Wheat, Friend or Foe?

It has been reported that some Americans with wheat allergies or digestive issues related to wheat, experienced no symptoms whatsoever when they tried eating pasta on vacation in Italy. If this is true, there is clearly something going on with wheat that is not well known by the general public.

What is going on with wheat?

Why have so many people suddenly having problems with wheat and gluten in recent years?

The good news is that the wheat is not GMO. The bad news is that wheat fields are treated with Roundup several days before harvesting. This is done because it allows for an earlier, easier and bigger harvest.

This practice is now widespread. The pre-harvest application of the herbicide Roundup, or other herbicides containing the deadly active ingredient glyphosate to wheat and barley as a desiccant was suggested as early as 1980. This has become routine over the past 15 years within the conventional farming community.

Dr. Stephanie Seneff of MIT has studied this issue in depth. The result is that most of the non-organic wheat in the United States is now contaminated. Seneff explains that when you expose wheat to a toxic chemical like glyphosate, it actually releases more seeds resulting in a slightly greater yield: “It ‘goes to seed’ as it dies. At its last gasp, it releases the seed” says Dr. Seneff.

According to the US Department of Agriculture, as of 2012, 99% of durum wheat, 97% of spring wheat, and 61% of winter wheat has been treated with herbicides.

In the Netherlands, use of Roundup is completely banned with France likely to follow.

While the herbicide industry maintains that glyphosate is minimally toxic to humans, research published in the Journal Entropy claims that glyphosate disrupts mammalian physiology.

The active ingredient in Roundup lethally disrupts an important process of beneficial gut microbes. That process is called the shikimate pathway, which synthesizes critical amino acids.

Beneficial gut bacteria play a critical role in human health by aiding in digestion and preventing the permeability of the gastointestinal tract. Healthy gut bacteria will discourage the development of autoimmune disease, synthesize vitamins detoxify the multitude of foreign chemical compounds and provide the foundation for robust immunity. In essence: Roundup significantly disrupts the functioning of beneficial bacteria in the gut and contributes to permeability of the intestinal wall, which is called leaky gut syndrome and consequent expression of autoimmune disease symptoms.

Another negative impact of glyphosate exposure is slow and progressive inflammation, which gradually gains a foothold in the body.

The consequences of this systemic inflammation are most of the diseases and conditions associated with the Western lifestyle:

1. Gastrointestinal disorders
2. Obesity
3. Diabetes
4. Heart Disease
5. Depression
6. Autism
7. Infertility
8. Cancer
9. Multiple Sclerosis
10. Alzheimer’s disease

You Should Avoid Toxic Wheat:

The bottom line is that if you want to remain healthy, avoidance of conventional wheat in the United States is imperative. If you eat wheat, you need to either buy organic or get the wheat products from a country or somewhere where Roudup isn’t used on the crops. Organic, low gluten, unhybridized Einkorn wheat is preferable.

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