In ancient days, bread had a completely different life cycle than our modern version. The grain was ground into flour, mixed with its other ingredients, formed into a loaf, raised, baked, and eaten in the same day. There was no bag of flour sitting around for weeks or months. There was no refrigerator or freezer for the left-overs. And there was no such thing as chemical preservatives.
But more than that, the grain itself was a completely different animal than the wheat we know today. Ancient wheat had names like "spelt," "einkorn," and "kamut." They had significantly different chemical makeup and nutrient profiles.
For instance, as noted in Einkorn Ancient Grain,
"The ancient grain einkorn (triticum monococcum) is packed with nutrition. It is a rich source of the beta carotene lutein, a powerful antioxidant. Einkorn has the highest amounts of lutein of any other variety of wheat. Einkorn is also a rich source of tocotrienols and tocopherols, powerful antioxidants and forms of Vitamin E. Compared to modern wheat varieties, einkorn has higher levels of protein, crude fat, phosphorous, and potassium."
And from Ecomall regarding spelt grain,
"There are many reasons why spelt is easier to digest than common wheat. The gluten in spelt is water soluble; it is degraded by heat and is easily broken down by mixing action. Wheat gluten, in contrast, does not break down in water and only relaxes when exposed to heat and seems to get stronger as it is mixed – bakers refer to it as “developing the gluten.” If you over mix spelt, it will break down. If you over mix wheat, it will get stronger. Something similar happens within the digestive system. Spelt’s relatively fragile gluten is easily broken apart during the chewing and mixing action which allows the enzymes and acid secreted during the digestive process to work on the surface of the food. During the digestive process, wheat forms a bolus which remains a ball making it harder to digest."
You can see there are some significant differences in the old bread grains as compared with our new, "improved" wheat grain.
Our modern wheat has been engineered over the past century not to be more nutritious, but to make finer, lighter bread. And in the process, it has become a storehouse of health problems.
For starters, celiac disease has mushroomed over recent years. It is estimated that three million Americans are afflicted. Celiac disease is an autoimmune disorder that is thought to be genetically predisposed, but triggered by the gluten in grains. With gluten in so many processed foods (not just bread), the increase in celiac should be no surprise. Many more people who may not have full-blown celiac disease suffer from gluten intolerance. Some experts think as many as one in twenty may suffer from some form of it. There's no test for gluten intolerance other than eliminating it from your diet completely for a period of time and then reintroducing it to see how your body responds.
But gluten isn't the only problem with grain. Grains contain anti-nutrients, like phytic acid, and enzyme inhibitors in the outer seed coat. Phytic acid binds with minerals and prevents your body from absorbing them, which can lead to mineral deficiencies. Enzyme inhibitors block enzyme function, which can lead to a host of problems, including pancreatic malfunction, inflammation, impaired digestion, allergies, immune problems, and declined mental function.
Some of the toxic affects of grains can be eliminated by soaking and sprouting the grain, which neutralizes the anti-nutrients and releases the nutrition stored in the wheat germ. You can sprout the wheat yourself, or you can buy sprouted wheat flour. Of course, any flour you buy will already be stripped of most of its nutrients. Ninety percent of the nutrition in wheat is contained in the wheat germ. But once it is milled, the vitamins begin to lose their potency almost immediately through oxidation. In addition, the oil in the wheat germ becomes rancid very quickly. In order to get the full nutrient value from the flour, it must be used pretty much like the Manna from heaven -- the same day it's made.
It's no surprise that our ancestors benefited from eating bread. Properly prepared, it contains protein and a bundle of good vitamins and minerals. Modern bread, however, has none of the above...or, at least, very little-- even if you make it yourself from store-bought flour. Plus, it is nearly all "simple" carbohydrate, which breaks down into sugar, which contributes to insulin production, which contributes to fat storage and weight gain. Too much constant insulin production leads to insulin-resistance and diabetes. Hence, lots of bread every day equals poor health.
So the choice of whether to eat bread or not comes down to this-- how much of a bad thing is acceptable? And to what lengths are you willing to go to make it as least-bad as possible? The best policy is to bake your own bread from freshly ground sprouted grains. But considering the fact that in our culture of abundant food, there are plenty of better sources available for protein, vitamins and minerals that don't contain the anti-nutrients and carbohydrates present in grains and that are much less trouble to prepare -- like a good grass-fed steak, for instance -- bread is really a "non-essential" food. Fiber can be had in abundance in berries, and green vegetables. There's no really good reason to eat bread... except for the most obvious one -- the TASTE (and it's very good for holding butter).
Unless you're intolerant, it's probably not going to hurt you to eat a piece of bread once in a while, but for good health, it may be wise to avoid eating it every day. And if you don't have the time or energy to bake bread the old fashioned way, but still want the sprouted wheat version, it can be had in the marketplace if you know where to look.
On the other hand, if you're having health issues of any kind, eliminating grains from the diet is a good starting place because of the inherent negatives associated with them. For more information on wheat and grain, check out these links...
http://www.wheatbellyblog.com/
http://preventdisease.com/news/12/011612_Modern-Wheat-Really-Isnt-Wheat-At-All.shtml
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/the-problems-with-modern-wheat/#axzz2OhjsmYmu
http://drhyman.com/blog/2012/02/13/three-hidden-ways-wheat-makes-you-fat/
http://www.naturalnews.com/037170_gm_wheat_liver_failure_gmo.html
For starters, celiac disease has mushroomed over recent years. It is estimated that three million Americans are afflicted. Celiac disease is an autoimmune disorder that is thought to be genetically predisposed, but triggered by the gluten in grains. With gluten in so many processed foods (not just bread), the increase in celiac should be no surprise. Many more people who may not have full-blown celiac disease suffer from gluten intolerance. Some experts think as many as one in twenty may suffer from some form of it. There's no test for gluten intolerance other than eliminating it from your diet completely for a period of time and then reintroducing it to see how your body responds.
But gluten isn't the only problem with grain. Grains contain anti-nutrients, like phytic acid, and enzyme inhibitors in the outer seed coat. Phytic acid binds with minerals and prevents your body from absorbing them, which can lead to mineral deficiencies. Enzyme inhibitors block enzyme function, which can lead to a host of problems, including pancreatic malfunction, inflammation, impaired digestion, allergies, immune problems, and declined mental function.
Some of the toxic affects of grains can be eliminated by soaking and sprouting the grain, which neutralizes the anti-nutrients and releases the nutrition stored in the wheat germ. You can sprout the wheat yourself, or you can buy sprouted wheat flour. Of course, any flour you buy will already be stripped of most of its nutrients. Ninety percent of the nutrition in wheat is contained in the wheat germ. But once it is milled, the vitamins begin to lose their potency almost immediately through oxidation. In addition, the oil in the wheat germ becomes rancid very quickly. In order to get the full nutrient value from the flour, it must be used pretty much like the Manna from heaven -- the same day it's made.
It's no surprise that our ancestors benefited from eating bread. Properly prepared, it contains protein and a bundle of good vitamins and minerals. Modern bread, however, has none of the above...or, at least, very little-- even if you make it yourself from store-bought flour. Plus, it is nearly all "simple" carbohydrate, which breaks down into sugar, which contributes to insulin production, which contributes to fat storage and weight gain. Too much constant insulin production leads to insulin-resistance and diabetes. Hence, lots of bread every day equals poor health.
So the choice of whether to eat bread or not comes down to this-- how much of a bad thing is acceptable? And to what lengths are you willing to go to make it as least-bad as possible? The best policy is to bake your own bread from freshly ground sprouted grains. But considering the fact that in our culture of abundant food, there are plenty of better sources available for protein, vitamins and minerals that don't contain the anti-nutrients and carbohydrates present in grains and that are much less trouble to prepare -- like a good grass-fed steak, for instance -- bread is really a "non-essential" food. Fiber can be had in abundance in berries, and green vegetables. There's no really good reason to eat bread... except for the most obvious one -- the TASTE (and it's very good for holding butter).
Unless you're intolerant, it's probably not going to hurt you to eat a piece of bread once in a while, but for good health, it may be wise to avoid eating it every day. And if you don't have the time or energy to bake bread the old fashioned way, but still want the sprouted wheat version, it can be had in the marketplace if you know where to look.
On the other hand, if you're having health issues of any kind, eliminating grains from the diet is a good starting place because of the inherent negatives associated with them. For more information on wheat and grain, check out these links...
http://www.wheatbellyblog.com/
http://preventdisease.com/news/12/011612_Modern-Wheat-Really-Isnt-Wheat-At-All.shtml
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/the-problems-with-modern-wheat/#axzz2OhjsmYmu
http://drhyman.com/blog/2012/02/13/three-hidden-ways-wheat-makes-you-fat/
http://www.naturalnews.com/037170_gm_wheat_liver_failure_gmo.html
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