> > Marilyn, > > What about the few products that are labeled 100% whole grain wheat > > and that is all there is on the ingredient list as far as grains go ? DH > > is the only one that eats bread in this house and this is all I will buy. > > > 100% whole grain wheat is the worst. Google "phytates" to see one reason > why. > > William I believe that wheat is the worst of the agrarian staple foods and grains are probably the worst of the agrarian food categories (grains, dairy, legumes, starchy tubers) because of the great quantities that they are consumed in as well as the high levels of toxins and starches (unless one counts trans fats from plant oils as a staple food, then that might be the worst). I think that Ron Hoggan, co-author of Dangerous Grains and a fellow Paleofood listserv participant, would agree with me on this. William is right that whole wheat is worse than refined wheat in turns of phytates, wheat germ agglutinin (a lectin), and other toxins, since the phytates and germ are in the bran portion of wheat that is removed during refining. On the other hand, refined wheat is also bad because it is basically starch and it spikes blood sugar and triglycerides (to varying degrees, depending on the individual). Perhaps whole wheat is worse than refined wheat for people whose immune system disfunction is the key element of their disorder, whereas refined wheat may be worse than whole wheat for people whose chronically high blood sugar is the key element of their disorder. If wheat and other gluten foods were as healthy for human beings as the FDA and multinational agribusinesses claim, it would be unlikely that there would be a sometimes deadly chronic disease caused by ingesting wheat and other gluten foods in ANY form that is one of the most common autoimmune disorders (celiac disease). Speaking of the poisonous nature of wheat, I saw a copy of "Let's Live" magazine today (an "alternative" health publication) that contains an article which cites Kenneth D. Fine, M.D. (a gastroenterologist who runs Enterolab, an alternative medical lab) as arguing that one out of two Americans are "gluten-senstive" based on antibody levels in stool samples. While the techniques that Enterolab uses are not generally accepted practices, the article is one more indicator that the knowledge of the toxic nature of gluten foods is growing. If there was only one food I could warn Americans against, it would be wheat, and I think Ron Hoggan would agree with me on that.