Is Einkorn Gluten Free?
If you’re asking yourself whether Einkorn contains gluten, the answer is “Yes, it absolutely does!”…but I have a secret to tell you. And I should probably disclose that this is not something your “everyday family doctor” is going to tell you. Here’s the secret: not all wheat gluten is created equal.
I like to explain by comparing sucanat and aspartame sweeteners. Imagine pouring a perfectly sweetened blueberry syrup over your hot-off-the-stove pancakes for your morning breakfast. If that syrup is made from natural sucanat sweetener or aspartame, it’s going to taste great either way. However, inside your body, the aspartame is killing brain cells while the sucanat is an unmodified substance that most people’s body can process naturally, without any damage to the body.
Einkorn has an entirely different genetic makeup than modern wheat. Modern wheats have been hybridized through years and years and millions and millions of $$$ in research. The goal of hybridization has been to increase yields, fight against plant disease, pests, weather conditions, etc. and many are starting to wonder if this long history of hybridization is the explanation for the rising number of people with a high intolerance to gluten.
I’m not saying I have all the answers…that’s why I have this website and it’s why I am researching the history and nutritional properties of Einkorn.
Einkorn differs from modern wheat in 3 important ways, all of which may contribute to gluten intolerance:
- Most modern wheat is a hybrid of many different grains and grasses.
- Einkorn has a 14 chromosomes , whereas modern wheat has a 42 chromosomes which changes the gluten structure
- Einkorn is considered more nutritious than modern wheat, based on the higher level of protein, essential fatty acids, phosphorous, potassium, pyridoxine, and beta-carotene.
Is it any wonder that so many people today are plagued with allergies and even extreme sickness as a result of eating modern wheat?
Anyway, getting back to the original question of whether Einkorn flour contains gluten. Most people ask this question because they would like to start eating bread again. I hope my answer gives you some hope.
Additionally, I have met some doctors who are working with suffers of celiac and gluten intolerance to see if they can safely eat specific, tested sources of Einkorn. These patients are going through a healing regimen first to get to this point and the initial results are very promising.
Stay tuned…I think we’re on to something here.
122 thoughts on “Is Einkorn Gluten Free?”
Print on this website is TOO LIGHT and TOO SMALL TO READ EASILY.
Hi Carolyn, thank you for your feedback. If you’re on a computer, you can go to the right hand corner for the drop-down menu and there will be an option to zoom in and make the text bigger. Let me know if you have questions about that.
I have several recipes calling for white whole or whole wheat flour. My husband’s doctor suggested eating gluten free (no celiac test done). Could Einkorn flour work in those recipes as a replacement?
Hi Marge, for starters, einkorn is not gluten free. However because the gluten is very different, many people who can’t handle wheat can handle einkorn without problems. Second, einkorn can make all the baked goods that wheat can but it can’t be used straight across in recipes that call for wheat flour because it behaves very differently. I would suggest starting with recipes written for einkorn.
I made my living for 3 decades teaching folks what destroys gut health and how to heal gut health.
There are many ways we are destroying gut health but without question the # 1 reason for gut issues in the US is vaccines. ALL vaccines destroy gut health.
The pharmaceutical industry and Monsanto have both totally hoodwinked the masses into believing their clever lies regarding their so called “safe and effective” products.
My free advice if you want your family to be healthy-
Never ever vaccinate.
Have been GF for about 10 years. It is the wheat lacking ALL parts of the berry in the flour. Germ, endosperm and bran all work together for digestion. It is a miracle. If the flour is lacking any one part of this i can only assume that it would not be tolerated well. Maybe OK, not well. I don’t like to take the risk.
So, the simple answer is grind your own berries to ensure you get the whole berry OR purchase flour that is 100% extracted. The over hybridizing of all of our food sources, seeds for gardens, landscaping, etc slowly erodes away how nature was intended to be.
Unsifted.com will be a big help for all that are GF
as a biochemist, this answer makes no sense. if it’s gluten, it’s gluten, there’s no “different structure of it. if it has different structure, it may as well be called something else.
additionally, to suggest that sugar, although referred to by brand name in this text, has no bad affect on human body, is just preposterous. it is considered most addictive drug in the world, making everyone obese, diabetic, cancerous and so on.
Hello, thank you for your comments. Yes, the science has not quite caught up on what makes the gluten in einkorn different, but it is clear that it is not the same, or at least does not behave the same in the body. Perhaps it will be called something different when more research is done. We are not scientists but have A LOT of anecdotal evidence. Of course, that’s not the only kind of evidence that matters, but it should not be discounted. We have hundreds of customers who cannot handle the gluten in wheat but can handle it in einkorn. I have a friend I know well who will be throwing up hours after eating wheat, but she found she could eat flour in Europe with no issues. This made her want to try einkorn, and she has had no issues with it. We hear that same story over and over again, but we recommend that people with full celiac disease consult with a doctor since it does have gluten. We wish we knew all the reasons for this difference! And we are aware that sugar, even unrefined sugar, is not going to be like kale in the body, but we believe in moderation. We use unrefined sugar, honey, or maple syrup in small amounts and believe it is possible to make this part of a healthy diet and we much prefer it to sweeteners made in a lab. We appreciate your feedback and great points. I’d be happy to answer any questions you may have!
Happy to stumble across this article, and look forward to learning more about local artisan bakers in my area (Cape Cod) that might use more ancient grains like Einkorn. If you haven’t already, please consider checking out these two podcast episodes featuring an amazing human being, Dr. Zach Bush, who is a wealth of information on this topic, and has a ton of research/data to back up his content.
https://www.richroll.com/podcast/zach-bush-353/
https://www.richroll.com/podcast/zach-bush-414/