Why We Need to Treat Whole Grains With Respect
With the dawn of the industrial age, white flour—once available only to the wealthy—became available to all. By the early 1900s, white bread had largely replaced “coarse” whole-grain bread, and white flour added to sugar and spices resulted in the proliferation of cakes, donuts, and pastries in the diets of both the rich and poor.
During the 1920s and 1930s, researchers began to study the factors in foods that contributed to health—vitamins and minerals—and realized that white flour lacked the nutrients that nature put into whole grains. One of these researchers was Dr. Weston Price, who noted in his studies of isolated, so-called “primitive” peoples that when white flour and other devitalized foods were introduced into these communities, rampant tooth decay and disease of every sort soon followed.
The popular embrace of whole grains as healthy, however, did not occur until the 1970s, with the publication of books like “Diet for a Small Planet” by Frances Moore Lappé, which advocated for brown rice, whole grain flour, and legumes like lentils and beans. I was one of the whole-grain health enthusiasts—and it practically killed me, especially when I learned to make granola for a snack. Even before I started eating granola, I had learned to avoid oatmeal; a bowl of oatmeal in the morning resulted in cramps and intestinal pain by mid-morning, with cold sweats and chills—a kind of toxic shock.
I only made the connection between debilitating intestinal cramps and eating granola when I began doing research for my book “Nourishing Traditions.” I soon learned that while traditional cultures (in the temperate regions) indeed ate whole grains, it was only after careful preparation involving soaking or souring, as in sourdough bread or oats soaked in warm, acidulated water overnight. That’s because, while whole grains indeed contain good things like minerals, B vitamins, and vitamin E, they also contain bad things—so-called anti-nutrients that can irritate the digestive tract, hinder digestion, and even block mineral assimilation.
Meanwhile, whole grains became enshrined in the dietary guidelines, and many conscientious eaters embraced brown rice, oatmeal, muesli, whole-wheat bread, granola—even oat bran! In fact, by 2019, almost 200 million people in the United States chose whole-grain or multigrain bread. Many researchers then linked grain consumption with the epidemic of digestive disorders that proliferated in the late 20th century—Crohn’s disease, IBS, colitis, and gluten intolerance—so much so that a new generation of nutrition writers urged avoidance of all grains, both refined and whole, even linking grain consumption with heart disease and diabetes.
In human diets, grains require careful preparation because they contain several anti-nutrients that can cause serious health problems, especially when consumed in excess. Phytic acid, for example, is an organic acid in which phosphorus is bound. It is mostly found in the bran or outer hull of seeds. Untreated phytic acid can combine with calcium, iron, and especially zinc in the intestinal tract and block their absorption. This is why a diet high in improperly prepared whole grains—especially things like granola and oat bran—may lead to serious mineral deficiencies and bone loss.
Other anti-nutrients in whole grains include enzyme inhibitors, which can inhibit digestion and put stress on the pancreas; lectins; saponins, which block nutrient assimilation; complex sugars, which the body cannot break down; and gluten and related hard-to-digest proteins, which may cause allergies, digestive disorders, and even mental illness.
Most of these anti-nutrients are part of the seed’s system of preservation: They prevent sprouting until the conditions are right. Plants need moisture, warmth, time, and a slight acidity to sprout. Proper preparation of grains is a long and gentle process that imitates the process that occurs in nature. It involves soaking for a period in warm, acidulated water in the preparation of porridge, or long, slow sourdough fermentation in the making of bread. Such processes neutralize phytic acid and enzyme inhibitors. Vitamin content increases, particularly B vitamins, as does the content of lysine, an important amino acid. Tannins, complex sugars, gluten, and other difficult-to-digest substances are partially broken down into simpler components that are more readily available for absorption.
Animals that nourish themselves primarily on grain and other plant matter have as many as four stomach chambers. Their intestines are longer, as is the entire digestion transit time. Man, on the other hand, is an omnivore, with but one stomach and a much shorter intestine compared to herbivorous animals. These features of his anatomy allow him to pass animal products before they putrefy in the gut but make him less adapted to a diet high in grains—unless, of course, he prepares them properly. When grains are properly prepared through soaking, sprouting, or sour leavening, the friendly bacteria of the microscopic world do some of our digesting for us in a container, just as these same Lactobacilli do their work in the first and second stomachs of the herbivores.
So the well-meaning advice of many nutritionists to consume whole grains as our ancestors did and not refined flours and polished rice can be misleading and harmful in its consequences. While our ancestors ate whole grains, they did not consume them as presented in our modern cookbooks in the form of quick-rise breads, granolas, bran preparations, and other hastily prepared casseroles and concoctions. Our ancestors, and virtually all pre-industrialized peoples, soaked or fermented their grains before making them into porridge, breads, cakes, and casseroles.
A quick review of grain recipes from around the world will prove my point. In India, rice and lentils are fermented for at least two days before they are prepared as idli and dosas. In Africa, the natives soak coarsely ground corn overnight before adding it to soups and stews and they ferment corn or millet for several days to produce a sour porridge called ogi. A similar dish made from oats, called sowens, was traditional among the Welsh. In some Asian countries, rice receives a long fermentation before it is prepared. Ethiopians make their distinctive injera bread by fermenting a grain called teff for several days. Mexican corn cakes, called pozol, are fermented for several days and for as long as two weeks in banana leaves.
Before the introduction of commercial brewer’s yeast, Europeans made slow-rise breads from fermented starters. In America, the pioneers were famous for their sourdough breads, pancakes, and biscuits, while throughout Europe, grains were soaked overnight in water or soured milk for up to several days, before they were cooked and served as porridge or gruel. (Many of our senior citizens may remember that in earlier times, the instructions on the oatmeal box called for an overnight soaking.)
Proper preparation also includes cooking. First soak or ferment, and then cook. Or, as the Chinese would say, treat first with water and then with fire. Muesli, which is soaked but not cooked, and granola, which is not soaked and only baked, not cooked in water, represent real assaults on the digestive tract.
When I learned to soak my rolled oats (I had always cooked them), my problems with oatmeal disappeared. In fact, I found that I could go from breakfast at seven to lunch at one o’clock without the slightest twinge of indigestion or feeling of hunger.
One of my favorite modern studies took place in Italy, where celiac disease is widespread. Patients diagnosed as having celiac, and who were avoiding pasta and bread, were instructed to consume only genuine sourdough bread—and suffered no ill effects!
Not only are we eating whole grains today without the kind of preparation that neutralizes natural toxins, but modern technology has also created additional poisons. Grains are laced with pesticides during the growing season and then treated with the herbicide glyphosate as a desiccant just before harvest. Further indignities occur when they are milled at high temperatures, which turns their fatty acids rancid. Rancidity increases when milled flours are stored for long periods, particularly in open bins. The bran and germ are often removed and sold separately, though Mother Nature intended that they be eaten together with the carbohydrate portion. Synthetic vitamins and the nonheme form of iron added to white flour can cause imbalances, and dough conditioners such as potassium bromate, stabilizers, preservatives, and other additives add insult to injury.
Treat your grains right, and your grains will deliver their promise as the highly digestible staff of life. Buy only organic whole grains and soak them overnight to make porridge or casseroles; or grind them into flour with a home grinder and make your own sourdough bread, pancakes, and baked goods. For those who lack the time for breadmaking, properly made artisan sourdough breads are now available. Look for organic, stone ground, whole-grain, or partially whole-grain sourdough bread.
Then enjoy your grains with butter or cheese—remember, we need the fat-soluble vitamins in butterfat to absorb the minerals in grains—now liberated and ready for assimilation because we have prepared them properly.
Super Oatmeal
Serves 4–6
1 cup organic rolled oats
2 tablespoons organic rye flakes (rolled rye)
2 tablespoons vinegar or yogurt
About 2 cups good quality warm water
Another 1 cup or more good quality water
1 teaspoon unrefined salt
I like to use rolled oats rather than steel-cut because they hydrate better and are ready to cook after overnight soaking. I add rye flakes because rye is a good source of phytase, the enzyme that breaks down phytic acid. Phytase is activated in the warm, acidulated water.
Soak rolled oats, rye flakes, and vinegar or yogurt in 2 cups of warm water, covered, in a warm kitchen overnight. Bring 1 cup water to a boil with the salt, then add soaked oats. Bring to a simmer and cook for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add more water if you prefer thinner oatmeal.
Serve with butter or cream, and chopped nuts or raisins as desired.
Leftover oatmeal can be stored in the fridge, right in the pan, and reheated for breakfast another day. You will need to add a little water to the pan when you reheat to thin the porridge.
Basic Brown Rice
Serves 4–6
1 ½ cups long-grain brown rice
2 tablespoons vinegar or yogurt
About 2 cups good quality warm water
2–3 tablespoons butter
½ teaspoon cardamom seeds
3 cups good quality water, homemade chicken broth, or a combination
2 tablespoons butter
Unrefined salt to taste
Soak rice in water and vinegar or yogurt for six to eight hours. Drain through a strainer.
Melt butter in a heavy, flame-proof casserole dish. Stir the rice and cardamom seeds into the butter and cook over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until the grains of rice turn pale. Add the 3 cups of liquid and bring to a boil. Boil without stirring until the liquid reduces to the top of the rice, and holes appear in the rice.
Reduce heat to a simmer, cover, and allow to steam without disturbing for about two hours. If rice is not fully cooked, stir and then cover and steam over low heat for another half hour or so. Toss with butter and unrefined salt to taste. Serve with chicken, fish, or meat.
Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. Epoch Health welcomes professional discussion and friendly debate. To submit an opinion piece, please follow these guidelines and submit through our form here.
No Byline Policy
Editorial Guidelines
Corrections Policy
Source