WHEAT… A simple ingredient which seems to cause a lot of debate (or dare I say conjecture?) in the realm of health and wellness. 

Like any argument, on one side of the fence are those who argue wheat is fine, we’ve been consuming it for centuries, if you’re not allergic then there is no issue? And on the other side of the fence are those who quite literally label it the devil. Throw into the mix people who feel better off it, health professionals working with patients on a case by case basis, opinion pieces and of course gluten and wheat free marketing and we’ve quite literally created a monster. 

Whilst I’m not going to go into the above (I don’t think there’s a caption long enough for all of the factors to consider), I found this study really interesting. Consider this: what if it’s not “wheat” that’s the issue, but what we’ve done to it instead?? 

A recent randomised, cross-over clinical trial (mouthful but science nerds understand its credibility) discovered that substituting modern wheat products with ancient wheat grains for 4 weeks, resulted in improved fasting blood glucose, triglycerides and blood pressure in pre-hypersensitive healthy patients. In addition, in separate studies these ancient grains, in particular Kamut or Khorasan wheat, have been shown to contain higher levels of selenium & polyphenols compared to their modern relatives i.e. duram wheat, both of which exert anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant effects. 

Interesting no? I look forward to more research in this area. 

Have you tried ancient grains? Do you notice a difference? Would love to hear your thoughts xxx