Grains?

radish_man

I have heard that grains should be avoided.
Can anybody please tell me why/thoughts/opinions etc?

deborahann

I feel they are a healthy addition to the diet-A good source of vitamins and such. I find that the only way that I can eat low fat is to include grains. I also think they are healthier, though, if sprouted first. The only one I don’t sprout is (really) raw rolled oats. I also think that everyone is different as far as their metabolism goes and some people will not feel their best eating grains-sprouted ar not-so that must be a personal experimentation.

woodchick

Grains have been in the human diet for about 6-7000 years. Not very long, really, considering the MILLIONS of years that we have been around. Grains and other beens/seeds generally have indigestible proteins or starches built into their matrix as a survival mechanism. Think about it… It is not in the plants’ best interest to offer their offspring up as an attractive food package. When grazing beasts eat grasses and legumes, most of the seeds pass through completely undigested, If they survive the chewing, they land on the other side in a nice pile of ‘fertilizer’. So, eating small amounts mixed in with the ‘body’ of the plant is good for plant survival and dispursion. Harvesting seeds only, grinding them up, and eating them… well, that is the way humans have invented to take a long-lasting, portable, but hopelessly indigestable food and turning it’s nature for our ‘benefit’.
About 7000 years ago, (much later for some cultures), amazing things happened in the archaeological record. We started becoming less healthy. Diseases of malnutrition and auto-immune diseases… arthritis, cancer, rickets, etc., started showing up like a plague in the skeletons of our ancestors. This is actually a ‘marker’ for archaeologists, telling us with uncanny accuracy just when agriculture moved into the area.
The only exception to the seed rule seems to be nuts, and we can thank our little rodent friends for that. If nuts weren’t edible, squirrels and their kin wouldn’t be inclined to bury their ‘stashes’ every autumn. Squirrels don’t ‘hide all their nuts in one basket’, and they forget where some were buried. These safely buried ones become the new generation of nut trees. An amazing symbiotic system.
To be fair to the tree, and to the squirrels we are technically robbing, we should bury a few nuts every year as well, don’t you think?

debbietook

HI radishman
Wheat is a perfect food. It contains all the essential amino-acids plus B vitamins and loads of other amazing things. Cooked wheat is not so good – acidic, allergies… Sprouted raw wheat is good. I eat Essene bread, made from sprouted raw wheat, processed a little, then left to dry, most days.

stibizi

Hi!
I’ve been “infected” by debbie, concerning my fondness for essene bread :)
It’s so simple (maybe the term “bread” is a bit missleading. At least for me it’s not a substitute for bread, but something very delicious and original for its own), altough people who love it spicier can adjust the “recipe” according to their liking.
The best thing is, you don’t even need expensive equipment to make it! I just blend it with my little kind of personal blender, spread it on baking paper on a plate and leave it next to my radiator (flip after some time). It’s still soft in the middle, and crunchy at the margin if I eat it after about 12-24 hrs, or if I want crackers I leave it for about 2 days :)

woodchick

Grains and beans contain lectins, and other toxins, in their ‘dormant’ state to protect them from being eaten in quantity by bugs, bacteria, rodents, etc. Some is dispelled by cooking, but not all, and the toxins have a cumulative effect when eaten as a main foodstuff over a lifetime.
I can find nothing about sprouted wheat, but since the grain is no longer dormant, it stands to reason that the toxins might be metabolized by the young plant and may no longer pose a risk.
My main problem is with flour and rolled or steel-cut grains. However, be careful about eating soaked grains that have failed to sprout, or eating sprouts that have not had time to metabolize all of their starches,
SPROUTED wheat may be a perfect food, but UNSPROUTED beans and grains are enzyme-blocking little ball of undigestible starch. Any biologist or botanist worth her salt will verify this. That is why we traditionally cook beans and grains. If they are not reduced by cooking (or sprouting?) the enzyme-blockers in unsprouted grains will create gas and bloating, and the lignin will get to work on your immune system in a slow, insidious way.
I work as an archaeologist, and have seen firsthand the results of introducing a wheat-based diet on the skeletal remains of alaskan natives. These people have just adopted our diet within the last 100-300 years (depending on region). The almost instantaneous rise in incidence of diabetes, tooth decay, and arthritis (among other maladies) was incredibly dramatic, as was the loss of bone density. It was enough for me and several of my workmates to swear off of grains and beans for the rest of our lives.
You can experiment with sprouts if you like. Maybe it is good, maybe not. Personally, I’d rather not risk it.

stibizi

woodchick, I think you are right. Although, to be honest, unsprouted raw wheat isn’t really tempting to eat either, is it? ;)
I think it’s never good to eat something that puts you off.
Another thing to add: You need very little essene bread to be satisfied/full than normal bread! It’s really filling and for me a nice side to salads or veggie dips.
Furthermore, not only concerning wheat but in general, the most important thing (especially with raw food) may be chewing. Whatever it is, if you just swallow it after a few bites, it might be lying in your stomach like a stone for a while…

pianissima

stibizi- i agree. i never feel good after eating grains and try to avoid them. exceptions i make (occasionally) are buckwheat and quinoa because they aren’t “stored”... they are several years old before consumption (i hope)

LionMouse

I found some raw wheat germ at a health food store and thought I had hit the jackpot. I used to love wheat germ. But when I tried the raw wheat germ I got bloated and my face became flushed and red.

I like essene bread when I can be bothered to make some. Filling and easy to digest.