Wheat and you part 2

Went to the doctor today since I have been feeling ill for the past two weeks. Interestingly enough, most of my symptoms are being caused by my blood pressure pill, lisinopril so I have to stop taking it. Look for a post on blood pressure in a few weeks. For now, I am experimenting trying to naturally lower my blood pressure while I wait for the lisinopril to make its way out of my system (as per the doctor). Anyway, I had my blood results done! (drum roll please). My sugar and my insulin levels are that of a perfectly normal person thank you very much!!! My thyroid is fine also- which I will be discussing next week my thyroid and all of the many many doctors and shenanigans I have endured due to that in the past 10 years. I have however, successfully reversed my insulin resistance without prescription medicine. My insulin levels for the past  2+ years have been out of the normal range, into the "high" range no matter what medicine I tried. These tests are proof that cutting wheat out of my diet has reversed my insulin resistance. Now, onto more details about wheat!
Wheat and you part 2: First lets talk about how wheat was genetically modified.  Now, let me start by saying, again, that Dr. William Davis of the Wheat Belly is really the one who did the research and provided the information about wheat and how it was genetically modified. If you buy his book, you will see in the back pages and pages of references and citations due to the amount of insane research he did. I am just passing the info along! So the first type of wheat, in the wild, was einkorn. This is a simple grain with only 14 chromosomes. As time went along, goatgrass joined in and the result was 28 chromosomes of wheat. Interestingly enough, plants, such as wheat can combine chromosomes. It is possible to take the 28 chromosomes of one type of plant and add the 28 of another similar plant to arrive at 56 total chromosomes- this is called polyploidy. Now, just follow me here- this is important. The most modern type of wheat has 42 chromosomes and is the combination of 3 unique plants. Scientists, trying to solve world hunger, and modifying the wheat by breeding it to yield more and be more resistant to certain things such as drought has resulted in a wheat strain that is completely different than the wheat that we would have eaten 50 years ago. Yes, the wheat now has been genetically altered and messed with so many times (and remember the wheat can "absorb" more chromosomes when breeding wheat) that there are many extra chromosomes, enzymes, proteins and whatnot that were not in the original wheat. AND, to top it all off- this genetically modified wheat was never tested first on the human population to see what the effects would be. I am really just stating the basics of what happened in the history of wheat. Dr. Davis really explains in much detail exactly what the names of the types of wheat were, and how/when they were changed so if you are interested please read the book. So, scientists, in their haste to create a wheat with a high yield, figured it would be safe and that new strains of wheat would not have any undesired effects.  Here's a small quote from Dr. Davis, "Wheat gluten proteins, in particular, undergo considerable structural change with hybridization. In one hybridization experiment, fourteen new gluten proteins were identified in the offspring that were not present in either parent wheat plant." (Wheat Belly, pgs. 28-26). Also, compared to much older wheat, the new genetically modified wheat has a higher amount of genes for gluten proteins that are know to be linked to celiac disease. Basically, scientists 50 years ago messed with wheat, combining plants and chromosomes, without testing it, and it resulted in effects that could not be foreseen including more gluten proteins as well as extra enzymes and proteins that were never produced in wheat originally. No wonder some people's bodies can't process gluten! That's because its not natural anymore!
As a result of this genetic modification, wheat can cause inflammation, arthritis, acid reflux, crohn's disease/hashimoto's disease, asthma, and many many other issues. Wheat causes many of these issues by disrupting the pH level in your body. Too much acid or alkaline can be dangerous (or deadly) in your body. The "hunter-gatherer" diet as Dr. Davis describes it, of meats, vegetables, fruits, and some nuts result an ideal slightly alkaline effect. Wheat, when it came along 10000 years ago shifted our diets to the "acid" side (or dark side as I like to call it). Too much acid with affect your bones, joints, cause inflammation, osteoarthritis, and acid reflux! Swelling in your joints, hips, knees, or hands could all be because of all the wheat in your diet. There have been studies showing improvement in these areas, once wheat was eliminated!!! In the case of auto immune disorders such as crohn's diease and hashimoto's thyroid disease (which I have), wheat causes this when being processed by your body and broken up in your intestines- because it is not being broken down properly due to your body's allergy to it, it is slipping out into your bloodstream and wreaking havoc. Another issue with Wheat is that it is addictive. Wheat has similar effects on the brain as opiate drugs! You can and may experience actual withdrawal symptoms if you are giving up wheat. There have been studies conducted that demonstrate that gluten has the ability to sneak through the blood-brain barrier where the wheat polypeptides "bind to the brain's morphine receptor, the very same receptor to which opiate drugs bind." (Wheat Belly, pg 49). So, you may literally be addicted to wheat, and the good doctor goes into great detail with a lot of studies and research to back up his claims.
Another sneaky thing that wheat affects is aging. There are certain end products found in older people, that are known to stiffen arteries, cause cataracts, and have been connected to dementia, and are known as AGEs or advanced glycation end products. As we get older, more AGEs will be found in our organs and skin. Basically, AGEs are "useless debris that result in tissue decay as they accumulated." (Wheat Belly 134). They have no purpose and do not provide energy or anything like that- AGEs simply occur more and more as we, well, age. Now, the interesting part- the higher the blood glucose, the more AGEs will accumulate and the faster we will age! Diabetes patients with high blood glucose levels will find more levels of AGEs as well. This is a very complicated subject to put into simple words but basically wheat products trigger a ton of AGEs to form! Eeek! Put down the bagel and save some wrinkles!

So you want to eat healthy eh? Well, there is a Wheat Belly Cookbook that Dr. Davis just put out and his book Wheat Belly also has some great recipes in it too. It isn't a diet- it is an entire lifestyle change. Even if you are wanting to cut down on the wheat consumption and carbs, (maybe not go to the extreme I have gone) you still have to make some preparations. Find some healthy foods you love- celery, humus, nuts, broccoli, what kind of salad do you like? tuna, any kind of fish, berries,- and prepare a healthy lunch for yourself ahead of time. Lunch on the go is difficult and can be very unhealthy. Prepare a healthy lunch for yourself and buy things that you like to eat that aren't going to jack up your insulin and glucose levels (see a glycemic index book!). If all you have in the house is chips and cookies- well you're going to eat chips and cookies. Have some cheeses you like and some whole corn chips with salsa and some dried fruits. Almonds are spectacular! They are good for blood pressure and many other things as well! If there's a box of cookies in the breakroom, move them! If you sit in front of them and stare at them, you will be more tempted to eat one. Finally, all I can say is that aside from having healthy options available and planning ahead of time, you have to want it. In your soul. It has to be a strong desire to change your life and be healthy. Pending doom such as accelerated weight gain, high blood pressure, "tweaking out" as I like to call it (being stressed), fatigue and general feeling miserable are all things that pressured me into wanting to make the change and staying motivated. As soon as you start to really have energy and sleep better, you will never want to go back to how you felt before I promise! Exercise helps- any exercise, walking, yoga, dancing- whatever you enjoy- will also make you feel better and motivate you to eat better at the same time.

Listen. If you suspect that wheat is causing some or several of the things that I have talked about- chronic fatigue, rashes, hair loss are a few I haven't even mentioned in detail- you need to 1)buy this book and 2)not eat wheat for 1-2 weeks. Do the detox I posted before, and clean it out of your system. If you don't feel better in a week to ten days, than you can tell me to stuff it. Not everyone has issues with wheat- my husband for example, can eat as many pieces of bread as he damn well pleases without it affecting his health or weight WHATSOEVER. So wheat may not be your issue- but if you have insulin resistance, chronic fatigue, unexplained rashes, acid reflux etc. etc., you owe it to yourself to try it. Just one week. I don't know about you but I want to live. I want to live healthy, and have energy and if anything was out there I thought I might be having a problem with, then I'd want to find out for myself. Remember, there is NO TEST for gluten sensitivity AND CELIAC DIEASE TESTS ARE NOT 100 PERCENT ACCURATE. You are the best resource on you. No matter what doctors tell you or anyone tells you- educate yourself and find out for yourself what is best for your body. You'll feel better if you do. Eat healthy, have energy, be happy!