In Defense of the Word of Wisdom: What About Gluten?

Gluten-free has become a common buzz word in our culture today. There is a good chance that you know more than one person who is on a gluten-free diet. Perhaps you are eating gluten- free yourself.  

What is gluten and why would someone want to avoid it? Gluten is a protein complex of the two proteins, gliadin and glutelin. It is found naturally in wheat, rye, and barley. Those who choose to avoid gluten usually fall into one of three categories: (1) the 1 percent of the population who has celiac disease, an autoimmune inflammatory response to gluten, and must avoid even tiny amounts of gluten for the rest of their lives;  (2) those who are gluten intolerant and feel better when they avoid gluten or limit the amount of gluten they ingest; and (3) those who avoid gluten because they have heard it is unhealthy for everyone.

Let's talk about the last category first. While avoiding gluten is vital for some individuals, many voices---particularly proponents of the Paleo diet---insist that gluten is harmful to everyone's health and that no one should be eating gluten-containing grains. Dr. William Davis's book Wheat Belly has added fuel to the anti-grain, anti-gluten fire. "Wheat is the most destructive thing you could put on your plate, no question," says Dr. William Davis, a cardiologist from Wisconsin.  (I have read Wheat Belly, and find that Dr. Davis has used faulty logic, misrepresentation of scientific studies, and blatant emotionalism to sell his ideas. It is beyond the scope of this article to refute the misinformation in Dr. Davis's book, but I strongly encourage you to read the rebuttals to Wheat Belly which are linked at the end of this article.) [1]

Gluten, and thereby wheat, has been implicated in everything from mental illness to obesity to cancer. If you research these claims, however, you will find that credible scientific evidence is lacking to support the idea that gluten is harmful to everyone. But there is a more important reason why I know the anti-gluten, anti-wheat, anti-grain proponents are wrong. It is because God said so. "All grain is ordained for the use of man and of beasts, to be the staff of life. . . . All grain is good for the food of man . . . Nevertheless, wheat for man . . ." (Doctrine and Covenants 86:2c-3b).

I have heard some people say, "But when God gave that revelation back in 1833, wheat was different than it is now. Wheat was okay then, but modern wheat is bad for us."  Are we going to believe that God could not foresee the changes that would be made to wheat? Did God say in 1833, "Wheat for man now, but later don't eat wheat"?  Do we believe that God's word given in past times is only for those dispensations and not relevant to us today?  To all of those questions, I answer a resounding NO! The Scriptures plainly tell us that God knows everything (2 Nephi 6:44), God does not change (Moroni 8:19), and God's word will stand forever (Isaiah 40:8)!  And God said grain is our staff of life, and wheat is for man.

As stated in previous articles, I believe it does make a difference HOW we eat wheat. It has been firmly established that eating refined "white flour" grain products (just the starchy endosperm of wheat or other grains) is detrimental to our health. There is no doubt God meant the WHOLE grain when he said grain is our staff of life. But here is where it gets tricky. Flour produced on modern roller mills is not the same thing you get when you grind up the entire wheat berry in your kitchen. Commercial whole wheat flour, and the bread and other baked goods made from it, are not true whole grain foods. Roller mills can quickly produce large amounts of refined flour. The bran and germ are sifted out and the oils are removed during the milling process. To "make" the flour whole wheat again, a certain portion of the bran and germ are added back in, but the oils are usually not because they would reduce the shelf life of the product. Surely this profit-making way of creating "whole wheat" flour qualifies as the "evils and designs which do and will exist in the hearts of conspiring men in the last days . . ." (D&C 86:1a).

Another problem is added gluten, which upsets the nutritious balance God created in whole grain. Gluten is separated from the rest of the wheat endosperm and added generously to flour, breads and other baked goods, and even products like taco sauce. This "vital wheat gluten," as it is called, can cause trouble for our digestive systems and may be the root of some gluten sensitivities.

What is the solution? Although I realize it is not possible for everyone, the best option is to invest in a home mill and grind your own flour from quality wheat berries, using this flour to make your own homemade bread and baked goods. (You can also grind fresh cornmeal and other whole grain flours!) This might sound overwhelming at first, but there are many resources to help you along the journey.

Another option for obtaining quality flour for home baking is to find a friend with a mill who is willing to grind for you, or to go together with friends or family on the cost of a home mill that can be shared.  If you must buy flour, look for one that is ground the old-fashioned way with a stone burr mill.  Store bought cannot match the freshness and nutrition of flour ground at home, but at least stone ground whole wheat flour should be the real thing. Wheat Montana and Bob's Red Mill are quality brands, and I'm sure there are others.

Making homemade bread is an art that takes time to perfect. I remember making may "bricks" before managing to bake a more edible loaf!  Don't despair if your first efforts are less than perfect. Find someone who has mastered bread baking to mentor you if possible. If you cannot tackle making your own bread, you can greatly reduce the amount of commercial baked goods consumed in your home by making your own waffles, muffins, pancakes, and other quick breads. They are fast, easy, and incredibly delicious!  If you must buy bread or other baked goods, look for ones made with stone ground flour and without added gluten. They will be hard to find, but worth your effort.

Now, let's talk about individuals who are in the second category---those who have a gluten intolerance. Food intolerances, including intolerance to gluten, can sometime be overcome by improving digestive health.  Entire books have been written on this subject, but here are a few key points many alternative health practitioners agree upon. 

• Clean up your diet. Eliminate as much refined, processed foods as possible, and eat more whole foods (which contain more nutrients and fiber needed to improve digestion).  Reduce your sugar intake.
• Eat more probiotics to replenish the good bacteria cultures that are needed for a healthy gut. Eat naturally fermented foods, such as real sourdough bread, kimchi and other naturally fermented vegetables, miso, and homemade kefir. (Store-bought kefir has fewer cultures, but still contains more than commercial yogurt.) It is best to get probiotics from food, but taking supplements can be helpful, also.  
• Be sure to eat prebiotics, too. Prebiotics are non-digestible carbohydrates that feed the probiotic cultures. They are found in foods such as whole grains, bananas, onions, garlic, honey and artichokes---another reason to eat those whole grains!
• Some individuals find digestive enzyme supplements to be helpful. DPP-IV is the specific enzyme that helps digest gluten. 
• Certain herbs can help heal and soothe the digestive tract. Slippery elm, yarrow, plantain, deglycyrrhizinated licorice root (DGL), or marshmallow root  are good choices. 
• Gelatin is very healing to the gut, but don't expect great benefits from commercial Jell-O with its added sugar and chemicals.  Gelatin from grass-fed animals is best, or you can make your own gelatinous broth from bones the old-fashioned way. [2]
• Sleep is critical for healing our digestive systems. As God has told us, "[R]etire to thy bed early, that ye may not be weary; arise early, that your bodies and your minds may be invigorated" (D&C 85:38b).

Some individuals will need to temporarily eliminate all gluten from their diets for several months while improving their digestion. Some will be able to find relief by eliminating foods with added vital wheat gluten.

What about those in the first category who are celiac or cannot tolerate gluten in spite of efforts to improve digestion?  Even if you cannot eat wheat, it is still possible to use other whole grains as the staff of life as instructed in the Word of Wisdom.  To accomplish this, you will need to be discerning when buying gluten-free baked goods and pastas, as many are full of refined carbohydrates such as sugar, white rice flour, potato starch, and tapioca flour. Gluten-free refined carbohydrates are no more healthy  than any other kind!  Brown rice, millet, sorghum, teff, amaranth, buckwheat, and oats (that are certified to be  uncontaminated with gluten) are healthy, whole grain gluten-free choices.  Many books and web sites are available to guide you in the use of these grains.

All the things I have suggested in this article will require time and effort, but remember the promises God has made to those obedient to the Word of Wisdom: “And all Saints who remember to keep and do these sayings, walking in obedience to the commandments, shall receive health in their navel, and marrow to their bones, and shall find wisdom and great treasures of knowledge, even hidden treasures; and shall run and not be weary, and shall walk and not faint; and I, the Lord, give unto them a promise that the destroying angel shall pass by them, as the children of Israel, and not slay them. Amen” (D&C 86:3c-d).

 

      
1. Rebuttals to Wheat Belly, a book by Dr. William Davis:
 http://nogluten-noproblem.com/2012/03/wheat-belly-busted.html
 http://info.breadbeckers.com/wheat-belly-fact-or-fiction/
 http://www.aaccnet.org/publications/plexus/cfw/pastissues/2012/OpenDocuments/CFW-57-4-0177.pdf

                           

2. How to make bone broth:

http://www.integratednaturalmedicine.com/bone-broth/

The Staff of Life

“Behold, verily thus saith the Lord unto you,    In consequence of evils and designs which do and will exist in the hearts of conspiring men in the   last days, I have warned you and forewarn you, by giving unto you this word of wisdom by revelation   . . .”  (Doctrine & Covenants 86:1a)

How many times have you thought, “I know I should try harder to keep the Word of Wisdom; I know our family should improve our eating habits . . . but where do I start?”

Here’s my suggestion:  Start with whole grains.

“All grain is ordained for the use of man and of beast, to be the staff of life . . . All grain is good for the food of man . . . nevertheless, wheat for man . . .”  (D&C 86:2c, 3a-b—Emphasis added)

God makes it plain that grain is to be the staff of life, or a main part of our diet, and especially wheat. There is no dispute that this means WHOLE grains. At the time this revelation was given, the general public ate whole grains.  It wasn’t until the 1840’s and later that technology made “white” or refined flour widely available.

Does it really make much difference whether we eat whole grain foods instead of “enriched” white flour products?  Scientific research answers with a resounding, “YES!”  Eating one to three servings of whole grains each day can give you many immediate health benefits, as well as reduce your risk of many major chronic diseases in the future. 

How would you like to reduce your risk for bowel disorders (including constipation, hemorrhoids, diverticulosis), twenty types of cancer, heart disease, high cholesterol, stroke, high blood pressure, obesity and type 2 diabetes?   (If you already have diabetes, whole grains may improve your blood sugar control.)  This is only part of what eating whole grain foods can do for you.  

For example, in the Nurses’ Health study, which monitored the health status of more than 68,000 women for more than a decade, the women who ate two to three servings of whole grains every day were found to reduce their risk of heart disease developing by 30 percent! They also were 30 percent less likely to have developed type 2 diabetes than those who rarely ate whole grains.(1) 

Whole grain foods include all three parts of the grain:   

✓ The bran—full of fiber, B vitamins, 50-80 percent of the grain’s minerals and healthy substances called phyotochemicals.
✓ The endosperm—made of complex carbohydrates and protein, with a smaller amount of B vitamins.
✓ And the germ—a potent source of B vitamins, vitamin E, trace minerals (such as selenium, zinc, copper and magnesium), healthy unsaturated fats, phytochemicals and antioxidants (which protect against cell damage).

Refined grain products contain only the starchy endosperm.  The nutritional value is reduced up to 90 percent.  For example, more than thirty known nutrients are found in whole wheat.  Almost all these are lost when wheat is refined into white flour.  Enriched flour has had one mineral (iron) and three B vitamins added back in artificially.  What a poor trade off!  A recent study showed that only 5 percent of the grain products eaten by Americans are whole grain.  As a nation, our health has suffered greatly as we have trained our taste buds to prefer refined flour products. 

So why are our grocery stores full of white flour and refined grain foods?  The food industries make more profit on refined or white flour products.  The mills can take out the germ and bran, and sell it separately from the flour.  (Three things to market instead of one!)  Refined grain products ship well and stay good on the shelf for a very long time.  (No natural, vitamin-rich oils to go rancid.)  God warned us about the “consequence of evils and designs which do and will exist in the hearts of conspiring men in the last days.”

Are you convinced you need whole grain foods as a mainstay in your family’s diet?  It’s time to change!  Even if you are used to refined grain products, you can learn to love whole grain foods. It’s really just a matter of retraining your taste buds.  Don’t try to do it all at once.  Change your diet in small, steady steps.  Start with educating your family about the benefits of whole grain foods.  This will give them a reason to try to adjust. Then little by little, begin weeding out refined grain products and replacing them with whole grain products.

If you are having a hard time getting used to whole grain foods, here are tips to make the switch easier:   Replace refined crackers and with whole grain crackers.  Start buying whole grain cereals . . . hot and cold.  Start making sandwiches with one slice white bread and one slice whole wheat.  Mix whole grain pasta (available at health food stores) with regular pastas which are refined white flour products.  Start making your own homemade treats such as the following recipes.  At first make them with half whole wheat flour and gradually increase the amount until they are 100 percent whole grain. Try using whole wheat flour from the variety of wheat called white wheat. It has a milder flavor and lighter color than whole wheat flour from traditional red wheat. You can find 100 percent whole grain white wheat flour in most health food stores.

In other posts, I have talked about the optimal benefit of eating whole grains in forms that are not highly processed and that do not have the additives found in most commercial whole grain foods. Yes, it is optimal to have fresh ground flour from organic grains and to make most of your own baked goods, but this is not always possible, especially at first. 

If you set the standard too high, you are more likely to feel like it is useless to even try. Just do the best you can right now!  Even small steps in adding whole grains to your diet can result in improved health for you and your family!

Here are some tasty recipes to get you started.

Raisin Bars

1 cup raisins
1 cup water
2 cups whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 to 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil or melted unrefined coconut oil
1 cup honey
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
Mix raisins and water in blender.  Combine dry ingredients in mixer bowl. Make a well and add egg. Beat egg, then add oil, honey and raisin-water mixture.  Mix with dry ingredients until smooth. Pour into lightly greased 9”x13” pan.
Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes.

Whole Wheat Muffins

These make great snacks for little ones, especially if baked in mini muffin pans!

2 cups whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder (non-aluminum)
1/4 to 1/2 cup honey
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup raisins (optional)
1 egg, beaten
1 cup milk 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil or melted unrefined coconut oil

Mix dry ingredients and raisins in a bowl.  Make a well in the center.  Add eggs, milk, honey and oil. Stir gently until just moistened. Fill greased muffin cups 1/2 to 2/3 full.  Bake at 375 degrees for about 15 minutes.  (16 muffins)

Blueberry Muffins:  Omit raisins and cloves.  Add one cup of frozen blueberries just before baking.

What are your favorite whole grain recipes?  Feel free to share them below in the comments section! 

 

Reference
1. Liu, Stampfer, Hu, Giovannucci, Rim, Manson, Hennekens and Willet. "Whole-grain consumption and risk of coronary heart disease: results from the Nurses' Health Study1,2,3." Am J Clin Nutr September 1999 vol. 70 no. 3 412-419
http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/70/3/412.abstract
http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/what-should-you-eat/health-gains-from-whole-grains/

Standing Firm on the Word of God: The Word of Wisdom

“Cursed is he that putteth his trust in man, or maketh flesh his arm, or shall hearken unto the precepts of men, save their precepts shall be given by the power of the Holy Ghost.” (2 Nephi 12:39)

Currently, there is heated debate over what constitutes a healthy diet. God has given us counsel to guide us in the midst of this confusion: Doctrine and Covenants, Section 86—the Word of Wisdom. One clear principle of the Word of Wisdom is that grain is to be the staff of life. It is good food for man, particularly wheat. However, a growing number of passionate voices claim that recent research proves eating grain, particularly wheat, is unhealthy! When the voice of science contradicts the Word of God, we have to choose which one we are going to believe. Are we going to trust man or God?

The anti-grain movement is spreading like wildfire. A few minutes using Google or a visit to Barnes and Noble will convince you of its width and depth. Fasten your seatbelts, because I am going to give you a blast of the passionate anti-grain crusade. Many books have hit the market in the past few years promoting the total elimination of grain from our diets. One is No-Grain Diet by Dr. Joseph Mercola, who states: “. . . avoiding grains is typically wise for over 75 percent of the U.S. population.” Another is Dangerous Grains by Braly and Hoggan: “The implication is that the heavily wheat-based western diet—bread, cereals, pastries, pasta—is actually making millions of people ill.” Or how about The Paleo Solution: The Original Human Diet by Robb Wolf, who claims that our bodies never evolved to be able to digest grain, especially wheat.

Many who insist that all grain is harmful for us are basing their claims on the body’s blood sugar response to refined grain products. And make no mistake, REFINED grain products are HARMFUL to your body and need to be eliminated from your diet! They are absorbed at almost the same rate as straight table sugar! There is no doubt that when God said grain is the staff of life, He meant WHOLE grain. Refined grain products are so far removed from what God originally created, I don’t think they should even be labeled “grain.” It is like removing the wheel from your car and then claiming that the wheel is an automobile.

Let’s look at what refined grain products do to our bodies. Our cells rely on insulin which, like a delivery truck, carries glucose (the sugar derived from the carbohydrates you eat) to our cells to be used for energy. Simple and refined carbohydrates—such as white potatoes, white bread, pasta and white rice—contain few nutrients and are low in fiber. These carbohydrates are rapidly converted into sugar, dramatically increasing the amount of glucose in your blood. Insulin cannot “pick up” all the sugar and deliver it to the cells fast enough. This causes blood-sugar levels to spike and to stay high for an abnormally long time.

If this high blood-sugar continues, your cells may become unable to respond to the insulin effectively. This is called insulin-resistance, because the cells no longer respond to insulin’s hormonal signals, thus hindering the delivery of the raw materials (glucose) your cells need to produce energy. The end result is often diabetes. Refined carbohydrates also contribute to obesity. Eating refined carbohydrates creates more glucose than your body can handle, and the excess glucose is stored as fat.

However, our bodies respond to complex carbohydrates (whole grain and legumes) in a totally different way. The high fiber content of whole grain slows the digestive process and result in a slow release of sugar into blood which allows our bodies to process and use it properly.

So, refined grain products (which constitute the overwhelming majority of our nation’s grain consumption) are dangerous to our health. But how can anyone claim that even WHOLE GRAINS are harmful and should be eliminated from our diets? Supposedly, research is discovering that grain, especially wheat, contains what have been labeled “anti-nutrients.” The main “anti-nutrients” targeted for criticism are phytates, lectins, and gluten.

Weston A. Price Foundation claims in the article “Be Kind to Your Grains”: “Phytic acid, for example, is an organic acid in which phosphorus is bound. It is mostly found in the bran or outer hull of seeds. Untreated phytic acid can combine with calcium, magnesium, copper, iron and especially zinc in the intestinal tract and block their absorption. This is why a diet high in improperly prepared whole grains may lead to serious mineral deficiencies and bone loss. Other anti-nutrients in whole grains include enzyme inhibitors which can inhibit digestion and put stress on the pancreas; irritating tannins; complex sugars which the body cannot break down; and gluten and related hard-to-digest proteins which may cause allergies, digestive disorders and even mental illness.” How’s that for scare-tactics? Weston A. Price and his followers insist that grain must be soaked 12-24 hours in an acidic liquid to neutralize the phytates and other anti-nutrients before they are fit for human consumption.

It is easy to be swayed by such dramatic information which seems to be supported by scientific research, but when we walk by faith, we don’t require scientific evidence. We believe God’s Word, because He is God. And what does God say? “All grain is ordained for the use of man and of beasts, to be the staff of life, not only for man, but for the beasts of the field, and the fowls of heaven, and all wild animals that run or creep on the earth . . . All grain is good for the food of man . . . Nevertheless, wheat for man, and corn for the ox, and oats for the horse, and rye for the fowls, and for swine, and for all beasts of the field, and barley for all useful animals and for mild drinks and also other grain.” (D&C 86:2c, 3a-b, emphasis added)

What about the argument that wheat today is not the same food as it used to be? Even though genetically modified wheat has not been introduced into our food supply yet, hybridization has changed the composition of much of the wheat we consume. God knew wheat would be hybridized. He saw the “evils and designs which do and will exist in the hearts of conspiring men in the last days,” yet He still said “wheat for man.”

We see the consequences of these evils and designs all around us: genetically modified foods, chemical ingredients in our foods, and the widespread contamination of our food and water supply. It seems that our bodies are assaulted with toxins on all sides. What are we to do? God knew what was coming. He told us: “Behold, verily thus saith the Lord unto you, In consequence of evils and designs which do and will exist in the hearts of conspiring men in the last days, I have warned you, and forewarn you, by giving unto you this word of wisdom by revelation.” (Doctrine and Covenatns 86: 1a)

Instead of living in fear, we need to listen to God and implement His direction in our lives. I believe that God has made a way for us to be protected from the toxins of our modern world through obedience to the Word of Wisdom. For example, the very “anti-nutrient” which wheat’s foes are proclaiming dangerous, may instead be the very nutrient which God has provided to protect us in these last days. Phytic acid (called phytate when in salt form), which is found in the outer bran of grain— especially wheat—has a strong chelating ability to bind with minerals. Instead of a detriment, this may be its most powerful health benefit. Sara Shannon in her book, Diet for the Atomic Age, lists phytate as a nutrient which protects against heavy metal toxicity and radiation damage. Phytates bind with radioactive and toxic substances and carry them out of the body. After extensive research, Shannon found that as our environment becomes more toxic, grain is our best source of protection, particularly due to the phytate content. She believes that “for optimal health, at least half of every meal should be grains.”

Phytic acid is also an antioxidant (like vitamin C). Some research suggests that phytate has the ability to lower blood glucose, reduce cholesterol and triacylglycerols, and reduce the risks of cancer and heart disease, and it may play a part in reducing colon cancer through its absorption of iron and other minerals that cancer cells need for growth. In fact, because of its anti-tumor, anti-carcinogenic, and blood sugar regulating properties, supplement companies are actually isolating and selling this powerful antioxidant! (Remember, phytic acid is found in the outer bran of grain and is NOT abundant in refined grain products.) How many other unknown benefits are yet to be discovered in the nutrients of grain, particularly wheat?

The Word of Wisdom is not a commandment, but we are fooling ourselves if we think that it doesn’t matter if we obey it. God has said, “for, behold, it is not meet that I should command in all things, for he that is compelled in all things, the same is a slothful and not a wise servant; wherefore he receiveth no reward.” (Doctrine and Covenants 58:6c) You can be sure there will be consequences to our health if we ignore God’s wisdom.

God has promised, “And all Saints who remember to keep and do these sayings, walking in obedience to the commandments, shall receive health in their navel, and marrow to their bones, and shall find wisdom and great treasures of knowledge, even hidden treasures; and shall run and not be weary, and shall walk and not faint; and I, the Lord, give unto them a promise that the destroying angel shall pass by them, as the children of Israel, and not slay them. Amen.” (Doctrine and Covenants 86:3c-d)

It’s time to get serious about implementing the Word of Wisdom into our lives. Start by decreasing your consumption of refined grain products and adding more whole grain to your diet. Read the Word of Wisdom. Pray and meditate over its message, and God will lead you in the pathway of obedience to His Word.

In Defense of the Word of Wisdom: Pitfalls of the Paleo Diet–Part 1

Grains, and specifically wheat, as a part of a healthy diet are under attack as never before. Multitudes of voices are shouting—and even screaming—about the dangers of eating grains. Especially loud are the voices of the Paleo diet supporters. You have probably heard the word “Paleo” in reference to food choices. It is likely you know someone who has “gone Paleo.” But what is a Paleo diet?

The Paleo diet derives its name from its basis on the supposed eating habits of our “ancestors” in the Paleolithic period, which evolutionists believe was 2.5 million to 10,000 years ago. Proponents of this eating pattern say that humans were hunters-gathers for millions of years before agriculture developed. They believe that in “comparatively recent times” the cultivation of grains has changed the way humans eat. They believe that our digestive tracts have not evolved quickly enough to deal with digesting grains, and therefore all grains are damaging to our health.

The Paleo diet depends heavily on meat and seafood, along with vegetables, fruits, some nuts, and some oils—such as coconut, olive or flax. Sugar and other refined foods and refined oils are forbidden. (The elimination of refined foods is one point where I agree with the Paleo diet. See my previous articles for some of the many health-damaging effects of refined carbohydrates. As a note, many of the feel-better results of the Paleo diet likely come from the elimination of refined carbohydrates and other refined foods.) The Paleo diet also prescribes eliminating the eating of all grains and legumes, and sometimes dairy. Some proponents of the Paleo diet recommend fasting for long periods in between meals to simulate the times of hunger that our supposed ancestor hunter-gatherers often faced. Any red flags waving in your mind yet? Already you should be seeing some direct contradictions to the word of God.

Let’s look a little closer at why Paleo proponents say grains are so detrimental to our health. Their main attack centers around what they label anti-nutrients in grain—primarily lectins, phytates, and gluten. This article will focus on lectins. I hope to discuss phytates and gluten in a future article.

Lectins are proteins found in plants, animals and microorganisms that bind specifically to carbohydrate- containing receptors on cell surfaces. There are many types of lectins. The ones the Paleo crowd especially like to talk about are the ones found in seeds—particularly grains and legumes which contain a higher concentration of lectins than many foods. (Nightshade plants—such as tomatoes, potatoes, peppers—also contain high levels of lectins.) Paleo supporters believe that plants developed lectins in their seeds as they evolved in order to protect them from consumption. They state that seeds were never meant to be eaten and doing so is destructive to our health.

One of their claims is that lectins can cause leaky gut syndrome. They say that lectins (and other “anti-nutrients”) can cause increased intestinal permeability, allowing incompletely digested food particles to escape into the bloodstream, triggering an autoimmune response. There is growing evidence that our intestinal linings can indeed be damaged by such things as medications (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and antibiotics), alcohol consumption, and radiation exposure—but solid evidence that it can be damaged by lectin has yet to be shown. (Intestinal damage may be a root cause of the rapid rise of food intolerances, and taking measures to heal the gut may allow food many intolerances—including non-Celiac wheat intolerances—to be resolved.)

Paleo supporters also claim that wheat lectins can enter the bloodstream through the digestive system and create havoc in the body. It is true that lectins from some foods have been shown to enter the bloodstream (tomatoes, peanuts), but current research indicates that the lectins in wheat do not. More research needs to be done, but at least one study using healthy subjects showed that wheat germ agglutinin (WGA) was not detected in the blood samples of any of the subjects tested up to twenty-four hours following consumption of 50 grams of wheat germ. (1)

It is important to know that lectins have many protective and beneficial functions in the body. Dr. Clyde Wilson, researcher and professor of biochemistry and biophysics, says: “Lectins break down the membranes of hurtful invaders: cancer cells (reducing prostate, colon and other cancers), fungi, bacteria and viruses (even the HIV-1 retrovirus). [This] is part of the reason that tomatoes, corn, whole grain rice, wheat, oats, nuts, sunflower seeds, peaches, mangos, grapes, cinnamon, citrus, berries, tea and most other plant foods are healthy. All of these contain significant amounts of lectins.” (2)

Lectin levels can be toxic in some non-edible seeds: Don’t eat castor beans! But evidence indicates that lectins in foods such as grains and legumes are only a problem if these foods are consumed in excessively large quantities or are eaten raw. Because the lectins in legumes are less sensitive to dry heat, it may be wise to avoid eating baked goods made with flour milled from raw legumes. It may also be wise to avoid eating raw grains, unless they are sprouted. Dr. Wilson continues, “When there are VERY large amounts of lectins in our food, we start to feel the effects of their hurting the membranes of the cells lining our intestines the same way they hurt cancer cells and bacteria. As with everything in life, too much of a good thing is a bad thing.” (2)

Even from the mouths of Paleo leaders come the admission that many proclaimed Paleo tenents are not scientifically valid. Mat LaLonde (who has a PhD in organic chemistry and also a post doctorate degree in inorganic chemistry from Harvard University) has stated this in several interviews, including a podcast with Paleo author Chris Kresser: “. . . it turns out that most lectins, especially the most well-studied ones like wheat germ agglutinin . . . are deactivated by heat [cooking]. These proteins are very sensitive to heat, and they’re destroyed. . . .We have the research to show that they are toxic in animals in vitro when they’re fed to animals, but it turns out that they’re feeding raw legumes or pure isolated proteins to these things, not cooked food. . . . Improperly cooked legumes are going to make you very sick. You’re going to have some serious GI distress, and it is probably due to the lectin, but that doesn’t mean that it actually does get in the bloodstream and cause problems.” (3)

One source of lectins of which we DO need to be wary is those artificially spliced into genetically modified foods. In 1998, scientist Arpad Pusztai began a great controversy when he spliced a lectin from the snowdrop plant into a potato in an attempt to make the potato more insect resistant. (4) This is another reason to avoid genetically modified food. In spite of much misinformation to the contrary, there is NO genetically modified wheat grown commercially in the United States or worldwide. Yes, wheat has been hybridized through the years, but that is wheat-to-wheat cross breeding, not the splicing of foreign genetic material from another species.

What should all of this mean to you as a believer in the restored gospel and the Word of Wisdom? First of all, need I even point out that the Paleo diet is based on the false premise of evolution, which is in complete defiance to the account of God’s creation of the world in Genesis? We did not evolve from Paleo man. The Scriptures also tell us that God created seeds to be used for food. Besides D&C 86, this is indicated in Genesis. “And I, God, said unto man, Behold, I have given you every herb, bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth; and every tree in the which shall be the fruit of a tree, yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat” (Genesis 1:31, Inspired Version).

It is also clear that agriculture was established from the very beginning of time. When Adam and Eve were expelled from garden of Eden, God told Adam, “By the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread ” and that Adam would “till the ground from whence he was taken” (Genesis 3:25, 29, Inspired Version). We also know that Cain was a “tiller of the ground” (Genesis 5:5, Inspired Version). Should we esteem information promoted by believers of evolution above the word of God? Turn to Section 86 of the Doctrine and Covenants and study God’s direction for our diet. In verse 2b, God tells us to eat meat sparingly. The Paleo diet makes meat the staff of life. The Paleo diet says to eat NO grain, especially not wheat. In verses 2c-3b, God tells us he ordained grain for the use of man to be the staff of life, especially wheat. God, who knows all things, wants us to eat wheat! Have you ever wondered why? Wheat is one of the richest sources of lectins. This makes me wonder what health benefits of lectins have yet to be discovered.

Scientific research is interesting, but it is also fallible. It must not be the basis of our acceptance or rejection of philosophies such as the Paleo diet. God’s word is truth. If God said he made seed for us to eat and that he gave us grains, especially wheat, to be our staff of life, then we must believe it on the sole basis of his word. To do less jeopardizes the foundation of our faith. Will we foolishly require a complete understanding or proof before we will believe God’s word? Where, then, is our faith? It is as we accept and live by the truths of God’s word that we become capable of receiving more light and deeper understanding. It is time we accepted and lived by the Word of Wisdom.

“And again, he that receiveth the word of truth, doth he receive it by the spirit of truth, or some other way? if it be some other way, it be not of God. . . . He that receiveth light and continueth in God, receiveth more light,and that light growth brighter and brighter, until the perfect day” (Doctrine and Covenants 50:5b, 6b).







Below are my references for your perusal. It is important to remember that creators of blogs, podcasts, and websites on the Internet are expressing their opinions and are not accountable to anyone to prove accuracy. On the other hand, it is important to remember that even carefully conducted scientific studies from reliable institutes of research are often flawed and lead to wrong conclusions. God is the only infallibly accurate source.


1. Kuzma, J. N. and Cordain, L. (April 2010). Ingestion of Wheat Germ in Healthy Subjects Does Not Acutely Elevate Plasma Wheat Germ Agglutinin Concentrations. The Journal of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, Meeting Abstract Supplement 723.10.
http://www.fasebj.org/cgi/content/meeting_abstract/24/1_Meeting Abstracts/723.10

2. Wilson, C. (February 7, 2011). Paleo Diet Incorrect: Legumes Are Not Antinutrients.
http://www.drclydewilson.com/content/paleo-diet- incorrect-legumes-are-not-antinutrients

3. Kresser, C. and LaLonde, M. (June 2012). What Science Really Says About the Paleo Diet. Podcast transcript.
http://chriskresser.com/rhr-what-science-really-says-about-the-paleo-diet-with-mat-lalonde

4. Rhodes, J. M. (May 8, 1999). Genetically Modified Foods and the Pusztai Affair. British Medical Journal, 318(7193): 1284.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1115659/