Tag Archives: Wheat intolerance

Editor’s Note:
Click here to see Part 1.
Click here to see Part 2.

WHEAT: AN EXCEPTIONALLY UNWHOLESOME GRAIN.

Wheat presents a special case insofar as wild and selective breeding has produced variations which include up to 6 sets of chromosomes (3 genomes worth!) capable of generating a massive number of proteins each with a distinct potentiality for antigenicity. Common bread wheat (Triticum aestivum), for instance, has over 23,788 proteins cataloged thus far. In fact, the genome for common bread wheat is actually 6.5 times larger than that of the human genome!

With up to a 50% increase in gluten content of some varieties of wheat, it is amazing that we continue to consider “glue-eating” a normal behavior, whereas wheat-avoidance is left to the “celiac” who is still perceived by the majority of health care practitioners as mounting a “freak” reaction to the consumption of something intrinsically wholesome. Read More »

(Editor’s Note: Click here to see Part One)

OUR BIOLOGICALLY INAPPROPRIATE DIET

In a previous article, I discussed the role that wheat plays as an industrial adhesive (e.g. paints, paper mache’, and book binding-glue) in order to illustrate the point that it may not be such a good thing for us to eat. The problem is implicit in the word gluten, which literally means “glue” in Latin and in words like pastry and pasta, which derives from wheatpaste, the original concoction of wheat flour and water which made such good plaster in ancient times. What gives gluten its adhesive and difficult-to-digest qualities are the high levels of disulfide bonds it contains. These same sulfur-to-sulfur bonds are found in hair and vulcanized rubber products, which we all know are difficult to decompose and are responsible for the sulfurous odor they give off when burned.

There will be 676 million metric tons of wheat produced this year alone, making it the primary cereal of temperate regions and third most prolific cereal grass on the planet. Read More »

Eat to the Beat is an award-winning international caterer, based in the UK, who has been providing catering for over 25 years to touring bands, festivals, films crews and sporting events. Their impressive portfolio includes such clients as Coldplay, Muse, Dave Matthews Band, Flaming Lips, Take That, Snow Patrol, Glastonbury, Chicago’s own Lollapalooza, Mighty Boosh tour, Little Britain tour, Cirque de Soleil, Celebrity Big Brother to name just a few.

Eat to the Beat's Heidi Varah with Coldplay production manager Craig Finley www.eattothebeat.com

I have often wondered, when one has to be in charge of thousands of eager eaters, how is it possible to manage those with specific diets, such as eating gluten-free? I had the opportunity to speak with Eat to the Beat caterer Heidi Varah, about how gluten-free needs are handled on tour. Read More »