Why Modern Wheat is Even Worse For Your Body

Bread has long been a staple in the human diet.  In a technical sense, the first breads were developed approximately 30,000 years ago.  They were far different than the bread you know of today; the cooked versions were more of a pasty grain.  The fact that 30,000 years ago was during the Upper Paleolithic Era is sometimes a criticism by opponents of the Paleo diet, claiming the anti-bread and grain campaign is based on a false premise.  Even though bread and grains were technically around during that time, the premise does hold true.  Here's why: cereals and grains were just two of a vast, vast number of food sources that were available to hunters and gatherers, and they were not a daily food.  Evidence shows that the staples of the Paleolithic man's diet were fruits, vegetables, and animal protein.  The bread and cereal food group did not become a staple until the Neolithic period, a little less than 10,000 years ago.  This was the birth of agriculture, and grains, particularly wheat and barley, were the first to be farmed.

  Common wheat.
Author Copyright © 2007 David Monniaux, under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.

On one hand, food became more readily available and plentiful, enabling man to form more complex societies and cities.  The abundance of food made larger populations possible.  On the other hand, what was being farmed was nutritionally inferior to what was being hunted and gathered.  This is evidenced by early Neolithic man's decline in height with respect to the Paleolithic people, and in addition, a shorter lifespan.

So What is Worse About Modern Wheat?

What is modern wheat is a recent hybridization, first cultivated in the 1960's.  This recent cultivation is called dwarf wheat.  It owes its name to the fact that the stocks are shorter.  In analysis, dwarf wheat has far less minerals and nutrients than its predecessors.  This is harmful not only because of the obvious, but also due to the fact that the phytic acid content of the wheat is the same as its predecessor.  The dangers of excess phytic acid are magnified when your intake of minerals and nutrients are lessened.

In addition, this modern breed of dwarf wheat contains more gluten, and a higher concentration of the more harmful gluten proteins.  One consequence of this is that over the past several decades, the incidence of celiac disease has greatly increased.

The Sphere of Health does not recommend consuming wheat of any kind as a staple of your diet.  Wheat should be consumed sparsely, if at all.  However, if you cannot resist, at least stay away from the modern dwarf wheat and opt for the wheat of the old variety.