Many celebrities started a gluten-free diet and let their fans know about it. Athletes like Novak Djokovic also ditched gluten for better performance. The world market of gluten-free has passed fifty billion euros in 2018. Doctors are recommending a gluten-free diet as prevention for hair loss, cancer, for a healthier intestine, and many other diseases.

Is the demonization of wheat the work of a trend created by marketing, or is wheat a basic element of our civilization transformed into poison? Isn’t the same grain that we used to have ten thousand years ago?

Wheat is the foundation of civilizations but in our days, it seems more toxic than nourishing. At least 2.5% of the population suffers from celiac disease. A very serious condition, for them gluten can be deadly! The University of Sheffield reveals that on average of ten thousand people, gluten intolerant cases were growing more than 250% in three years (12.9% in 2012 – 32.8% in 2015). Alessio Fasano (professor of pediatrics at Harvard Medical School and professor of nutrition at Harvard T.H.) says:

Gluten should be digested like any other protein, only it’s not the case, it is the only indigestible protein.

It’s inflammation, causing:

  • Abdominal pain;
  • Anemia;
  • Anxiety;
  • Bloating or gas;
  • Brain fog, or trouble concentrating;
  • Depression;
  • Diarrhea or constipation;
  • Fatigue;
  • Headache;
  • Joint pain;
  • Skin rash;
  • Asthma.

How can grain’s effects on health change with time?

Wheat is the first food to be processed in the world. Gluten is a magician, it traps the carbon dioxide that emerged from the fermentation, which adds volume and fluffiness to the bread. Gluten helps foods maintain their shape, acting as a glue that holds food together. It represents almost 20% of the world’s calories. Without bread, the world would starve to death. But gluten is double-faced, doctors warn.

After World War 2 the big chemical multinational companies left an enormous amount of nitrate and phosphate that were used to create bombs. So, they were recycled to be used as fertilizers. What caused the wheat to shrink and become very fragile, therefore the production was lost.

Then the first dwarf wheat program was created in Mexico, by Rockefeller foundation headed by Norman Borlaug (Noble prize winner in 1970). He genetically modified wheats. This was possible because in World War 2, not only the fertilizers arrived but also pesticides. For the first time in history, machines and chemical products were used to grow food. The quantity of gluten was reduced thanks to its stronger new quality. What made bread’s production easier and quicker in the market, making better financial profits.

In 2000 we started Chemicals grain maturation, which consists of growing seeds faster. When the climate is not helping mature the grains, we make them mature artificially by adding glyphosate just before harvesting, in all cereals, and pulverizing it at the time of the harvest. The glyphosate accumulates in our proteins and organs, which causes chronic diseases.

Typically, the fermentation time of the bread should be at least 2 days, nowadays the market is offering a 2 hours fermentation time to enlarge production. Gluten is added to all industrial bakeries. Since 1977 its use as an additive has tripled in the USA. A study showed that 30% of the food in supermarket contain gluten (cheese, ice cream, chips…). Even if we stop consuming bread, Gluten is present in a large number of processed foods. Chemicals like glyphosate were found even in vegetables. For instance, the amount of glyphosate found in beer is three times the allowed amount in water. It is in our urines now! A silent world epidemic is in process!

Companies behind it

The global grain industries are dominated by powerful trading companies like ADM, Bunge, Cargill, LDC. They control 70% of the global market. As for pesticide companies they are only 3: Syngenta, BASF, and Bayer, which makes it impossible to put limits to those oligopolies.

Gluten-free is not a trend we have real needs to satisfy

Ever since gluten took all the blame many new gluten-free businesses are growing. The consumer seems to be trapped in a vicious circle, consuming industrial foods, getting sick, then being encouraged to consume another industrial food that is extremely expensive. As Michael Pollan says, they create a problem and then sell its solution.

Agroecology

Agroecology is a dynamic concept that has gained prominence in scientific, agricultural, and political discourse in recent years. It is increasingly promoted as being able to contribute by applying ecological principles to agriculture and ensuring a regenerative use of natural resources and ecosystem services, while also addressing the need for socially equitable food systems within, which people can exercise choice over what they eat and how and where it is produced.

Here is a bread alternative recipe to try

  • 1 cup red lentils;
  • 2 cups water;
  • 1 tsp salt;
  • 1 tbsp coconut oil;
  • Blend all together then put it on the pan.

The foods that contain gluten are not poison, it’s because of the industrialization of agriculture that they became poisoning. The lack of information on how the foods are made is causing a global health issue, but the power remains in our hands, the less we buy industrial foods the more we create the world we want.