein that for many can cause serious health issues. Celiacs are an obvious example, gluten causes an immune reaction that if not treated properly (by cutting all gluten from the diet) can be departmental if not deadly. But gluten is just the most commonly talked about protein that can cause issues. Prolamins found in wheat, rye and barley can cause irritation in your stomach and cause a leaky gut, meaning that these particles can pass into your blood stream. When those particles are able to cross over they cause and immune response. Grains like corn and oats contain a different prolamin protein that may cause a similar response.

This immune response can show up as a number of different things like asthma, allergies, arthritis and even as autoimmune diseases like multiple sclerosis, Grave's and Hashimoto's disease. For people who deal with an autoimmune disease like multiple sclerosis, continuing to eat these proteins and grains only compounds the problem. It creates more inflammation in a body that is already trying to quiet many other inflammatory fires.

Perhaps your skeptical about this information. You have the opportunity to become your own experiment. Try cutting out all grains from your diet for 30 days. See how you feel, and then reintroduce them slowly to find any adverse reactions. Personally I did not see benefits until I cut out all grains from my diet. Once you see the benefits, it is very rare for someone to feel the need to add these problematic foods back into their diet.