Primal Nutrition - Why Grains Are Unhealthy and Downright Dangerous

Primal Nutrition - Why Grains Are Unhealthy and Downright
Dangerous! by Steve J. Adams

So let's get down to business. Why are grains so unhealthy for humans?

The Foundations

Way back before agriculture, humans predominately ate plants, animals, fruits, nuts
and seeds. We hunted; we gathered. This went on for a very long time, until
somewhere along the line (roughly 10,000 years ago, actually) agriculture came into
existence and grains (wheat, pasta, rice, corn, rye, barley) became an integral part of
the human diet.

Yes, grains are:

robust
inexpensive
filling

...but they are not nearly as nutritionally-dense as the primal alternatives; in fact,
they cause some serious damage.

Grains = Sugar

Well, maybe not literally, but to the human body, wheat is the same as sugar. Let's
say you eat a slice of bread - whole grain or white, it doesn't matter. What happens
next?

Your body converts the bread into glucose (sugar!);
Sugar moves into the bloodstream;
Insulin is sent to transport the sugar out of the bloodstream
...and eventually to various parts of the body (liver, muscle, fat cells)

When this happens chronically (see: anyone who eats grains and sugar on a daily
basis), we become insulin resistant. This leads to increased fat storage and risk of
diabetes, among other things.

Chronic Grain Eating = Inflammation

What is inflammation? Think of the redness and swelling that you experience when
you get cut. That's it. It's a great mechanism for our body to speed up healing, but
when we chronically eat grains, we induce a low-level grade of inflammation that is
across our entire body (chronic systemic inflammation). In short, inflammation is
being exposed as the root cause of much of humanity's disease, including heart
disease, atherosclerosis, cancer, and more. To go a bit deeper with this: omega 6
fatty acids, found bountifully in grains, are pro-inflammatory. Good thing we have
omega 3s!

How About the Fiber?

Other than the fact that vegetables contain enough fiber for our diets (so long as we
get enough of them), fiber is also purported to be a cause of many of the problems
that conventional wisdom claims it cures.

In A Nutshell

Humans aren't meant to eat grains (wheat, pasta, rice, corn, rye, barley). Grain
consumption leads to increased fat storage and systemic inflammation, which in turn
leads to a host of diseases.

About The Author

Written by Steve Adams of , a health and wellness blog made simple.
Wellness in a nutshell!.

When speaking with people about
primal/paleo, the devastation and
shock that comes across that
person's face immediately after I say
"grains are unhealthy" is a completely
expected and reasonable way to
react. I mean, how could someone
say that? We've all been told about
the so-called "health, whole grains"
as an antithesis to the "heart-attack
inducing saturated fats", and these
notions usually come from reputable
sources. So when primal comes
along and turns someone's world
upside down, I expect them to be
skeptical!

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The content on
this website is for educational purposes only. Please consult with your physician before using natural
remedies and before making any drastic changes to your diet or exercise program.