Is Wheat Really the Enemy it’s Being Portrayed As?
Wheat has become the latest dietary villain, blamed as the cause for just about every malaise you can imagine, including acne, chronic fatigue and depression. Opponents of wheat have coined the phrase “wheat belly,” pointing a finger at wheat as the cause of excess belly fat. But in truth, wheat has many nourishing qualities, not the least of which is the fiber found in true whole wheat products. And there is actually significant research linking a plant-based diet rich in complex carbohydrates – including wheat and whole grains – to improved health and disease prevention. As David Katz, MD, MPH, noted in an April 2014 article in Medscape, “… a high-carbohydrate, plant-based diet inclusive of grains even favorably impact gene expression.” So, how did wheat get such a bad reputation?
Much of what is unhealthy about the wheat in our diets can be found in both the growing and processing of it. For starters, the increasing use of the herbicide glyphosate on our crops has significant health implications, including for our digestive system. Also, white-flour wheat products – and manufacturers today do an excellent job of disguising the “white flour” component of their “wheat” products – contain a lot of refined sugars and unhealthy fats. So people who give up what they think are “whole wheat” products are most likely actually giving up wheat products that contain a whole lot more than just wheat. And when they stop eating these products and start feeling better? They naturally attribute it to their new “wheat-free” lifestyle. In actuality, they’ve also given up a bunch of additional ingredients that science tells us can reduce our immune response, increase chronic inflammation, and significantly contribute to generally not feeling well. But rarely is the culprit the “whole wheat.”
In the science community, there are many doubts being raised about gluten sensitivity that’s not associated with celiac disease. The actual prevalence of a real problem with gluten has been estimated to be at about 0.6 to 6% of the population. Many more people are now deciding that they should give up wheat, often based on rather vague symptoms and the ever-present promotion of the gluten-free industry (which, by the way, sell a lot of really unhealthy products that are high in sugar and low in fiber). Gluten sensitivity is a condition that has to be diagnosed carefully. First, you have to be tested to make sure you don’t have celiac disease, and you have to do this at a time when you are eating plenty of gluten. Second, you have to follow a rigorous gluten-free diet for a while, which should result in a complete remission of symptoms. Third, you should have an actual wheat allergy test performed by a qualified laboratory to make sure you don’t have an immunological wheat allergy. A survey of people who believed that they had problems with gluten found interesting results. Only a quarter of the people claiming gluten sensitivity had the proper diagnostic testing to confirm this. And a quarter of the people who were on the gluten free diet still had problematic symptoms, indicating that gluten sensitivity might not be their problem at all!
Which leads us to another potential culprit, and a subject you might have recently heard about: FODMAPs (FODMAP stands for Fermentable Oligo-Di-Monosaccharides and Polyols). FODMAPs are short-chain carbohydrates and sugar alcohols that can be poorly absorbed by the small intestine and might be problematic for some people. It’s possible that a sensitivity to these specific carbohydrates is being confused with a sensitivity to gluten. We’ll be addressing this topic in an upcoming blog. For now, we will continue to stay current on the science about diet and our health. Accordingly, we will continue to recommend a diet low in saturated fats and high in fiber, plant-based sources of protein, cold water fish rich in omega-3 fatty acids, complex carbohydrates – including whole wheat – fruits and berries rich in antioxidants, and nuts, seeds and cruciferous vegetable.