Wheatless Wednesday

April 27, 2011

By now you've probably heard of "Meatless Mondays". It's a day where even many omnivores pledge to only eat vegetarian meals to reduce the overall amount of meat being consumed. What you may not have heard of  yet is "Wheatless Wednesdays" it's MM's lesser known cousin. With the explosion of gluten intolerance in the population, it's a good idea to reduce our dietary dependence on wheat.

wheat

Think about how many people eat cereal for breakfast, a sandwich for lunch, and pasta for dinner. That's a whole lot of wheat and gluten, which is the protein found in wheat. Modern wheat has been significantly altered to have a much higher gluten content than even a decade or two ago. Gluten means glue in Latin, and this glue-like substance makes breads stickier and is an inexpensive ingredient for a large variety of processed foods.

Due to the over-consumption of this once innocent grain our bodies are having a hard time processing it. The body beings begins to believe that gluten is a foreign invader and the immune system begins making antibodies which to inflammation. Gluten intolerance has now been linked to every autoimmune disease, headaches, brain fog, fatigue, joint pain, eczema, PMS, and overall feeling of BLAH. So, even if you have no desire to go wheat or gluten free (gluten in also found in spelt, rye, barley, Kamut, and Farina) why not go for Wheatless Wednesdays  you might just find that you don't need that afternoon nap after all and there is  an extra spring in your step!

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