Wheat does some strange things to certain people, though. It is more dangerous for a diabetic to eat wheat products than a candy bar. Gluten Intolerant people find themselves with severe headaches, diarrhea, nausea, and other terrible effects for hours after consuming something that has it as an ingredient. And, still there are others who eat it and just don't feel right for days afterwards- but they haven't linked it to wheat.
I've learned a few things about our modern wheat.
First, it's not the wheat from ages past. When Jesus said, "I am the bread of life" he was talking about a bread that was made with a different wheat than what we are currently consuming.
Einkorn and Emmer were once the varieties of wheat most commonly consumed around the world. In fact, up until the early 20th century this was what most breads, cakes, and pastas were made from. These flours made bread that was very different from what we consume today. They didn't rise like modern breads do, and they had a nuttier taste to them. They produced a denser product that wouldn't turn out a lovely pastry like we see today.
Eikorn wheat had a simple genetic code of 14 chromosomes. It was hardy, and did well in the cold weather of Europe.
Eikorn cross bred with goatgrass to give us Emmer wheat. Emmer wheat has 28 chromosomes.. It was grown in the Middle East and Egypt.
Sometime after the Jews fled Egypt, Emmer wheat crossbred with another grass and produced Triticum turgidum wheat. A 28 chromosome type of Emmer wheat. This is what was introduced to the "New World" by Christopher Columbus, and also brought with the Pilgrims upon the Mayflower.
The problem with these varieties of wheat was that their yield was small. They weren't very disease resistant, and they didn't fare well during times of intense heat or drought.
In the 1940's the Rockefeller Foundation got together with the Mexican government and started a research center outside Mexico City. This International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center was started to help the agriculture industry produce an increase in the yield of corn, wheat, and soy. They were hoping to create plants that would produce quickly and abundantly to help with world hunger.
At this facility, they started to cross breed different strains of wheat. The end result was a shorter, thicker stalk of wheat that produced a greater amount of wheat berries in less time. They were so happy with their accomplishment that they shipped this dwarf wheat out around the world without animal or human testing.....
Since mating two varieties of other plants had never given anyone adverse reactions, the question of safety was never raised. But, it should have been.
Wheat, unlike other plants, have the ability to retain the sum of the genes of the parent-plants. So, these new, complex chromosomes made some interesting changes in the offspring wheat plants. 5% of the proteins found in the new plant were not present in either of the parent-plants. New gluten proteins were now part of the make up of this new variety of wheat, and they weren't compatible with the human digestive system.
To further the damage, the agriculture industry started to genetically modify the wheat, corn, and soy in the 1980's and thereafter. There was, again, no safety testing done on these new GMO varieties; it was sent out into the fields.
In his book Wheat Belly, cardiologist Dr. William Davis conducted an experiment using himself as the guinea pig, since he had a wheat sensitivity.
I decided to put eikorn to the test, grinding two pounds of whole grain to flour, which I then used to make bread. I also ground conventional organic whole wheat flour from seed. I made bread from both the eikorn and the conventional flour using only water and yeast with no added sugars or flavorings.The differences between the effects of the two wheat varieties were striking. These are the problems that come from messing with what God created!
Beyond simply observing my physical reaction, I also performed fingerstick blood sugars after eating each type of bread. The differences were striking.
Blood sugar at the start: 84mg/dl. Blood sugar after consuming eikorn bread: 110mg/dl. This was more or less the expected response to eating some carbohydrate. Afterwards, though, I felt no perceptible effects- no sleepiness, no nausea, nothing hurt. In short, I felt fine. Whew!
The next day, I repeated the procedure, [using] the conventional organic whole wheat bread. Blood sugar at the start: 84mg/dl. Blood sugar after consuming the conventional bread: 167mg/dl. Moreover, I soon became nauseated, nearly losing my lunch. The queasy effect persisted for thirty-six hours, accompanied by stomach cramps that started almost immediately and lasted for many hours. Sleep that night was fitful, though filled with vivid dreams. I couldn't think straight, nor could I understand the research papers I was trying to read the next morning.
If you would like further information on this subject, I suggest that you read Dr. Davis' book. You can also watch this video below:
