Does wheat cause disease and obesity?

Globally, we realise there’s a big challenge ahead: a growing population must be fed from a decreasing area of farmland. Wheat joins rice and maize as the world’s most-grown crops. And there’s good reason for this because wheat’s cultivation requires relatively little water with approx. 900 l needed per kilogram grain produced. Compare this with the average 5000 l needed for a kilo of cheese. And even that’s nothing compared to the 20,000 l required for 1 kg of coffee beans. On top of this, wheat grain is comparatively is easy to store. And the staple food bread can be simply created from just wheat flour and water.

2. Wheat allergy

Here there are two different characteristic forms. But typical allergy symptoms through to anaphylactic shock are attributable to both. For some, wheat allergy emerges only in association with sport activities. The wheat allergy is caused by different wheat proteins. However, less than 1% of the population are affected in this way. Classical allergy tests are available and therapy is straightforward: a lifetime avoiding allergy, e.g. diets with no wheat content.

3. Wheat sensitivity

Symptoms of wheat sensitivity are very diffuse: from gastro-intestinal problems over simply feeling unwell, through to tiredness and other signs. Companies that produce products with spelt flour are also often involved in these discussions because, repeatedly, customers that report problems following consumption of wheat products claim these are less marked when spelt is used instead of wheat. So far, it hasn’t been clarified exactly what is responsible for the sensitivity. There is therefore naturally no clear diagnosis technique. The classical approach starts with exclusion of food allergies, celiac disease and irritable colon syndrome. Then, it is tested if a wheat-free diet under medical supervision effectively reduces the symptoms. The lack of diagnostic techniques means that it’s difficult to arrive at precise figures for this disease. Expert estimates run between 0.5 and 8% of the population. Neither is there clarity regarding therapy. Alone a reduction in wheat consumption appears to be effective. But does this apply only to soft wheat? Again, the picture is unclear.

The FODMAP content is especially high, however, in onions, beans and cabbage. In wheat, the most important FODMAPs are fructan and raffinose. These can be produced through the incomplete degradation of starch to glucose. Hereby, it should be emphasised that fructan is often described as positive, being trigger of the so-called prebiotic effect, often advertised for yoghurts, etc. Apparently, however, a small percentage of the population has a problem with digesting these FODMAPs. FODMAPs are partly absorbed in the small intestine, the remainder moving into the large intestine where fermentation takes place through the resident bacteria population.  Where grain products are consumed, this process often produces flatulence and other gastro-intestinal problems. But scientific evidence that FODMAPs trigger wheat sensitivity is completely missing so far. However, it does appear that irritated bowel syndrome patients suffer a worsening of their condition through the presence of FODMAPs. It is estimated that up to 15% of the population have an irritated bowel problem, whereby most show symptoms, although no definite diagnosis results.

• Where are FODMAPs to be found?

First precise investigations indicate differences in FODMAP content of wholemeal flour from einkorn, durum, spelt and wheat. Einkorn appears to have the most FODMAPs, closely followed by wheat, spelt and durum. Emmer, in particular, has a statistically demonstrable smaller FODMAP content than wheat.

However, the manner of dough and bread preparation has a far greater influence on FODMAP content in the end product. Traditional longer periods of kneading and addition of yeast or sourdough lead to almost complete breakdown of FODMAPs. Nowadays, though, many bakeries wheat produce their breads in the shortest possible time, and without sourdough. Such modern baking techniques could also be a ground for the higher proportion of people with wheat sensitivity. When in doubt, it therefore pays to ask a baker how long his or her dough is left to rise before it is baked. The longer the rising period, the less the content of FODMAPs and acrylamide with therefore more room for positive contents. Also, an ever-increasing number of additives is involved, including pure gluten. Especially for wholemeal bread, where encouraging rising can be problematical, the baker will add highly purified gluten from wheat. For all these reasons, research into the area of wheat sensitivity is urgently required.

Another claim is that plant breeding encourages content of toxic materials in wheat. There’s no argument that plant breeding is behind many changes. Even the very first crop growers improved plants through selection. Modern wheat varieties are a good deal more resistant to disease and deliver increased yields under continuously changing climatic conditions. But new protein cannot be created by breeding. Instead, conventional breeding tries only to unite, through natural crossing and selection, positive characteristics from different lines into a new variety. It should also be pointed out here that worldwide there’s not a single genetically modified wheat variety in commercial production. Also, the gluten content of modern wheat varieties is less than that of older varieties and of »ancient wheats« such as einkorn or emmer.

It is often heard that in their evolution humans haven’t had time to adapt themselves and their digestion to cope with wheat, and that this is why people may become ill. This is completely wrong: wheat has been a central source of carbohydrate in our diets since the Neolithic revolution more than 11,000 years ago. And humans consumed wild wheats long before even then. Grain plant types were widespread in the savannahs of the fertile »half-moon« region, the cradle of agriculture and human civilisation. Talking of adaptation, we humans have been confronted with consumption of milk and dairy products over a substantially shorter period. And still very much shorter in evolutionary terms are adjustment times for tropical fruits or technically modified food such as fat or sugar reduced products.

The authors of »Wheat Belly« & Co. mix snippets of fact with their own interpretations and, often wrong, causal associations. Additionally, clear scientific information goes unmentioned or is wrongly interpreted. A serious problem with this populistic demonising of wheat is that it particularly damages the case for people who really are suffering from wheat-caused diseases. The approach taken by the bestsellers means those affected have less chance of being taken seriously in their daily life by society, medicine and gastronomy. The situation also leads to a surfeit of anxiety among many consumers about food in general and wheat products in particular. Happily, very few people suffer from any of the three scientifically-recognised wheat diseases and thus most can eat foods based on wheat with no worries. In fact, where wholemeal is used for the products, they are doing something positive for their health.