Madeline,
interesting comments you make.
One of my friends was a wheat scientist in the 60's and 70's and blithely
bred (no a) new strains of wheat for the food industry. One of the main aims
for bread wheat was to increase the gluten content as gluten holds the
bubbles together and makes it light and fluffy. Of course there was never
the suggestion that they should worry about the health effects on humans!
Other changes were to breed low protein wheat for biscuits and a range of
other requirements driven by food technologists.

Thus modern bread is more toxic (more gluten). Perhaps the increase in
coeliac disease is a reflection of this as much as improved diagnosis.

Cheers
Ben