Chapter 5: Grains Are Totally Unnecessary

Question 1

What Are Anti-Nutrients

Answer 1

An anti-nutrient is any agent present in grains that compromises nutritional health instead of supporting it

Question 2

What are lectins?

Answer 2

Lectins, found at their highest concentrations on plant seeds, are natural phytochemical toxins that plants manufacture to defend against UV radiation, insect predators, and disease-producing microorganisms.

Question 3

What are Mannan-binding Lectins?

Answer 3

Produced in the liver, these proteins bind to fungi, bacteria and viruses, thereby initiating a “complement cascade” that promotes clearance of these infectious agents.

Question 4

What are prolamins?

Answer 4

Lectins high in the amino acid prolamine.

Question 5

What are agglutinins?

Answer 5

Lectins that can agglutinate—clump together—red blood cells.

Question 6

What is lectin sensitivity?

Answer 6

A condition that can be characterized by a range of digestive issues including diarrhea, constipation, gas, bloating, bowel urgency and reflux. It may also cause mild general inflammation throughout the body. Those particularly sensitive may experience allergic-type symptoms or hampered function of specific organs.

Question 7

Symptoms of Leaky Gut

Answer 7

Fatigue, joint or muscle aches, autoimmune conditions, allergies—including food allergies—hives, rashes and assorted skin problems; depression and cognitive problems; autism and ADHD; asthma; inflammatory conditions, and metabolic problems such as obesity and diabetes.

Question 8

Gluten

Answer 8

A large, water-soluble protein–a prolamin form of lectin–found in wheat, rye and barley. It is one of the most common allergenic foods.

Question 9

What is Celiac Disease?

Answer 9

The most severe form of gluten intolerance, Celiac disease is a confirmed autoimmune disorder. Symptoms include: all the symptoms associated with gluten ingestion as well as anemia, loss of bone density, assorted skin rashes, itches, blisters and other conditions, headaches and fatigue, acid reflux and heartburn, and nervous system difficulties such as numbness in the extremities or equilibrium problems. Children with celiac are often obese and suffer from chronic diarrhea and digestive discomfort, as well as headaches, learning disabilities, and poor neurological function.

Question 10

What is gluten sensitivity/intolerance?

Answer 10

These are general terms to reflect the connection between gluten ingestion and digestive and immune problems.

Question 11

What are phytates?

Answer 11

Also known as phytic acid, phytates are indigestible antioxidant compounds found in whole grains, legumes, nuts, and seeds. Like fiber, phytates easily bind to important minerals (e.g., iron, zinc, manganese, magnesium, copper, and calcium) in the digestive tract, making these nutrients more difficult to absorb.

Question 12

What are Whole Grains composed of?

Answer 12

Composed of three parts: bran (fibrous), germ (oily), and endosperm (starchy).

Question 13

What are legumes?

Answer 13

Also known as pulses, legumes include beans (black, kidney, pinto, soybeans and derivative products such as tofu, etc.), lentils, peas, alfalfa, peanuts and peanut butter

Question 14

What are Saponins?

Answer 14

Anti-nutrients whose chemical structure enables them to easily permeate and create pores on the surface of the cells they bind with. They are not destroyed by cooking.

Question 15

Who should take a restriction test?

Answer 15

Anyone interested in improving their own health, but especially those who suspect they might have a grain sensitivity.

Question 16

Fiber

Answer 16

Indigestible components of food that pass through the digestive tract and are eliminated.

Question 17

True or False:

All human beings are equally susceptible to the effects of lectins.

Answer 17

False

Lectin sensitivity has a strong genetic component.

Question 18

True or False

Dwarf Wheat has been with humans since the dawn of civilization.

Answer 18

False,

Dwarf wheat was introduced for cultivation only within the past 50 years for improved yield and drought-resistance.

Question 19

What is zonulin?

Answer 19

A protein that exacerbates the effect of leaky gut and triggers autoimmune conditions.

Question 20

What are enterocytes?

Answer 20

Intestinal absorptive cells that can can become stuck in the “open” position due to the effects of gliadin ingestion.

Question 21

What is Wheat Germ Agglutinin?

Answer 21

Another protein found in wheat that stimulates the production of inflammatory cytokines and increases the shedding of the intestinal brush border membrane, reducing surface area, accelerating cell loss, and damaging/shortening microvilli.

Question 22

True or False:

The cultivation of grains as our dietary centerpiece has been a boon to human health.

Answer 22

False
There has been an overall decline in human health, including a reduction in average human life span, as well as a reduction in body and brain size, increases in infant mortality and infectious diseases, and the occurrence of previously unknown conditions such as osteoporosis, bone mineral disorders, and malnutrition.

Question 23

What is the connection between phytate ingestion and Vitamin D?

Answer 23

Excessive phytate ingestion is also believed to compromise vitamin D levels by blocking the circulation of its metabolites in the liver and the intestines, and by inhibiting calcium uptake, which thereby suppresses vitamin D production in the liver.

Question 24

True or False

Soaking, sprouting, cooking or fermenting grains can reduce their phytate content significantly.

Answer 24

True

Question 25

How do stress and phytate ingestion contribute to osteoporosis?

Answer 25

Both elevated levels of cortisol and phytates inhibit calcium absorption.

Question 26

True or False

Nuts and seeds are risk-free substitutes for grain-based snacks.

Answer 26

False
Nuts and seeds also contain phytic acid and should be consumed in moderation. Same goes for coconut and dark chocolate, which are high in PA.

Question 27

True or False

Nut flours are low in phytic acid.

Answer 27

True

Nut flours have minimal amounts of phytic acid, as the skins where phytic acid is found have been removed.

Question 28

True or False

Phytates are far more dangerous than lectins.

Answer 28

False

Question 29

True or False

For the most part, whole grains are comparable to Primal foods for their nutritional value.

Answer 29

False
While whole grains have more vitamins, minerals, and fiber than do refined grains, they also contain higher levels of anti-nutrients (namely gluten, lectins, and phytates). Furthermore, the increased nutritional value of whole grains in comparison to refined grains is inconsequential in comparison to the vastly superior nutritional value of Primal foods in comparison to grains

Question 30

True or False

One or two colds every year is a normal consequence of a grain-based diet.

Answer 30

True

However, it is not necessarily seen as “normal” in a Primal context.

Question 31

True or False
Because of their high nutritional and low anti-nutrient content, legumes should comprise an integral part of a Primal diet.

Answer 31

False
Humans have not evolved to eat legumes. They must be soaked, sprouted, denatured, and cooked before their nutrients can be fully utilized, and many cases are also non-digestible and even toxic if not extensively pre-treated.

Question 32

True or False

Legumes can contribute to leaky gut.

Answer 32

True
While cooking does reduce the toxic effects of PHA (phytohemagglutinin), it does not completely eliminate it. Hence, especially in sensitive people, legume consumption can promote leaky gut syndrome.

Question 33

True or False

Legumes are an abundant source of good fiber.

Answer 33

False
While legumes may be an abundant source of fiber, the flatulence that commonly accompanies their consumption is ample evidence that the indigestible fiber they contain is being fermented in the digestive tract. Vegetables contain more than enough fiber for a healthy diet.

Question 34

True or False
Hemolysis, the compromised ability of red blood cells to process oxygen, is a good example of the harmful effects of saponins.

Answer 34

True

Question 35

True or False

Overall, soy is less harmful than other legumes

Answer 35

False
Soy is both high in lectins and its isoflavones can disrupt normal sex hormone cycles due to their phyto-estrogenic properties.

Question 36

True or False

Overall, soy is less harmful than other legumes.

Answer 36

False
Soy is both high in lectins and its isoflavones can disrupt normal sex hormone cycles due to their phyto-estrogenic properties. Also, the overwhelming majority of US soy is GMO and contains high levels of glycophosphate and its breakdown product AMPA, Aminomethylphosponic acid.

Question 37

True or False

Fermented soy products are far preferable to non-fermented offerings.

Answer 37

True
The fermentation process converts carbohydrates into sugar alcohols and carbon dioxide. This helps preserve food, enrich foods with amino acids and vitamins, and kill off the lectins and assorted other anti-nutrients.

Question 38

What is a sensitivity test?

Answer 38

A 21-day period in which all grains (and possibly legumes and sugars) are removed from the diet, during which one monitors for any changes in overall health and digestive function.

Question 39

True or False

It’s not possible to get enough fiber in your diet.

Answer 39

False
Though fiber offers benefits in moderate amounts, overconsumption through grains, legumes and even supplements can result in nutrient-depletion and digestive irregularities such as flatulence, bloating, gas, and cramping, diarrhea and even constipation, hemorrhoids, diverticulosis, ulcerative colitis, and Crohn’s disease.

Question 40

True or False
According to Konstantin Monastyrsky, fiber has addictive properties and that excessive intake leads your body to require higher quantities.

Answer 40

True
According to Monastyrsky, “fiber stimulates appetite, extends digestion, expands stomach capacity, raises the threshold of satiety, and makes you much hungrier the next time around.”

Question 41

True or False

Einkorn, hard spring wheat and soft wheat are acceptable dietary alternatives to dwarf wheat.

Answer 41

False
While less offensive than dwarf wheat, they nonetheless contributed to widespread human health problems. This is evidenced by the diseases, malnutrition, and reduction in brain and body size that coincided with the advent of civilization and the transition from a hunter-gatherer diet to a grain-based diet.

Question 42

Why does William Davis consider wheat to be the “perfect poison?”

Answer 42

Along with its anti-nutrient qualities, wheat also contains gliadin protein, which converts upon ingestion into opioid polypeptides that bind to opioid receptors in the brain. It provides such a potent appetite stimulus that the average person will consume an extra 400 calories per day.

Question 43

What are heat shock proteins?

Answer 43

Proteins that are produced under conditions of heat or other stress and act to stabilize other proteins and protect them from damage caused by the exposure to heat or stress.

Question 44

How does Wheat Germ Agglutinin decrease the activity of heat shock proteins and why is it bad?

Answer 44

By decreasing levels of heat shock proteins in gut epithelial cells, WGA makes the gut epithelial cells more susceptible to damage and accelerated cell death.

Question 45

What does WGA do in the body?

Answer 45

WGA can cross the blood-brain barrier, attach to myelin sheath, and damage nerve cells. WGA can also interfere with healthy endocrine function, disrupting leptin signaling, binding to thyroid, and interfering with hormone production and secretions in the pancreas.

Question 46

True or False

Sprouting wheat eliminates WGA.

Answer 46

False

WGA is extremely resistant to sprouting, cooking and fermenting.

Question 47

True or False

Despite its reputation as healthy, whole wheat, even sprouted, is a particularly potent source of WGA.

Answer 47

True

Though touted as the healthiest, whole wheat is the highest in WGA.

Question 48

What are some of the withdrawal symptoms associated with wheat?

Answer 48

Headaches, fatigue, nausea, depression, and cravings for wheat-containing foods. Furthermore, due to the elimination of harmful bacteria in the intestines (bacteria cultivated from wheat consumption), changes (although health promoting) in intestinal flora may result in constipation or diarrhea.

Question 49

True or False:

Grains are a flavorful, healthy staple of the human diet.

Answer 49

False
Grains are generally tasteless carbohydrate and anti-nutrient sources that create far more problems than that nutrition they provide. I think of them as glorified Taste Delivery Systems (TDSs)!

Question 50

True or False
The human digestive tract is designed to allow in all manner of substances, including undigested proteins, toxins, bacteria and viruses

Answer 50

False

The healthy digestive tract is a barrier that is meant only to allow in amino acids, fatty acids and simple sugars.

Question 51

True or False:

As long as you remain gluten-free, you can have all the processed carbohydrates you want.

Answer 51

False
Excess carb intake along with unhealthy oils found in most processed foods could very well be more significant than the gluten.

Question 52

True or False
All forms of ingested carbohydrate are converted into glucose in the bloodstream. While whole grains and other complex carbs burn slower than sugars, they nevertheless make an identical contribution, gram for gram, to one’s total insulin production over time.

Answer 52

True
While whole grains and other complex carbs burn slower than sugars, they nevertheless make an identical contribution, gram for gram, to one’s total insulin production over time.

Question 53

What is the difference between glycemic load and glycemic index?

Answer 53

The glycemic index (GI) is a measure of the blood glucose-raising potential of the carbohydrate content of a food compared to a reference food (generally pure glucose).

The glycemic load (GL) is obtained by multiplying the quality of carbohydrate in a given food (GI) by the amount of carbohydrate in a serving of that food.

Question 54

True or False

Gluten ingestion causes a mild to severe inflammatory response in the body.

Answer 54

True