Posted on 11/18/2004 8:48:52 PM PST by MarMema
The food pyramid is a three-sided polygon of lies. First, since it is almost exclusively presented in two dimensions, it is not technically a pyramid but a triangle. Second--and far more importantly, according to nutrition expert and author Danna Korn--the so-called food pyramid puts an abnormal emphasis on the consumption of wheat and wheat products, a diet that couldn't be less adapted to the human digestive system. Wheat, she insists, is the devil's food--even more than the delightful chocolate cake of the same name.
Korn's campaign against wheat began 14 years ago when her son was diagnosed with celiac disease--a genetic disorder characterized by the inability to digest gluten, a protein found in wheat, rye and barley. At the time, celiac disease was considered a rare pediatric disorder that was limited to gastrointestinal symptoms, but during the last decade, it has been recognized as the most common genetic disease in the world. Right now, it is estimated that celiac disease effects one in 100 people--"most of whom have no idea why they feel so terrible," says Korn.
The disease actually goes back 11,000 years to Mesopotamia and the banks of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. There, humans evolved from hunter-gatherers to farmers and introduced gluten-based grains into the food supply. The human body--accustomed to a steady diet of foraged nuts, berries and meat--did not take readily to the change.
"That's really only yesterday, evolutionarily speaking," Korn says. "Our bodies still look at wheat like a toxin and try to fight it off. No human fully digests wheat. Even if you don't have a gluten sensitivity or celiac disease, your body does not completely digest wheat."
Symptoms of gluten sensitivity and celiac disease include fatigue, headaches, joint pain, depression, irritability and gastro-intestinal irregularities. As a result, they're often mistaken for other serious disorders, including irritable bowel syndrome, fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome. "So these people are told, `Sorry, you've got fibromyalgia or you've got chronic fatigue syndrome, there's nothing we can do for you. Take these pain pills and go away."
The only way to diagnose celiac disease is a series of blood tests, and the only way to overcome it is to give up gluten cold turkey. "You go gluten-free, and your health will be fully restored," says Korn.
Unfortunately, the list of food items containing gluten reads like a catalog of scrumptiousness: "bread, pasta, pizza, cookies, cake, bagels and beer." And just because a bread is white doesn't mean it's gluten-free. All breads are made of wheat flour.
Despite the moratorium on fermented hops and barley, Korn says there are a number of options available to the dedicated boozehound, including "wine, tequila, vodka, gin, rum or any of a variety of non-wheat-derived spirits."
"We've perpetuated the myth that wheat is good for you and it truly is not," she says. "There's a little bit of protein in wheat. Other than that, though, wheat offers very little in the way of nutrition. Whole wheat is a whole grain and that's good for you, but you can get whole grains from so many other sources that won't have a toxic effect on your body."
But that doesn't mean anyone should make a cause out of it for all the people who don't have that particular sensitivity. Lots of folk have lots of problems with particular foods -- that's as common as the cold. If you can't eat it, stay away from it. It's stupid to make a cause celebre out of it. But that's how people make money these days...
Beer? Beer! No Beer!
NO WAY!
And not only that, but it should only be killed with a spear or a club. There may be gluten in the gunpowder used to fire bullets, or in the strings used on a compound bow!
And not only that, your meat should be eaten raw, or lightly cooked over and open fire! Gluten is found is heating elements on ovens, and research shows it may be the main ingredient in microwaves as well!
And not only that, but you should only dress in clothing made of the animals you killed. Woolly Mammoth coats are IN this year!
And not only that, but... wait, where was I? Oh yeah! Not only that, but you should... uh... did I mention not cooking meat? I did? Dang.
I'm sorry her child has celiac disease. I'm just as sorry that she feels the need to tell me what to eat. Thanks, but not thanks. I've come to this amazing conclusion that no matter what I eat, I'm going to die someday anyway. Therefore, I'll risk checking out a year or two earlier just to be certain I die with a stomach full of food I enjoyed eating.
I'm getting iron by IV infusion for the next few months.
It needs publicity. 1 in 100 is a lot of people, most of them walking around undiagnosed while their small intestine is being destroyed.
Also they like to call it a "pre-malignant" disease. Some cancers follow closely on the heels of it.
In Italy all children are routinely screened for it. Here, the physicians are just figuring it out.
Did somebody ring? That's me. Actually, I have a wheat intolerance. I've speculated that the reason many people feel so much better on an Atkins diet is not because they eliminated carbs, but because they eliminated wheat. They may react poorly to gluten. I figured this out when I discovered that I could eat potatos and still feel ok. Potatos are high glycemic. It was cutting out wheat that made me feel better.
Wheat is not food. Look at a stalk and tell me that it was meant to be eaten. You have to pulverize it, add butter, stick it in the oven, etc. to get it close tasting half way decent. You can do that to a rock and get the same results.
Thanks for the link.
I guess the Atkins proponents will get richer due to this 'information'...
I actually think that humans evolved as carrion eaters. This explains both why we like our meat cooked and our steaks aged.
True carnivores like their meat fresh & raw.
Ah, go over to the alt.support.diet.low-carb newsgroup & say that. You'll get an earful from all the celiac sufferers there. :-)
Here are some more good links on this topic:
Severe Wheat Intolerance Fifty Times More Common Than Previously Thought
Wheat Can Cause Severe Headaches
Wheat Sensitivity (Subclinical Gluten Intolerance) Linked To Repeated Miscarriages
Severe Wheat Intolerance Fifty Times More Common Than Previously Thought
Avoiding Wheat and Gluten May Reverse Liver Failure and Hepatitis
Not crapola for the one in a hundred this affects. They are pretty miserable until they find out why and take steps to avoid it. Some folks have no reaction to poison ivy, but that does not mean it is not a problem for the rest of us.
Thanks for the links. In my recent discoveries I have been amazed to find gluten intolerance causing everything under the sun, including osteoporosis, epilepsy, and cerebral calcification.
I was hoping you would ping it.
yah, but thats because you were likely to be eaten by a saber tooth tiger...
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