Jump to content

Stupid question about whole grains


LindaLee

Recommended Posts

I've been a whole grain/whole wheat eater for a long time and I guess I'm confused about why they're not part of a paleo/whole30 lifestyle. Didn't ancient people gather corns, rice, grains, etc. and turn them into breads and other natural foods?

I'm not trying to be obnoxious or anything, I'm truly curious and puzzled. As a scientist myself, I would appreciate it if someone could point me to the science of leaving those foods out.

Thanks!

Linda

Link to comment
Share on other sites

All modern intensively farmed grains are, essentially, GMOs, except they were genetically modified through millennia of selective breeding rather than laboratory manipulation. Our modern, intensively bred and hybridized grains look nothing like our ancestors would have encountered. If you've ever seen a pic of the ancestor of corn it looks nothing like the fat-kerneled grain we now eat by the truckload.

But in Whole30 you're eliminating them not because of the "Paleo" element as much as because most grains and legumes seem to contain inflammatory proteins that can mess with the gut and the immune system, and because the readily available starch/sugar that we eat so much of may be the root cause of "metabolic syndrome". The book explains this really well, though it's written for non-scientists so it might not get into as many details as fully as you'd want.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...