Why Modern Wheat is Worse Than Older Wheat
February, 2014
Wheat is a highly controversial food these days.
On one hand, we’ve got people telling us that it is extremely harmful, with one doctor calling it poison.
Then on the other hand, we’ve got dietitians and the government telling us that whole wheat is an essential part of a “balanced” diet.
Well… one inescapable fact is that humans have been consuming wheat, in one form or another, for thousands of years.
It is an old food… and most diet-related diseases are relatively new.
Therefore, it doesn’t make sense to blame old wheat for these new health problems.
However… it’s important to realize that wheat today is not the same as it was a thousand, one hundred or even 60 years ago.
How Has Wheat Changed?Wheat today is completely different from the wheat we ate back in the day.
First of all, it is processed differently. New techniques in grain processing in the late 19th century made it possible to create massive amounts of refined wheat for a low cost.We are now able to separate the nutritious components of the grain (the bran and germ) away from the endosperm, where most of the starchy carbs are contained.
This led to an obvious reduction in nutrient density and gave refined wheat the ability to spike blood sugar very fast.
But we also used to prepare our grains differently. They were soaked, sprouted, fermented and bread was baked using slow rise yeast.
Sprouting and fermenting grains leads to many beneficial effects. It increases the amino acid lysine, reduces anti-nutrients (like phytic acid and lectins), disables enzyme inhibitors and makes nutrients more accessible (1, 2, 3, 4, 5).
Today, the flour is bleached and the bread is baked with quick rise yeast. The grains certainly aren’t soaked, sprouted or fermented.
Based on these factors alone, it is clear that the bread and pasta we are eating today is very different from the traditionally prepared wheat we have been eating for thousands of years.
http://authoritynutrition.com/modern-wheat-health-nightmare/