Modern Wheat vs. Ancient Grains
Is wheat really bad for you? Do you need to go on a gluten-free diet? If we read food packages or follow diet trends, there’s often a mention of wheat-free or gluten-free as a marketing tactic. Is this something that we should be concerned about? Are things as simple as they sound or are there some nuances that we should be aware of?
It’s been estimated that there are over 25,000 varieties of wheat that have been developed in the past 35 years. The breeding was done to maximize what were considered good traits and minimize what were considered undesirable ones. In the process of this hybridization of different varieties, the protein structure of the grains – or its gluten structure - changed as well.
Could this be one reason why people have difficulty with gluten nowadays?
In addition, the number of chromosomes in wheat varieties also differ. Modern wheat has 42 chromosomes whereas ancient types have far fewer: Einkorn, for instance, has 14, and Kamut or Khorasan has 28.
Are there observable health effects when one consumes modern wheat versus ancient varieties? Do these molecular differences result in clinical outcomes in people? In 2013, a study was done in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition. A cross-over design was utilized where participants were assigned to one group that consumed ancient grain for 8 weeks; all their bread, pasta, and wheat products were made from Kamut. This was followed by a washout period of 8 weeks, and then they switched to consuming the same products made of modern wheat for another 8 weeks. The second group had the same phases but in reverse order. Blood tests were done that made comparisons between both diets. Interestingly, cholesterol profiles, blood sugar values, and inflammatory markers all improved while on the ancient grain diet even though participants had not made any other changes during the testing period.
Are you interested in learning more about the role of nutrition and why what you eat matters? Consider taking my short course, “Food, Inflammation, and Chronic Disease: Why Your Choices Matter.”
