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by D. Finnel, Ph.D.
(Dr. Finnel is not a medical doctor and the advise in this article is not intended as a substitute for professional health care and counsel. Dr. Finnel has a Ph.D in Education with post-doctoral studies in research and statistics.)
Overview
With so much talk about health and nutrition today, hardly anyone knows what to believe. What are the real solutions to better health and quality of life? Certainly genetics, nutrition, environment and emotions all play a key role. As for nutrition, one part of the puzzle on which many experts agree is that modern food processing is a significant part of the problem. The solution, however, is difficult to ascertain. Modern lifestyles assume that the only way to maintain the fast paced modern urban lifestyle is to eat modern processed foods that can be prepared instantly. I believe this premise is faulty. An early attempt at modern food preparation was to remove anything from natural staple foods that could spoil. The things that spoil are the things that contain most of the nutrition, vitamins, minerals, and amino acids. This produces foods that contain energy, but none of the nutrition and enzymes that allow the body to digest the food and benefit from its nutrition. Processing food to remove the nutrition is the wrong way to address the problem of the shelf life of foods.
Modern technology has provided us with ways to process fresh natural foods in our own kitchens. Simple basic recipes offer the modern lifestyle an alternative which includes a generous portion of fresh foods that are full of nutrition. The modern solution to good health is to process foods fresh in our own kitchens. With a simple grain mill, you can grind wheat, corn, oats, spelt and other grains. Bread machines and yeast free breads are quick and easy. With a flaker, you can freshly flake your own oats.
Personal
When a product is being promoted in an internet article, I become suspicious when it is based primarily on a personal testimony. My testimony is relevant, but not the sole basis for the conclusions in this article. Most of the recommendations in this article have nothing to do with this web site or its products. In 1982, I was diagnosed with Sprue. Sprue is a coeliac disease that prevents the intestinal tract from absorbing nutrition. Certain foods, such as those containing gluten (especially wheat), cause an allergic reaction that can be quite severe. In 1986, following a viral infection, I was left an invalid with trigeminal neuralgia. I had massive allergies to all but a few foods. I could not go into public places because of allergies to almost everything. I lost control of many basic autonomic functions including the ability to control my body temperature. I lived in a controlled room that was kept between 12-18EC and free from chemicals and odours. The fatty myelin sheath on my nerves began to deteriorate which caused me to lose the ability of my brain to send signals to my arms, legs, hands and feet. No hope was given by the medical field for any significant recovery.
The Road to Recovery
Today, although I still have a few limitations, I am basically recovered. There are two things that led to that recovery that will be mentioned here. The first is my personal faith. Through my personal relationship with God, He led me through a discovery process that included two basic areas. Because doctors gave me no hope of recovery, most of my physical recovery came through natural nutritional means. Properly balanced natural fresh foods contain the sources of healing intended by our Creator. I began to eat a diet based upon the principles taught in the Bible. A basic part of this included a biblical recipe: fresh finely ground wheat, olive oil, and honey (Also My bread which I gave you, fine flour, oil, and honey with which I fed you (Ezekiel 16:19).
Misconceptions
Refined sugar and flour can provide energy for the body, but not balanced health. I believe refined food products create an imbalance in your system that leads to disease. Food additives that are not intended for human consumption can actually lead to specific diseases including cancer. Every year it seems, a new common additive is discovered that causes cancer. The latest in 2005 is Sudan 1 food colouring. Others will follow.
Many people have chronic fatigue problems that are partially the result of poor nutrition and toxic chemicals that have become a part of modern living. I lived with the consequences of a weakened body that could not tolerate these foods and chemicals. Although I am able to tolerate many of them today, I know from experience the impact they have on the human body. Even a healthy body can become imbalanced and become susceptible to disease because of the consumption of toxins and imbalanced nutrients. To have balanced health, you must balance your emotions, environmental exposures, and nutrition. To balance your nutrition, you need to eat balanced foods. Balanced foods are foods that have not been refined or altered through unnatural processing or genetic engineering.
Wheat and Allergies
During my illness, the only grain that I could tolerate was oats. I was highly allergic to wheat. I spent large amounts of money on wheat alternatives from health food stores that are no longer necessary. Now that my body has been strengthened by fresh ground grains and a more balanced diet, I can tolerate many foods that I once could not eat. This did not happen quickly, but over a period of time.
Recently, there has been much speculation about the real source of wheat allergies. The most common culprit has been considered the gluten in wheat. Others claim that at least some mild allergies to whole wheat are sourced in the phytic acid in the bran. I would suggest that a healthy body in proper balance can handle both gluten and phytic acid. If you are wheat intolerant, your body is probably in a state of imbalance. In some children, they may even begin life imbalanced. They were conceived and born in a state of imbalance and live in an imbalanced environment (chemical toxins, carcinogens, unnatural foods, etc).
There are at least three ways to assist your body in the proper digestion of wheat and any allergic reactions.
(1) First of all, use freshly milled flour. The fresh ground whole wheat kernel contains a balance of nutrients that are essential for proper digestion and absorption by the human body. When you begin to take out nutrients, the grain begins to lose its ability to provide the essential enzymes, amino acids and other nutrients necessary for balanced digestion. This loss of nutrients may take place through the refining process or through the oxidation and spoilage of whole wheat flour. As soon as the grain is crushed, the nutrients begin to spoil. Modern society has taken fresh milled flour away from us. Now modern society has brought us small counter top mills to correct the problem.
(2) If you have a mild allergy to wheat, you may be able to eat and properly digest fresh ground wheat. If this does not work, then you may try soaking your wheat grain overnight. Then dry them for several hours (or while you are at work). If you are in a humid climate, some moderate warmth or even the sun may assist in drying. Do not cook them. When they are thoroughly dry, mill the wheat grain (stone mills work best with wheat that has been soaked). Remember that you may have to reduce the amount of water in your recipe. Soaking accomplishes at least two things. It removes most of the phytic acid which may be the source of improper digestion and allergic reaction to some people. Secondly, it begins the germination process which aids digestibility without destroying all the nutrients.
(3) A final suggestion is to rotate both the grain and the method of preparation. Use different recipes and if possible, different grains to reduce allergic reactions. We offer wheat, spelt, oats and corn. Many people who are wheat intolerant may use spelt which is usually more digestible than wheat. You may also even try some cooking with fresh ground oat flour or with a mixture of spelt and oats. Oats are often the grain with the least amount of allergic reaction. Different recipes have different levels of digestibility. Serve pancakes, rolls, or biscuits and rotate different types of bread. Use olive oil and honey for increased digestibility.
Wheat and Diabetes
Those who are diabetic know the story. Refined white flour is mostly starch (carbohydrate). There are few nutrients to digest or aid in digestion. When consumed, these carbohydrates turn quickly into sugar (energy). This energy spike places a great strain on the digestive system. Once this spike of energy is used up, the diabetic’s blood sugar level plummets causing multiple and severe problems. Diabetics are consistently warned to avoid refined white flour.
Fresh ground whole wheat flour has a lower glycemic effect that refined flour. This means that the whole grain kernel does not turn immediately into energy (sugar). The whole grain goes through a process of digestion that spreads the transformation into sugar over a longer period of time. This prevents the high sugar spike followed by a dramatic fall in blood sugar level.
Anyone with diabetes should consider grinding whole grains fresh in their kitchen. This, along with a healthy balanced diet rich in fresh produce and plenty of exercise, may result in much improved health and quality of life.
Wheat and Multiple Sclerosis
With the onset of my illness, I was first diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS). Later, it was determined that although my illness involved a breakdown in the myelin sheath insulation on the nerves like MS, that my illness was not specifically MS. Yet, I identified with MS sufferers in many areas including allergies to refined wheat and severe allergies to refined sugar. While I had allergic reactions to these products, they were all reactions to refined products that produced an extreme stress on my digestive tract and in turn to the rest of my body. I never had a reaction to fresh ground grain or natural sugars such as honey or pure maple syrup.
It is now a widely held popular belief that people with MS should avoid all foods with gluten, especially wheat. While I agree that MS sufferers should avoid refined wheat and refined sugar, there is no conclusive evidence that MS is linked to gluten or wheat. The US official web site of the National MS Society warns against the special diets that are popularly being touted for MS sufferers. This official site recommends “at least two servings of whole grain products” each day (http://www.nationalmssociety.org/brochures-Food3.asp). The best possible and most digestible whole grain products for the weakened systems of MS patients in my opinion is fresh ground wheat, fresh rolled oats, and other wholesome grains. I agree with the same official MS web site that “Wellness is a dynamic state of physical, emotional, spiritual, and social wellbeing that can be achieved even in the presence of a chronic illness or disability.” (http://www.nationalmssociety.org/Healthy%20Living%20with%20MS.asp#food)
Fresh Ground Wheat
Fresh ground wheat is not a cure all. But it differs greatly from refined wheat. Any wheat that comes in the form of flour has been refined to some degree. When the grain is broken, it begins to spoil and lose nutrients just like any other fresh food. Anyone who wants the absolute best in health and nutrition will primarily use fresh ground grains. It amazes me that people will spend so much money in health food stores on processed vitamins and minerals and then turn around and use refined grains. These same expensive nutrients are found in their natural state in fresh ground grains. There is no question in my mind that fresh is best. It seems like pure common sense.
Conclusions
As mentioned several times in this article, the key to good health and quality of life is maintaining a good balance in our lives. I believe the key to our emotional well being is a personal relationship with God and a close intimate relationship with numerous significant people in our lives. Emotional balance also includes the avoidance of stress and the wisdom not to be overcome by things we cannot control.
I believe the key to our environmental well being is fresh air, clean water and exercise. It also involves the avoidance of the man-made toxins, airborne pollutants and volatile chemicals that have become a normal part of our lives both at home and in the work place.
I believe the key to good nutrition is getting back to the basics of the consumption of fresh foods and cooking with fresh foods. While there is room for a balance, as much as possible, we should eat fresh fruits and vegetables, olive oil, fresh ground grains and fresh clean meats. This involves avoidance of genetically modified foods, refined foods, and processed foods with unnatural additives.
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