There’s no bread bush. And there’s no pasta bush either. I’ve said those words to patients thousands of times over the past several years. Flour has become a dietary stable in our society. We have toast, cereal or a bagel for breakfast, a sandwich for lunch and a burger, pasta or pizza for dinner. However, bread, pasta and cereal are not found in nature. These are manmade processed foods and flour is wreaking havoc on the health of our nation.
Flour is a Major Contributor to the Obesity Epidemic
Around 70% of adults and one-third of children and adolescents in the United States are considered to be overweight or obese. If the obesity trends continue, it is estimated that the number of new cases of type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, stroke, hypertension and arthritis could increase 10-fold between 2010 and 2020 and will double again by 2030. In 2008, it is estimated the annual medical cost of obesity in the U.S. was $147 billion dollars and treating preventable obesity-related diseases is expected to increase those costs another $48-$66 billion dollars a year by 2030.
So why are we so fat and sick? In the year 2000, Americans consumed on average 152 pounds of sugar and 200 pounds of grain. Wheat flour comprised 146 pounds of that grain consumption. We all know sugar is not healthy but most people do not understand the dangers of eating flour, especially flours containing gluten. Even our health agencies put out guidelines encouraging the consumption of the very foods, which are making us fat and sick.
Flour, like sugar is a high glycemic food and spikes your blood sugar. Even whole wheat bread can spike your blood sugar as much as some candy bars. These sugar spikes trigger a release of insulin from the pancreas and insulin is the fat storage hormone. Specifically, insulin promotes storage of fat around the abdominal organs, the most toxic form of fat in our bodies.
Flour is not a Good Source of Nutrients
Yes, I know bread tastes good but we won’t die if we don’t eat bread. Flour is a very poor source of nutrients and in fact, can block the absorption of key nutrients. Grains contain phytates, which block the absorption of calcium, iron, zinc, magnesium and vitamin B12. Excess consumption of grain can also inhibit vitamin D utilization. Additionally, flour is a poor source of anti-oxidants and phytonutrients, which are more plentiful in fruits and vegetables. And when we consume flour, we consume fewer fruits and vegetables.
The Gluten in Flour is a Major Cause of Autoimmunity
The job of the immune system is to constantly monitor our body for foreign invaders. An autoimmune disorder occurs when the immune system is confused and attacks normal tissues. It is estimated 23.5 million Americans suffer from some sort of autoimmune disorder and the incident rate is rising rapidly. Autoimmune disorders are almost 3 times more common than cancer and include Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, rheumatoid arthritis, type 1 Diabetes, eczema, asthma and even some neurological conditions like multiple sclerosis and Alzheimer’s disease.
Around 70% of our immune system is in the gut, constantly monitoring for body invaders. When the intestinal cells are exposed to toxic bacteria, the cells release zonulin. Zonulin loosens the tight junctions between cells so the toxic bacteria can get exposed to the immune system. The immune system then goes to work to eliminate these invaders.
Unfortunately, the gliadin component of the gluten protein found in wheat, barley and rye also triggers the release of zonulin, resulting in a separation of tight junctions. Undigested proteins then enter the blood stream and confuse the immune system. The immune system starts scouring the body for similar proteins and mistakens normal body structures for foreign invaders resulting in an autoimmune disorder.
So in a nutshell, most flours make us fat, are poor sources of nutrients and can trigger autoimmunity. I have never seen a disease condition improve by adding flour to the diet but I have seen massive improvements in health when flour is removed from the diet. If you want to see for yourself, eliminate flour from your diet for a month and see what happens.
