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The Definitive Guide to GrainsPosted By Mark Sisson On June 18, 2008 @ 8:41 am In Big Agra,Carbs,DefinitiveGuides,Diet,Health,Most Popular Posts,Nutrition,Sisson Said What? | 435 Comments

Amber Waves of Pain

Order up! Yes, folks, it’s definitive guide [1] time again. I’ve read your requests and am

happy (as always) to oblige. Grab your coffee [2] (or tea [3]), and pull up a seat. Glad you’rewith us.

Insulin [4], cholesterol [5], fats [6]… They’re only the tip of the iceberg. I’ve had a few“definitive” topics up my sleeve for a while now, and grains are it for today. Yes, grains. I

know we’ve given them a bad rap [7] before, and it’s safe to say I’ll do it again here.Sometimes the truth hurts, but you know what they say about the messenger, right?Without further ado…

Grains. Every day we’re bombarded with them and their myriad of associations in American(and much of Western) culture: Wilford Brimley, Uncle Ben, the Sunbeam girl, the latestWheaties athlete, a pastrami on rye, spaghetti dinners, buns for barbeque, corn on the cob,donuts, birthday cake, apple pie, amber waves of grain…. Gee, am I missing anything? Ofcourse. So much, in fact, that it could – and usually does – take up the majority of

supermarket square footage. (Not to mention those government farm subsidies [8], butthat’s another post.) Yes, grains are solidly etched into our modern Western psyche – justnot so much into our physiology.

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Those of you who have been with us a while now know the evolutionary backdrop [9] I meanhere. We humans had the pleasure and occasional scourge of evolving within a huntergatherer existence. We’re talking some 150,000 plus years of hunting and foraging. On thedaily scavenge menu: meats, nuts, leafy greens, regional veggies, some tubers and roots,the occasional berries or seasonal fruits and seeds that other animals hadn’t decimated.(Ever seen a dog at an apple picking?) We ate what nature (in our respective locales) servedup. The more filling, the better. And then around 10,000 years ago, the tide turned. Ourforefathers and mothers were on the brink of ye olde Agricultural Revolution. And, over time,

grains became king [10]. But, as countless archaeological findings suggest, people becamesmaller and frailer as a result of this new agrarian, grain-fed existence.

Ten thousand years seems like a long time, doesn’t it? Think of all the house projects youcould get done, the advanced degrees you could earn, the dinner party recipes you could tryout, the books you could read. Almost oppressive, isn’t it? But our personal vantage point onthe span of 10,000 years doesn’t mean much of anything when the context is evolution.It takes a lot to drastically change a major system in the human body. We’re talking a waybigger change than trying out the latest flavor of Malt-O-Meal. Grains were certainly notany substantial part of the human diet prior to the Agricultural Revolution. And even aftergrains became a large part of human existence, those who were deathly allergic to them orhad zero capacity to take in their modest nutrient value were, in all likelihood, selectedagainst. And pretty quickly at that. Those whose health was so compromised by grains thatthey were rendered infertile early in life were also washed out of the gene pool. That’s howit works. But if you can limp along long enough to procreate (which was considerably earlierthen than it typically is now), that new fangled diet of grains got you through. No matter howstunted your growth was, how awful your teeth were, how prone you were to infection.

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When I say humans didn’t evolve eating grains, I mean our digestive processes didn’tevolve to maximize the effectiveness of grain consumption. Just because you can tolerategrains to a certain degree, as just about all of us can (thanks to those earlier folks hittingthe end of the genetic line), doesn’t mean your body was designed for them or that they’retruly healthy for you or – especially – that you can achieve optimum health through them.We’re not talking about what will allow you to hobble along. We’re talking about the foodsthat offer effective and efficient digestion and nutrient absorption in the body. And that’s allabout evolutionary design. If you’re not after optimal health, you’re probably reading thewrong blog. But if you want to work with your body instead of unnecessarily tax it, if youwant to focus your diet on the best foods with the most positive impact, you most definitelyare reading the right blog. Now let’s continue.

Among my many beefs with grain, the first and foremost is the havoc it plays with insulinand other hormonal responses in the body. For the full picture, visit the previous Definitive

Guide to Insulin [4] from some months ago. Guess what? The same principles still hold. Wedeveloped the insulin response to help store excess nutrients and to take surplus (andpotentially toxic) glucose out of the bloodstream. This was an adaptive trait. But it didn’tevolve to handle the massive amounts of carbs we throw at it now. And, yes, we’re talkingmostly about grains. Unless you have a compulsive penchant for turnips, the averageAmerican’s majority of carb intake comes from grains.

The gist is this (as many of you know): Whatever the carbohydrate, it will eventually bebroken down into glucose, either in the gut or the liver. But now it’s all dressed up withlikely no place to go. Unless you just did a major workout or are finishing tying your runningshoes as we speak (which would allow those grain-based carbs to be used in the restockingof depleted glycogen stores or burned as secondary fuel, respectively), that French baguettewill more likely get stored as fat.

Why? Because carbohydrates elicit a physiological response that favors fat storage [11]. Thatblasted baguette has already set off a strategic chain of hormonal events akin to aphysiological-style Tom Clancy plot: the ambush of baguette glucose, the defensivemaneuver of insulin, (if you ate the whole baguette, in particular) the enteringreinforcements of adrenaline and cortisol. Why the drama? Because, remember, this was notthe standard mode of nutrition in our body’s evolution. And every time it happens, the bodyis a little worse for the wear. This whole hormonal production taxes the adrenal system,

the pancreas, the immune system, and results in a tiny amount of inflammation [12]. Weall know what we say about inflammation, right? (Hint: the blight of modern existence.)

And as for the nutritional value of grains? First off, they aren’t the complete nutritionalsources they’re made out to be. Quite the contrary, grains have been associated withminerals deficiencies, perhaps because of high phytate levels. A diet high in grains may also

reduce the body’s ability to process vitamin D [13].

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Why not get the same nutrients from sources that don’t come back and bite you in thebackside? If you have the choice between getting, say, B-vitamins from chicken or some“whole wheat” pasta, I’m going to say go with the chicken every time. Is pasta cheaper?Yes. Is it healthier? No. The B6 in chicken is more bioavailable, for one. The fact is, you paytoo high a physiological price for the pasta source. Let’s get this point on the dinner table aswell: whatever nutrients you can get from whole grains you can get in equal to greateramounts in other food. In terms of nutrient density, grains can’t hold a candle to a diversediet of veggies and meats. (And if the label says otherwise, look closely because the productis fortified. Save your money and buy a good supplement instead.

But, wait, there’s more. Enter the lurker substances in grains that cause a lot of people awhole lot of obvious problems (and probably all of us some kind of damage over time).Grains, new evolutionarily-speaking, are frankly hard on the digestive system. (You say

fiber, I say unnecessary roughage [14], but that’s only the half of it.) Enter gluten [15] andlectins, both initiators of digestive mayhem, you might say. Gluten, the large, water-solubleprotein that creates the sludge, err, elasticity in dough, is found in most common grains likewheat, rye and barley (and it’s the primary glue in wallpaper paste). Researchers nowbelieve that a third of us are likely gluten intolerant/sensitive. That third of us (and Iwould suspect many more on some level) “react” to gluten with a perceptible inflammatoryresponse. Over time, those who are gluten intolerant can develop a dismal array of medicalconditions: dermatitis, joint pain, reproductive problems, acid reflux and other digestiveconditions, autoimmune disorders, and Celiac disease. And that still doesn’t mean that therest of us aren’t experiencing some milder negative effect that simply doesn’t manifest itselfso obviously.

Now for lectins. Lectins are mild, natural toxins that aren’t limited to just grains but seem tobe found in especially high levels in most common grain varieties. They serve as one morereason grains just aren’t worth all the trouble that comes with them. Lectins, researchers

have found, inhibit the natural repair system of the GI tract [16], potentially leaving the restof the body open to the impact of errant, wandering (i.e. unwanted) material from the

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digestive system, especially when these lectins “unlock” barriers to entry and allow largerundigested protein molecules into the bloodstream. This breach can initiate all kinds ofimmune-related havoc and is thought to be related to the development of autoimmunedisorders. Some people are more sensitive to the damage of lectins than others, as in thecase with gluten. Nonetheless, I’d say, over time we all pay the piper.

The bottom line is this: grains = carbs. Unnecessary at best, but flat out unhealthy atworst, they’re not the wholesome staples they’re made out to be. Talk about doubletaxation: Our bodies pay for what our trusty government subsidizes Big Agra for. The best –really the only way – to achieve a low carb, whole foods diet is to ditch the grains. (Yourbody will be better off without inflammation, the insulin roller coaster, not to mention theconstant onslaught of creepy gluten and lectins.) A diet very low or entirely without grains

(low-carb) has been shown to decrease risk for problems associated with diabetes [17], to

lower blood pressure, alleviate heartburn symptoms, and shed abdominal fat [18]. Finally,

low carb diets have been associated [17] with significant “reductions in a number of pro-inflammatory cytokines, chemokines, and adhesion molecules.”

The idea here is not to demonize grains. Well, O.K., it is. (But only because our society andmedical establishment spends so much time exalting them.) Just as I choose to steer clear ofgrains as a regular part of my diet, I do occasionally indulge a bit. A tiny bit. And that’s where

the Primal Blueprint [9] enters: it’s about informed, not dictated choices. That French breadat an anniversary dinner, a sample of the pasta salad at your Uncle Billy’s steak fry, thesaffron rice your daughter cooks for you when you visit her first apartment – they’re

thoughtful, purposeful compromises [19]. (And they’re perhaps very worth it for reasons thathave nothing to do with the food itself.) The point of the Primal Blueprint if this: When youunderstand the metabolic effects of eating grains, you’re empowered to make informeddecisions about the role grains will have in your diet. You’re free to enjoy good health andself-selected compromises with a clear conscience and full epicurean gusto!

Thanks for tuning in. It’s been a pleasure, as always.

Fitness Black Book [20] Photo and Natmandu [21], Bern@t [22], Slack13 [23], atomicshark [24],

yarnivore [25] Flickr Photos (CC)

Further Reading:

What Happens to Your Body When… You CARB BINGE? [26]

The Definitive Guide Series [1]

What About Beans and Legumes? [27]

Jack LaLanne on Sugarholics [28]

Sensible Vices Round 1 [29] and 2 [30]

Yet Another Half-Baked Grain Study [31]

Subscribe to Mark’s Daily Apple [32]

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