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/