Did Wheat Hybridization Give Rise To Celiac Disease?
Starting in the 1960’s, and increasingly in the 1990’s, plant breeders undertook efforts to produce hybrid wheat varieties with the goals of improving yield and disease resistance. Both worthwhile goals but it’s possible that wheat hybridization may have led to the rapidly growing prevalence of celiac disease today.
We learn that not all gluten is created equally. A study identifies that, “Gluten proteins from wheat can induce celiac disease (CD) in genetically susceptible individuals. Specific gluten peptides can be presented by antigen presenting cells to gluten-sensitive T-cell lymphocytes leading to CD.”1
The same abstract explains that a study of over 80 varieties of wheat shows a higher concentration of two CD epitopes (Glia-α9 and Glia-α20) in the more modern varieties of wheat.
This study suggests the possibility that hybridization of wheat may be an underlying cause for the recent rise in CD but does that mean that einkorn is the answer? Not necessarily. Einkorn is an ancient, diploid variety of wheat – the most primitive species of wheat available today. Many people worldwide are working to restore it to our modern diets because of its dietary benefits.
So far, the studies on einkorn’s toxicity have been mixed, although it is considered less toxic than modern wheat. For that reason – though they express an interest in doing so – we always recommend that celiac patients should not consume einkorn. After consulting with their doctor, gluten sensitive people, on the other hand, have reported that they consume eikorn with diminished or no reaction. In addition, naturally leavening bread also seems to help with digestibility, and we’ll share more on this in the coming months.
Do you have a study to share on this topic? Please share a link or reference in the comments along with your summary of the study so we can all participate in the discussion together.
In the mean time, we are fortunate to enjoy einkorn farro today for its superior health benefits.
31 thoughts on “Did Wheat Hybridization Give Rise To Celiac Disease?”
Re: pre-harvest application of Roundup for “weed control” and desiccation.
I imagine wheat maturation follows a Gaussian distribution, but I don’t know the standard deviation of the maturity point at which the wheat berry is no longer receiving “nutrients” from the plant.
The Roundup label recommendations for 7 days is, to me, an attempt to convince people that the effects of the herbicide has dissipated, and is no longer toxic.
The real concern should be the “tail” of the maturity distribution that describes the wheat population of the whole field. If, at the time of Roundup application, any of the wheat in any part of the field has only matured to a certain stage where it is still providing “nutrients” to the wheat berry, then some Glyphosate will end up in the harvested wheat. This is what should be investigated.
Someone. tell me I’m wrong, but please provide your reasoning.
Hi Allen, I don’t know about this but we do not use roundup at any stage of the process with einkorn.
Factor in Roundup used in wheat harvesting…its not solely a gluten issue. GMO yes probably due to Roundup resistance. Just saying.
Dan there is almost no roundup used on wheat , this is a lie spread by Dr. Senneff and others to try to discredit Monsanto. As a wheat farmer of forty years I can tell you it is not done because it is not needed and would not effect the wheat as they claim. It does not increase yield, or is absorbed by the seed. Ask a real expert, a farmer. Thanks Roger
Roger, it is said – by many farmers themselves, as well as scientists studying the issue – to be sprayed just before harvest as it will “desicate” the wheat, making it easier to harvest by the machines….
You may not do it, but many farmers are, and to say it’s a lie by Dr. Senneff is very disingenuous of you.
Laura, wheat started being hybridized by people back in the 1950s. You can find more info on this if you google: wheat hybridization of gluten history, and check out the 5th website (Why you should probably stop eating wheat).
According to Dr Tom O’Bryan (as stated in the Functional Health Summit, July 2014, & on his website thedr.com) gluten IS a problem. And I agree…wheat has been hybridized (by man) to contain too much gluten. Dr O’Bryan said that we have a “cheesecloth” lining in our guts. Things that cause the “cheesecloth” to tear are gluten & lipopolysaccharides (exhaust from bacteria). Tears in the “cheesecloth” goes on, day after day, every time you eat gluten, and your body heals, but one day, you wear out the system and the tears in the “cheesecloth” don’t heal anymore & you get an autoimmunity disease. Dr. O’Bryan also stated that Dr Alessio Fasano, Chief, division of Pediatric Gastroenterology & Nutrition & Director, Center for Celiac Research at Harvard, said that no human can digest gluten.
From all the research I’ve done, testing on myself, and research by Dr Weston A. Price & Sally Fallon, I believe that if you buy or grow heirloom wheat (einkorn, spelt, emmer, faro, kamut, Pacific Bluestem, Japhet, Mirabella, Milagre, Globe, Sin El Pheel, Mauri, Red Fife, Turkey Red, Russian Beardless – http://www.sustainlife.org/blogs/sustainlife/2012/06/ancient-and-heirloom-wheat-trial-varieties/) that has only been naturally hybridized (doesn’t contain high amounts of gluten) and it’s organic (no pesticides) and you soak, sprout or soured (make a sourdough starter), then and only then is it good for you. Once you sprout the grain, you can dry it or dehydrate it (<115˚F.), then you can grind it into flour. Yes, this is a lot of work, but necessary for good health. You can also add the sprouts to salads or smoothies.
For more info, google” heirloom ancient wheat varieties
Also google wheat hybridization of gluten history – the 2nd website (The History of How Wheat Became Toxic) is very interesting
My parents have some wheat stored in their basement in big metal bins. They have had it for probably 40 years, maybe more. My dad says it will keep forever (or a very long time.) I am wondering if it is a non hybridized wheat grain. Hmmm. Interested in finding out more and/or how I could have it tested.
Graham cracker crumbs can be gluten-free, so check the label to be sure you’re buying
one of these varieties. The gluten-free products are also
dairy, soy, and nut-free. Chef Deb is committed to making your life better – starting with your baking.
I have a study done out of Padua University in Italy and published in the Scandinavian Journal of Gastroenterology. They showed no reactivity to Einkorn wheat in vitro with CD organs.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17060124
A study a year later suggesting that the genes producing the protein structures associated with CD response in modern wheat also are found in the DNA of ancient wheat, Einkorn (Triticum monococcum). (Mol Genet Genomics. 2009 Mar;281(3):289-300. doi: 10.1007/s00438-008-0412-8. Epub 2008 Dec 23.)
“Four bona fide toxic peptides and 13 immunogenic peptides were found. All the classes of storage proteins were shown to contain harmful sequences.”
A catalogue of Triticum monococcum genes encoding toxic and immunogenic peptides for celiac disease patients.
Vaccino P, Becker HA, Brandolini A, Salamini F, Kilian B.
Source
Consiglio per la Ricerca e la sperimentazione in Agricoltura-Unità di Ricerca per la Selezione dei Cereali e la Valorizzazione delle varietà vegetali (CRA-SCV), Via Forlani 3, 26866, S. Angelo Lodigiano (LO), Italy. [email protected]
Abstract
The celiac disease (CD) is an inflammatory condition characterized by injury to the lining of the small-intestine on exposure to the gluten of wheat, barley and rye. The involvement of gluten in the CD syndrome has been studied in detail in bread wheat, where a set of “toxic” and “immunogenic” peptides has been defined. For wheat diploid species, information on CD epitopes is poor. In the present paper, we have adopted a genomic approach in order to understand the potential CD danger represented by storage proteins in diploid wheat and sequenced a sufficiently large number of cDNA clones related to storage protein genes of Triticum monococcum. Four bona fide toxic peptides and 13 immunogenic peptides were found. All the classes of storage proteins were shown to contain harmful sequences. The major conclusion is that einkorn has the full potential to induce the CD syndrome, as already evident for polyploid wheats. In addition, a complete overview of the storage protein gene arsenal in T. monococcum is provided, including a full-length HMW x-type sequence and two partial HMW y-type sequences.