Have you wondered the same? Perhaps a little history and background will shed some light on this oft asked question.
What is it?
What is gluten? Gluten is a protein that is found in certain types of grains. Its main purpose is to act as a binding agent that helps food maintain structure and shape. In a loaf of bread it gives strength and elasticity to help the bread rise.
Grains that contain gluten include wheat, einkorn, durum, emmer, Kamut, khorasan, barley, rye, spelt, farro, and triticale. Gluten free grains (more often seeds than grains) are corn, rice, quinoa, Teff, sorghum, amaranth, flax, millet, and buckwheat. Often in gluten free flours they add starches and/or bean flours as well.
How Long Have We Eaten It?
People have eaten gluten for as long as the earth has been growing gluten grains. They believe record of the first wheat, called einkorn, was well over 10,000 years ago along the Fertile Crescent.
For 10,000 years, humans have been consuming gluten, so why in the last 50 or so years has gluten become such an issue. There are several factors that may play a role.
How Did it Become A Problem?
First, agriculture advances, though helpful in many ways, have taken a toll on the gentle structure of ancient wheat. Einkorn wheat has never been hybridized so it remains the same as it was, genetically and nutritionally, thousands of years ago. Its gentle protein structure is easily broken down and digested by our bodies.
Modern wheat however, was hybridized to have higher yields and greater disease resistance. This modifying of the wheat gave it a much stronger protein structure – a protein structure that cannot be broken down as easily by our digestive tract. This hybridization was done in the 1950’s. From the 1970’s-1990’s this hybridized wheat was spread all over the world.
What Other Factors Are There?
The second factor is the industrialization of yeast. Wild yeast or sourdough was used for thousands of years to rise bread. However, during WWII companies were able to make granulated yeast that didn’t require refrigeration.
This granular yeast was helpful with faster rise and convenience, however, it kicked out the beneficial bacteria that was processing, essentially predigesting the grain before it went into a human body.
Both of these advancements allowed food to be produced at a faster rate, feeding hungry mouths at an amazing speed. Unfortunately, it also produced food issues at a faster rate as well.
So, Is It Healthier?
Hopefully, that little history lesson shed a bit of light on why we have had such an increase in gluten issues in the last little while. Were there instances of gluten intolerance and celiacs before the 1950’s? There were. Were there more instances than we know? Probably, since it wasn’t something that was really looked for during that era. However many cases there were, it has exponentially increased in the last few decades.
So, with that history in place, let’s get back to the question – is it healthier to be gluten free? It isn’t, unless your body requires it. Clear as mud? The thing is, grains are full of healthy vitamins and minerals that our bodies’ need, but only if we can process and absorb them.
Today, the grain most of us eat is a wheat that has been hybridized to a point where our body hardly recognizes it. When it is grown, it is sprayed with lots of chemicals. Then it is ground and most of the vitamins and minerals are taken away when the germ and bran are removed, it is bleached and then a chemical form of vitamins and minerals are added back in, in a process called “fortification”. That is all-purpose white flour.
All-purpose flour is used in every processed food at the grocery store, used at all our favorite restaurants, in every loaf of bread we eat, and used at home to make all our favorite breakfasts and treats. And then we wonder why our bodies are screaming for help.
How Do We Move Forward?
Often times a stretch of gluten free can help settle an inflammatory response if there is some gluten intolerance or gut problems occurring in the body. Sometimes going completely grain free can also help. Celiac disease is a little different than just gluten intolerance and it requires special care.
For me, the end goal is to eat all grains. In order to do that, I properly prepare the grains so that my children’s bodies can digest and absorb what they need from the grain without any negative responses.
Eating mostly whole grains instead of mostly the “all-purpose” variety increases fiber intake which in turn benefits our digestive system. Sometimes however, we need to heal the gut first so the whole grain fiber doesn’t cause digestive discomfort. Your body will tell you what it needs if you have ears to hear.
Properly preparing the grains means I use sourdough or sprouted flours and when I can’t do either of those, I use gluten free grains. At times, we go grain free or completely gluten free again because that is what one of us needs. Listen to your body!
At your house, it might look different than at my house. Every person has to find the proper balance for them. Figuring out your proper balance may take time and that is ok! Your health is worth it!
If you need to be gluten free for a time to help your body heal. Do it! It is worth the time and effort but also know that you may be able to have gluten grains again if you can get the right kinds that are prepared in the right way.
(If you need some help with going gluten free, I have a whole post with tips and tricks.)
(If you want to learn about sourdough, there is so much information everywhere online! I have several sourdough recipes here that use whole grains and a long fermentation – the best for your body!)
