Lectin : Friend or Foe?

The anti-grain zealots have come up with a new bad guy to attack and blame on grain consumption. They even claim that this is a factor in many diseases. However, if you read their article carefully, you will see that all of this is guessing in the dark, and taking things out of context.

Note that they admit that wheat is a very complex plant, capable of 23,000 unique proteins. And yet, they have decided to isolate one of them and see what kind of damage it could do all by itself.

They have singled out lectin as the bad guy.

Note also that every detrimental effect on the human body that they claim is caused by lectin, has only been observed in people who eat processed grains, not whole grains.

But they still insist that whole grains are worse than processed grains, because they contain more lectin.

It is kind of like saying that eating a whole apple would be much worse than just eating the seeds of the apple, because you will get more arsenic. While it is true, it has nothing to do with the health effects of eating an apple. (No, I don't suggest eating only the seeds of an apple. Nor does anyone else that I know of.)

Look up lectin in wikipedia and you will find that it has many important biological functions.

Here is why they say lectin is the bad guy:

1. May be pro-inflammatory.
2. May directly bind to and activate white blood cells.
3. May pass through the blood brain barrier pulling bound substances with it.
4. Capable of inducing either cell cycle arrest or programmed cell death.
5. May cause cells to divide or inhibit cell division.
6. May cause platelet activation and aggregation.
7. May bind to the surface of villi in the gastrointestinal tract (causing growth).
8. May decrease levels of heat shock proteins in gut epithelial cells.
9. May enter cells in the same way that viruses can.

Well, lets take another look at that list. But instead of assuming the worst, let's think about balance in the human body. We all know that balance in the body is the key to health. We must have balancing influences for all functions.

1. Inflammation is an important bodily function.
2. White blood cell activation and transport are very important to our immune function.
3. It is important to get many substances across the blood brain barrier.
4. Cell cycle arrest and cell death are particularly important in fighting any cancer.
5. Cell division is also very important, and yet stopping the division is just as important.
6. Platelet activation and aggregation is what keeps us from bleeding to death.
7. Villi are very important to digestion, it is imperative to keep their functions optimal.
8. I would hate to get an over abundance of heat shock proteins in my gut.
9. It actually competes with viruses for access to cells, helping to keeping us healthy.

So you see that, again, it all comes down to balance. Trying to micromanage the nutrients put into the human body is never a good idea. It can only cause imbalance.

We see time and time again that those who eat whole grains (particularly wheat), which cause balance in the human body, are always healthier than those who eat processed grains.

You may also note that those who eliminate grains from their diets, generally continue to have worsening health problems. In their mind this requires more and more supplements of one kind or another, but if they would just get back to eating whole foods, and particularly grains, most of their health problems would fade away.

Any time you take any one constituent of a whole food and isolate it, it is a detrimental thing. But eating the whole food, with all it's parts intact, you get balance and benefit.

Using the same logic, why don't these anti-grain fanatics also blacklist :

1. Mustard, you can create toxic gas from parts of it.
2. Peaches, their pits contain poison.
3. Car brakes, they don't allow the car to go anywhere.
4. Chiropractors, they can put your body out of alignment.
5. Dentists, they drill holes in your teeth.
6. MDs, they are always seen around sick and dying people.
7. Water, it can suffocate you.
8. etc.
9. etc.
10. etc.

Such nonsense!

If you haven't already, please read my recent post on whole grains (click here).

And of course you should also read about the number one must make resolution (click here).

Sprouting Grains : How To

Sprouting grains is a fantastic and simple way to get superb nutrition in your diet.

When you know how to sprout grains you can live off of a years supply of wheat. As long as you also have water, of course.

Sprouting your grains is kind of like getting your fruits and vegetables from your grains. Sprouted grains have even more nutrients than the un-sprouted grains. For instance whole wheat kernels have lots of nutrients, but they lack Vitamin C. If you sprout them, they suddenly have Vitamin C. Also sprouts are easier to eat, and to digest, than the whole grains.

Here are the simple steps to sprouting grain.

Soak the grain in water over night. (8 to 12 hours at room temperature).

Then rinse and drain the water off of them approximately every 6 to 8 hours. (Keep them moist, but not sitting in water, at room temperature.)

I do this in a glass jar with netting over the opening, held in place by a rubber band. I invert the jar at an angle and let it set in a small bowl. The jar (on it's side) is longer than the bowl is wide, so that keeps the jar tipped so that all the water can drain out of it. The netting, of course, keeps the grains in the jar, but allows the water to drain.

You can eat the sprouts at any time throughout this process. Taste them at different times and see how you like them. Some like them best just right after the initial soaking. I usually like mine about a day later. You can continue this process as long as you like, but eventually you will have grass.

When the sprouts reach the point that you like them best, move them to the refrigerator. This doesn't stop the sprouting process completely, but it does slow it down drastically.

One more note about sprouting. You can also sprout beans.

My mother taught us that if you sprout the beans before making chili, it takes the gas out of them. Now that's useful information!

Thanks Mom!

Whole Grain Foods : Corn ???

Americans have a strange view of corn.

Most of the rest of the world calls it 'maize'.

The interesting part is that most Americans would consider corn to be a vegetable. But the word 'corn' actually has the same meaning as the word 'grain'.

If you hear someone in England talk about 'corn', they are most likely talking about wheat. If you hear it in Scotland, they are most likely talking about oats.

Most uses of the term 'corn' in the bible are actually referring to grains in general.

So, why do we think of it as a vegetable, if it is actually a grain?

Well, as researchers look at the history of corn, or maize, it seems that it used to be much more grain like. It grew small kernels in hard husks. Over time it has gradually been crossed with other plants and selectively changed to be what we have today. Large ears with many soft kernels grouped together for easy eating. So, we boil it, or steam it, and think of it as a vegetable.

Maize used to be grown in many different varieties. It was a food staple for some cultures, but not nearly to the extent that some would have you believe. It is not a complete food, and cannot sustain healthy human bodies. No indigenous peoples lived off of it. They used it as a big part of their diets, but ran into health problems when they tried to live off of it.

Today's modern version of corn is still not a complete food. It is high in sugar, and high in polyunsaturated oils. And it can still cause a vitamin B deficiency.

Another major problem with corn these days, is that the tradition of trying to engineer it into being something different has continued. So now we have genetically modified (GM) corn. GM corn can cause many health problems. And the sad part is that more and more of our corn crops are becoming GM.

Many of the natural corn crops are being converted into GM corn, through wind caused cross-pollination. Due to these factors, I don't recommend that people eat a lot of corn.

If you grow your own corn and know for certain that the seeds are not GM, then enjoy your crop. Just be sure to eat a variety of other grains and vegetables, etc., to get a balanced diet.

On the other hand, processed and/or extracted corn oil should be avoided like the plague. It is know to cause all kinds of health problems in both man and beast.

So, yes, corn on the cob can be called a whole grain. But it is not a balanced and complete food.