auntjudyg

Yes, I too have heard that wheat is not all it is cracked up to be. Personally I find it VERY helpful to avoid it (whole grain, refined, whatever) as much as possible (easier said than done). And IMHO there are quite a few people out there who would also benefit from cutting down on the wheat. There are a couple of issues with it.

One is that wheat bran contains phytic acid and other anti-nutrients. When not prepared properly (most often not), these substances negate much of the nutritional benefit even of whole grain products. Traditionally, grains underwent soaking and fermenting (sourdough) that neutralized much of the negative effects of these anti-nutrients. This takes time and thus costs money, so it is very rarely done today where profit is the bottom line. And mainstream types don't even recognize or acknowledge the necessity.

The wheat raised today is not the same stuff that was stored up in case of famine in ancient times. Recent hybridization has, among other things, increased the amount of protein. While this may sound like a good thing, some of that protein is gluten, which is difficult for many to digest.

Also, modern agricultural practices - relying on chemical fertilizers/pesticides - produce a much less nutritious product than grains raised in ancient times which were raised in more naturally fertile soils. That ancient grain might have produced a bread that could be called the staff of life, but the stuff today certainly cannot.

Last comes the fact that you now find wheat added to an unimaginably wide range of products. The more you are exposed to a food, the more likely you are to develop an allergy to it. The one things just about everyone agrees on in terms of diet is that it is best to eat a wide range of food to fill all your nutritional needs. Yet, no one seems to bat an eye when wheat is included in two or even three meals a day (not to mention snacks).

I completely disagree with the food pyramid recommending so many servings of grains each day as a necessity. There is absolutely no nutrient in grains that cannot be found elsewhere . . . and with fewer calories and more of other nutrients, minerals, antioxidants, etc.