My wife and I have spontaneously eliminated wheat and wheat products from our diet.  This wasn’t a conscious or determined effort, it was just something that happened in our home because we don’t eat any processed foods, most of which contain wheat in some form.  I’m still alive and quite healthy, despite not eating the USDA suggested nine servings of grains per day.  That’s the equivalent of nine pancakes a day!   If you were to tell any of your friends that you don’t eat any wheat, the typical first response is “I could NEVER do that!”  Why not?  Are you addicted to wheat?  Maybe you are.

When people discuss food allergies and wheat, it’s usually about Celiac Disease.  New research is showing some other interesting effects this little grass has after digestion beyond just tearing up your villi.  These little buggers are termed exorphins, protein fragments of gluten digestion that act on various opioid receptors in the body with a myriad of health implications where they can act as both hormones and neurotransmitters.

When WGA is digested, stomach enzymes hydrolyze the gluten into various exorphin peptides which are then readily absorbed and distributed throughout the body where they exert their effects on various opioid receptors.  Below are some of the observed effects.  Most of this research is tip of the iceberg stuff, and I’m sure more interesting interactions will surface as the science geeks dig deeper over the years.  But don’t expect much press in mainstream media, with it’s love and affection for “healthy whole grains”.

• Gluten exorphin B5 stimulates prolactin release in male rats.
• Gluten exorphin A5 stimulates insulin release and acts as an endocrine modulator.  Naloxone reversed this phenomenon.
• Gluten exorphin A5 effects on behavior in mice.
• Gluten exorphins inhibited electrically stimulate contraction of mice vas deferens, which was reversible with naloxone.
• While some peptides exhibited no activity, 0.5 mg of the most active peptides were equivalent to 1 nM of morphine in the binding assay. The most active peptides were derived from the gliadin fraction of the gluten complex.

Two main loops at Round Valley, then the Rail Trail out and back makes for a low monotony 50k day at Round Valley with 4,000 total feet of climbing.  For reference, the American Birkebeiner 50k has 4,500ft of climbing, in Wisconsin of all places.

Main Loop is 12 miles with 1500ft of gain.

The Rail Trail is an out and back that is pretty flat, but a nice diversion.

White Ribbon of Death at Round Valley. Too much more warm weather, and it's over.

Terrible cell phone pic of momma moose and her offspring.

The photo above is going to be the reality if we don’t get some snow soon.  The other reality is, if you want to go nordic skiing and not haul 20+lbs of child and chariot, then you have to get up at 5am and ski before mom goes to work.  I will admit that watching the moon set at the beginning, and the twilight at the end, is kinda nice.

Modern agriculture is the root (pun intended) of all evil in American health, at least in my viewpoint.  We’ve bastardized our food supply beyond comprehension with genetically modified foods, pesticides, and altered diets and living conditions of our livestock, all in the name of efficiency, politicial influence, and greed.  Why even talk about socialized healthcare until we address our shitty American diet and agricultural practices?  Oh right, the other branch of the FDA, the pharmaceutical branch, can fix all those problems with the latest drug, right?

Anyway, found a cool studies looking at the postprandial inflammatory effects in humans when eating essentially mega-corporate farm livestock products versus more traditional, pasture raised livestock.   In summary,  products from animals raised in an environment as close to their evolutionary needs as possible showed the lowest postprandial inflammatory changes when consumed by humans.

Eggs:  In this study, chickens fed low Omega-6 diets of feed high in wheat, barley, and milo and lower in soy, maize and sunflower, safflower, and maize oils produced eggs that cause less oxidative damage to human health.  Typical American store bought eggs are from chickens fed Monsanto corn and soy oils, high in Omega-6 PUFA’s. Subjects eating 2 eggs daily from the chickens fed low Omega-6 diets had no more oxidized LDL than subjects eating 2-4 eggs per week.  Where as subjects eating two eggs per day from the high Omega-6 feed diets had 40% more oxidized LDL.

Eggs high in n−6 PUFA, predominant in Western markets, were found to increase blood LDL oxidation, suggesting a new health concern beyond raising cholesterol.

A major problem with today’s factory farm system is that it is heavily reliant on cheap grain. Under current US agriculture policy, the government provides large subsidies to farmers that produce grains, particularly corn and soybeans. Livestock producers like to use corn and soy as a base for their animal feed, because these protein-rich grains fatten up their animals, and because they’re incredibly cheap as a result of the government subsidies. Livestock consumes 47% of the soy and 60% of the corn produced in the US.  This is where the problem lies, feeding a chicken a high corn/soy diet alters fatty acid content to a less favorable profile, and lowers valuable fat soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K.

Compared to eggs of the caged hens, pastured hens’ eggs had twice as much vitamin E and long-chain omega-3 fats, 2.5-fold more total omega-3 fatty acids, and less than half the ratio of omega-6:omega-3 fatty acids (P<0.0001).

It doesn’t take a lab to realize pastured eggs have higher nutritional value.  Go get a dozen store bought eggs, then buy a dozen eggs from a local farmer who raises chicken on pasture.  The most glaring representation is the color of the yolk.  Store bought eggs have a pale yellow yolk, while pastured eggs have a rich orange yolk, with the orange color being related to vitamin A content.

The writing is on the wall for chickens and eggs.  And if you still believe Frosted Mini Wheats are healthier than cholesterol laden eggs for breakfast, perhaps some insight?  Here are some quotes, follow the links if that’s your thing.  If that’s not enough, consider for a moment that eggs remain an excellent source of many vitamins, and that today’s produce is ever declining in nutrition value.

• It is concluded that within the range of egg intake of this population differences in egg consumption were unrelated to blood cholesterol level or to coronary heart disease incidence. Link
• These data suggest that additional dietary cholesterol does not increase the risk of developing an atherogenic lipoprotein profile in healthy men, regardless of their response classification. Link
• The reality of the situation is that although egg intake has steadily declined since the original recommendations in the 1970s, CHD is still the leading cause of death in the U.S. today. Link
• These findings suggest that consumption of up to 1 egg per day is unlikely to have substantial overall impact on the risk of CHD or stroke among healthy men and women. Link