Why Most Grains Are Bad For You, And What To Do About It

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Are you curious why grains are bad for many and what you can do about that? I have been teaching (and eating) grain-free for decades.

As a Clinician and a Patient here are reasons why I feel grains are bad for people. 

What are Grains?

Grains are the seeds of the botanical family known as “cereal grasses”. 

Cereal grasses include wheat, corn, rice, oats, rye, barley and more. These grasses are cultivated for their seeds which we began to eat as food recently: only 15,000 – 20,000 years ago when we first began to plant things.

We eat these ground-up seeds as bread, cereal, tortillas, chips, cake, pizza and much, much more. 

Cereal grasses have been greatly manipulated to increase production. They are not simple, small, wild seeds any longer.

We do not eat the seeds of wild grass.

In fact, we never really did!

Why Grains Are Bad

• Grains are grass seeds we did not evolve to eat. Hunter-Gatherers ate animals and plants but did not bend over to graze on grass and other forage. Rice, corn, and all gluten grains (wheat, oats, rye, barley, spelt) are simply grass seed. Not an attraction to the human looking for food!
• Grains are hard to digest. Grains are seeds. All seeds are coated with toxins and coatings to prevent sprouting and survive being eaten.
• Grains are very high in carbohydrates. We store excess carbohydrates not being burned today as body fat. This is the #1 cause for increased body fat. This Primal Diet – Modern Health Podcast, and article, explain excess carbohydrates and weight gain. 
• Grains contain Phytic Acid – an anti-nutrient that prevents absorption of many minerals.
• Complex grains do not digest well. Grass seeds are complex carbohydrates. Their starchy remnants ferment, causing gas, bloating, Leaky Gut and yeast.
• Soaking and fermenting can help but is an effort. Soaking, sprouting and fermenting grains helps the digestive process by partially breaking down the exterior seed coating and some of the cellulose. But most people will not bother. 

Gluten Grains 

Another reason why grains are bad for most people is the Gluten content in many of them.

Gluten is a protein found in wheat, rye, barley, and spelt, and is a contaminant in most oats (they are often shipped or processed with wheat).  Many scientific studies show that gluten intolerance is much more common than previously suspected.

In my Clinical experience, about 70% of Clients feel better off wheat or gluten.  These improvements can include digestive and eliminative health and comfort, depression, sinus, sleep, eczema, acne, arthritis, fatigue, headaches, autoimmune disorders, neurological concerns, and more.

Modern Gluten is a hybridized protein not found in evolution. Our bodies see it as a potential toxin rather than a food. 

Phytic Acid in Grains and Other Seeds

A key issue with grains and other seeds is their Phytic Acid content.  Phytic Acid is an anti-nutrient. It blocks us from obtaining nutrients in the food, especially minerals. For anyone eating lots of grains, seeds or beans, you may be creating calcium, magnesium, iron and zinc deficiencies.  This includes cereal, bread, pasta, rice, corn, tortillas, beans, almonds and other common foods.

Soaking to Remove Phytic Acid

Soaking grains, oats, and beans at room temperature for 12 to 24 hours in a slightly acidic medium and then draining them, helps remove the Phytic Acid coating.  Do this by adding a tablespoon of vinegar, whey (the liquid off your yogurt), or lemon juice to a small amount of soaking water. 

Seeds and nuts should also be soaked, in water with salt for 4 to 24 hours. Once soaked, they will only keep for 2 days in the refrigerator, or dehydrate them at the lowest temperature in your oven and they will keep for months. You can buy soaked and dehydrated nuts and seeds too.

Avoiding grains is the best way to avoid Phytic Acid concerns.

Sprouted Grains for Digestion

Gluten-containing grains are more digestible if left to sprout after their initial soaking, before cooking.

Or find Sprouted Grain breads in the freezers of most health food stores, including Ezekiel Bread, Manna Bread and Alvarado Street Bakery.  

Grain-Free Paleo

I ask Clients to avoid grains and focus on Paleo/Primal Ancestral foods.

The foods we ate before agriculture include animals, vegetables, nuts, tubers, eggs, mushrooms, etc. But no grass seed….

Our human digestive system does not process grass seed well and it can cause a variety of health and digestive issues. 

Clients often see great improvements in digestion, bloating, inflammation, weight, pain and more when eating grain-free foods. 

Here’s my guide to eating Paleo. 

The Herpes Virus and Grains

Herpes thrives on the amino acid Arginine. Grains are universally high in Arginine.

Meats and seafood are high in Lysine which helps control Herpes.

Here is one of 7 articles and podcasts on the Herpes Virus, and the Arginine/Lysine balanced diet. Avoiding grains is the #1 step to controlling HSV. See my Herpes Relief Guide for more. 

 

 

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