Wheat is the third most-produced cereal after maize and rice. It has been domestically cultivated since 9,000 B.C. Without wheat as an inexpensive staple food for energy, the human civilization would have been drastically different. Products of wheat include flour for breads, cookies, cakes, breakfast cereal, pasta, and noodles. When wheat is fermented, it is used to make beer, alcoholic drinks, or biofuel. Unfortunately, the wheat of today differs from those of ancient times. Modern food science of the past few decades has ushered in technological advances designed to increase production, lower cost, extend shelf life, and increase variety. This has been achieved through hybridization. Wheat is now selectively bred to produce larger quantities of protein, wheat germ agglutinin (WGA), and glycoprotein. Unfortunately, hybridization has greatly increased the amount of gluten protein now found in wheat. No longer mixed with other grains, beans, and nuts, pure wheat flour has changed into refined white flour.
Nutritionally speaking, 100 grams of hard red winter wheat contains about 12.6 grams of protein, 1.5 grams of total fat, 71 grams of carbohydrate (by difference), 12.2 grams of dietary fiber, and 3.2 mg of iron (17% of the daily requirement). Much of the carbohydrate fraction of wheat is starch. The principal parts of wheat flour are gluten and starch.
Modern day wheat contains large quantities of protein, wheat germ agglutinin (WGA), and glycoprotein. These lectin proteins are often the main causes of many illnesses and allergies today. The wheat germ agglutinin glycoprotein, has the potential to damage major tissues of the body, diffuse through the blood-brain barrier, advance inflammation, impede digestion and absorption, disrupt bacteria balance, and upset endocrine function.
Lectin is a defensive mechanism for the wheat plant, intended to repel off enemies like fungi and insects. This protein is very small and hard to break down by living systems. It hampers normal biological processes and acts as an anti-nutrient by storing up in important tissues.
Usually sprouting, fermenting, or digestion can help go against some anti-nutrient effects. However, lectins are resilient to these types of processes and might even subsist in "healthy" sprouted breads. WGA lectin is very hard to break, as it is formed by the same disulfide bonds that produce vulcanized rubber and human hair, both of which are tough, flexible, and durable.
WGA plays a big part in wheat's ill ramifications. WGA glycoprotein is special, in that it can directly harm most of the tissues in the body without a prerequisite set of genetic susceptibilities or immune-mediated articulations. This might be one of the reasons why chronic inflammatory and degenerative conditions are endemic to wheat-consuming populations. What is surprising is that WGA is found in its highest concentrations in "whole wheat", which is supposedly the superior sprouted form.
At extremely minute concentrations, WGA triggers the synthesis of pro-inflammatory chemical messengers and induces thymus atrophy in rats.
All seeds of the grass family, for example rice, spelt, wheat, rye, etc, have high levels of lectin.
How exactly does lectin harm your health? Here are some examples:
Further, research shows WGA lectin may even hinder gene expression, disturb endocrine function, have an unfavorable effect on gastrointestinal function, and share similarities with certain viruses.
WGA lectin can enter your body by diffusing through the cell membranes of your intestines. Taking drugs like aspirin and ibuprofen for a viral or bacterial infection can also put your mucosal barrier at risk and let more lectin in.
"Gluten" originates from the Latin word for glue, implying the bonding properties that hold cake and bread together. However, these qualities also stand in the way of effective breakdown and absorption of nutrients. The result of eating gluten would result in a constipated lump in the gut rather than a nutritious, easily digested meal.
This lump of undigested gluten then provokes the immune system to launch an attack on the small intestinal lining. This leads to symptoms like diarrhea or constipation, nausea, and stomachaches.
As time passes, the small intestine becomes more injured and finds it harder to absorb nutrients like calcium and iron. This in turn leads to osteoporosis, anemia, and other problems.
Something most people are not aware of is that there are two kinds of food allergies. Sometimes you may be severely allergic, and have serious immediate anaphylactic reactions (a reaction commonly associated with peanuts and seafood). This is called an IgE or "true allergy", and is what most people think of when they hear the words "food allergy".
However, the second type of food allergy is far more common, and far less popularly understood. The second kind is called an IgG food intolerance, food sensitivity, or delayed food allergy. This is the type we see wheat play in adrenal fatigue. Delayed food allergies have many different types of reactions, which may take place in hours or even days after you've eaten the offending foods. You may not even be aware that some of the physical problems you are having are related to something you ate, much less something you ate 3 days ago. If we do associate a physical response with something that we ate, we are usually trying to think of something unique that we consumed, never realizing that we are most likely sensitive to something we are eating all the time. Some of the most common food allergies are wheat and dairy! Sometimes, it can even be a reaction to a specific combination of foods that you do not react to individually.
Aside from the obvious gastric symptoms, delayed food allergies can also manifest themselves in ways you would never think to connect. Rheumatoid arthritis, migraines, asthma, ADD, autism, fibromyalgia and other autoimmune syndromes are some examples. These and many other conditions have all been found to have food sensitivity "triggers", and people who have identified their food sensitivities and eliminated them from their diets have often found dramatic improvements in their health.
Many day-to-day complaints that are more general in nature are or can also be unknowingly caused by delayed food allergies: cloudy thinking, inability to concentrate, lethargy, headaches, migraine, joint pain, muscle weakness, depression, chronic sinus issues, plugged ears or chronic ear infections, weight gain, dark circles under your eyes, rosy cheeks, acne, and oddly, cravings for the foods you are allergic to.
Wheat, along with corn and dairy, are the primary culprits within the universe of delayed food allergy due to their omnipresent nature.
Wheat plays an especially important role in adrenal fatigue because of the associated high frequency of allergy or intolerance. In the adrenal fatigue setting, the most common type of allergy is the slow food intolerance. This is characterized by delayed sub-clinical allergic reaction that can take hours or days to manifest symptoms. Sometimes, it might not even be a reaction we recognize. Such delayed reactions include: low energy, dry skin, heart palpitation, blurring vision, irritability, and anxiety. Hives and respiratory difficulties typical of acute allergic response are typically absent.
Because these symptoms are rather general and delayed, they are often overlooked as being tied to wheat. Wheat is the biggest culprit due to its omnipresence in everyday life and food. Symptoms typically develop insidiously and gradually worsen over years. They are easily missed by conventional doctors. Unfortunately, allergy testing is of little help because the presentation is often sub-clinical. In other words, wheat as an allergy that can elude detection and can cause havoc in an already weak adrenal system.
As with other allergic responses, the key hormone regulating this is cortisol. In adrenal fatigue, cortisol output rises first in the early stages, but eventually falls. This progression usually takes place over years of chronic stress. As adrenal fatigue progresses, cortisol output reduces and allergic responses become more symptomatic.
Wheat intolerance is often accompanied with sensitivity to other foods as well, such as corn and dairy. The weaker the adrenals, the more prevalent such multiple food sensitivities become. In addition to food, multiple chemical sensitivity is also prevelant.
Food intolerance weakens the body, especially the lining of the stomach and intestines. More energy is expended for the body to assimilate foods and metabolize them. This further weakens the adrenals, which are already stressed and unable to maintain energy supply to the body. The GI tract typically becomes irritated and inflamed. Continuous insult and irritation lead to stomach pain, heartburn, gas, or other digestive discomfort. One might even develop, "Leaky Gut Syndrome" due to an increased permeability of the intestinal walls that allow undigested proteins and fats to "leak" out of the intestine and into the bloodstream, where it sets off an autoimmune reaction. This irritation triggers further increased demand on cortisol output from the adrenals to calm the inflammation at a time when the adrenal is already stressed.
Fortunately, delayed food allergy or intolerance can be prevented and reversed. The best way is by eliminating any offending food from your diet and normalizing adrenal function concurrently. As the adrenal function improves, the ability of the body to combat food intolerance improves, and the less symptoms such allergens will cause. Over time, many people are able to tolerate these allergens and do not have any more problems, provided that the adrenal functions are optimized.
Most people would live a healthier life by shunning wheat and other refined grains. Even those who don't have a gluten intolerance feel better because grains break down to sugar in your body and elevate the insulin levels, which can therefore lead to many other health problems: obesity, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, and cancer.
As a preventive measure, all those with adrenal fatigue should eliminate all wheat and gluten from their diet. Corn and dairy should be restricted as well.
It is important to understand that gluten is now hidden in many foods including soy sauce, soups, cold cuts, candies, and certain low- or no-fat products. Also be careful of starches, malt, hydrolyzed vegetable protein (HVP), natural flavoring, and texturized vegetable protein (TVP). Some pharmaceuticals, alcohol, and vinegar might even contain gluten. Be sure to check the labels before eating or buying any products.
The following is a list of common products that may contain wheat:
Any products that contain flour, bran, wheat germ, wheat starch or gluten, baked goods, bagels, biscuits, bread crumbs, bread, breakfast cereals, cakes, coffee substitutes, cookies, cracker meal, crackers, deep-fried foods (chicken, fish, vegetables, cheese sticks, etc.), dinner rolls, doughnuts, dumplings, ice cream cones and sandwiches, gravy, hamburgers, hot dogs, luncheon meats, malt, muffins, pancakes, pasta (macaroni, spaghetti, lasagna, etc.), pies, pizza, salad dressing, sauces that have been thickened but are opaque (e.g. cream sauce), soups, soy sauce, stuffing, swiss steak, and waffles.
Weaning off wheat takes time for most who has been on a lifelong diet high in wheat products. If you have adrenal fatigue, try to reduce wheat consumption to once every three days to start if you find total elimination too difficult. As you feel better, reduce intake to once a week. Finally, wheat can be eliminated from the diet altogether. Substitute wheat with rice, rice flour, oat flour, kamut, and quinoa. Spelt is not a good choice especially for people with celiac sprue since it is related to wheat and contains gluten.
