Tue, 4 Mar 1997 15:13:49 -0800 Leslie Beachwood wrote:
 Why Gluten Intolerance?

>I've just sent for the Celiac FAQ to learn more about gluten intolerance,
>but in the meanwhile I have a question maybe the moderators or someone more
>knowledgeable than I can address: how widespread is this, and why should
>humans be intolerant to gluten?

Most of humankind's evolution has been without the technology necessary to
process cereal grains so they can be eaten. In the last 10,000 years, or so,
humankind has developed that technology. And from the very start of
agriculture, we have developed bone and joint problems, and reductions in
overall height. Egyptian mummies demonstrate atherosclerosis, in spite of
having very little red meat in their grain-dominated diet. One study has
shown a clear pattern of increased cardiac deaths and breast cancer deaths
correlating with the spread of agriculture through Europe. The longer a
society had been eating it, the fewer of these diseases there were. I
presume that those with such negative reactions had been trimmed from the
gene pool where agriculture had been around longer.

Have you ever picked up some grass seed, and chewed on it a while? It isn't
very appetizing. More people have chewed on wheat kernels. I can't speak for
others, but it tasted awful to me. I think that the societies that started
eating that stuff must  have been awfully hungry. I think that we humans
should probably eat what was likely in our hereditary diets. I suspect that
is what our digestive and other body systems adapted to over a very long
time, and that is how we would be our healthiest.

Isolated tribes of current hunter-gatherers support that notion.


I hope that answers your question.

Best Wishes,


Best Wishes,
Ron Hoggan   Calgary, Alberta, Canada