The prolamin proteins of grains— the gliadin of wheat, secalin of rye, hordein of barley, and zein of corn— initiate the small intestinal process that cause a perfect storm in our bodies. And they do so in more than one way. You could even argue that prolamin proteins are perfectly crafted to create autoimmunity.
Prolamin proteins of grains are masters at molecular mimicry. The prolamin proteins have been found to trigger immune responses to a number of human proteins, including the synapsin protein of the nervous system; the transglutaminase enzyme found in the liver, muscle, brain, and other organs; the endomysium of muscle cells; and the calreticulin of virtually every cell in the body.
If sequences in foreign proteins resemble sequences in a protein of the human body, a misdirected immune attack can be launched, sending antibodies, T lymphocytes, macrophages, tumor necrosis factor, and other weapons of the immune apparatus against the organ. Some targeted human proteins, such as transglutaminase and calreticulin, are ubiquitous and can therefore be associated with autoimmune inflammation of just about any organ of the body, from brain to pancreas.
Molecular mimicry is not the only means by which grains provoke autoimmunity; they also do so by increasing intestinal permeability. We’ve discussed how prolamins can resist digestion. When they remain intact, they bind to the intestinal lining and initiate a unique and complex process that opens the normal intestinal barriers to the contents of the intestines, such as food components, and to bacterial components and by-products, such as bacterial lipopolysaccharide— a potent driver of inflammation. The multistep process initiated by grain proteins was worked out through research performed by Alessio Fasano, MD, and his team at the University of Maryland, extraordinary work that makes the confident connection between the diseases of autoimmunity and grains. Grain prolamins increase the expression of the zonulin protein that, in turn, opens up the normal barriers—“ tight junctions”— between intestinal cells, allowing unwanted peptides and bacterial components into the bloodstream, where they can trigger an immune response. Besides gliadin and related prolamins, the only other trigger of this form of intestinal permeability are intestinal infections, such as cholera or dysbiosis.
This means that gliadin and related proteins of grains are the first step in initiating autoimmunity, a mechanism that has nothing to do with gluten sensitivity or celiac disease. Susceptibility to various autoimmune diseases can also be determined by genetic patterns, but in a staggering proportion of cases, the initiating event boils down to a single factor: consumption of grains.
Many conditions respond to grain elimination within days. For instance, joint pain in the fingers and wrists, acid reflux, and the bowel urgency of irritable bowel syndrome typically disappear within 5 days of your final pancake. Not so with the phenomena of autoimmunity. The swelling, joint pain, stiffness, and disfigurement of rheumatoid arthritis is going to take longer to respond to grain elimination, typically weeks to months, and occasionally even longer.
Perhaps this should come as no surprise, as the complex mechanisms of autoimmune inflammation develop over years. Likewise, changes in lymphocyte responses, clearance of antibodies, reductions in fluid, localized inflammation, and a wide range of other phenomena reverse themselves over time. The key is to eliminate all grains, and then wait; don’t declare the effort a failure if 2 weeks pass and nothing has happened. Patience is key. That’s why I liken the reversal of autoimmune conditions to slowing a locomotive or turning an ocean liner— neither occurs quickly, but they both happen with time.
It is also important to correct the other abnormal phenomena that make autoimmunity worse. The majority of people with autoimmune conditions fail to address factors that play an important role in permitting or sustaining autoimmunity; by addressing these factors, you stack the odds of complete relief from autoimmunity in your favor. You can find these discussions in the Wheat Belly Total Health and the Wheat Belly 10-Day Grain Detox.
Yours in grainless health,
Dr. William Davis
Would be really interested in your comment on an article by the Australian CSIRO
Where the CSIRO diet differs from, say, the paleo diet, is how it takes a very conservative approach to saturated fats as found in beef, pork and dairy – a decision based on a previous study led by Associate Professor Brinkworth that found a low carb diet containing saturated fats led to elevations of LDL or bad cholesterol.
One of the intriguing ingredients in this new diet is a highly water-soluble resistant barley grain that was developed six years ago by the CSIRO. Called BARLEYmax, the grain has the highest fibre content of any grain on the market, and the highest level of resistant starch which has been linked to weight loss and found to effectively promote gut health.
BARLEYmax is used in a breakfast cereal called Heart 1st, which the CSIRO is promoting as one of several high-fibre cereals in its suggested meal plans.
Sandra Sanderson wrote: «…comment on an article by the Australian CSIRO»
I don’t speak for Dr. Davis, but can offer some remarks.
There appear to be 3 separate issues here:
1. CSIRO, it’s eyes partly open
2. Benefits and hazards of BARLEYmax
3. Hazards of “Heart 1st” cereal
CSIRO
It’s encouraging that CSIRO has woken up to the high-carb problem, but they are still afraid of their shadow (“…very conservative approach to saturated fats as found in beef, pork and dairy…”), and they are still under the spell of the lipid hypothesis (“…found a low carb diet containing saturated fats led to elevations of LDL or bad cholesterol.“). Do your own homework on what constitutes a sane human diet.
BARLEYmax
This substance, by itself, may well be a useful prebiotic fiber whose benefits outweigh its hazards. A quick search didn’t clear up the matter. It apparently can be truly gluten-free, but I wasn’t able to rule out lectins that might make other fiber sources safer choices.
Heart 1st (images vary somewhat)
INGREDIENTS: Wholegrain Barley Flakes (BARLEYmax) 47%, Rolled Oats 25%, Cranberries 8% (Cranberries, Cane Sugar, Sunflower Oil), Golden Syrup, Almonds 5%, Buckwheat, Rice Syrup, Seeds 3% (Sunflower Seeds, Linseed), Cinnamon 0.5%, Antioxidant (Vitamin E[Soy]).
Contains: Gluten – containing Cereals, Soy and Tree Nuts
May be present: Traces of Milk, Peanuts and Sesame Seeds.
I wasn’t able to find a legible image of the Nutrition Information, but the ingredients alone tell the tale. This processed food-like substance is a mistake. Note straightaway that it is not even gluten-free. No fat in sight, other than a bit in the seeds. A bowl is apt to be quite high net carb on Wheat Belly guidelines. The oats also present avenin protein, risk of Ochratoxin A, gluten cross-contamination, and the normal grain pesticide hazards (unless organic, which isn’t evident). There are 3 different sugars. The soy-based vitamin E is probably there as a preservative, and not for your benefit.
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Dr. Davis: “Grain prolamins increase the expression of the zonulin protein that, in turn, opens up the normal barriers—” tight junctions”— between intestinal cells, allowing unwanted peptides and bacterial components into the bloodstream, where they can trigger an immune response. Besides gliadin and related prolamins, the only other trigger of this form of intestinal permeability are intestinal infections, such as cholera or dysbiosis.”
The question is, why are humans designed so that this can happen?… so that the intestinal lining becomes porous enough to pass through to the bloodstream both plant-based antigens and pathogenic viruses and bacteria upon ingesting agricultural carbohydrates?
Doesn’t the human immune system exist to protect us as individuals?
Sadly the answer is, No. The human immune system is designed to protect the human species. During times of overcrowding individuals are expendable.
On earth agricultural interglacials are times of human overcrowding, where viruses and bacteria can travel from person to person easily. Humans and old world primates share a trait unique among animals. We are capable of incorporating proteins from viruses and bacteria into our DNA, and epigenetically coding around them …exogenation.
Evolution takes advantage of agricultural overcrowding, using the zonulin permeability reaction to introduce pathogens. In each instance of deadly communicable disease this pathway kills off lots of humans, and relies on the few humans capable of exogenating the pathogen and surviving. The species becomes more disease resistant while the disease eliminates overcrowding.
It’s no accident that the deadliest viruses prefer to enter through the digestive system during times when we eat agricultural crops.
Bottom line? This provides the evolutionary mechanism which says that Dr. Davis is correct.
Hello there, I am 71 yrs. old and during the last four years I have been working on a grain free, dairy free, nightshade free….in short, a Paleo rich diet. My recent blood tests reveal perfect health in the medical sense, but in the lay sense, I am so well that I could fly!
Why oh why is health so covert, when pathology is the norm?
I visited a lovely young Chiropractor four years ago for pain everywhere. His team preached Paleo , the first golden rule being ‘get off the grains’!
One of his recommendations was Wheat Belly by Dr Davis, which I read with amazement.
It was new and shocking to me and I took years to yield to the perfect sense.
I cheated mercilessly along the way but now I can proudly say that I am here :)
Thank you Dr Davis for your health advice which is making a better world!
Love and best wishes to all,
JHD Adelaide, Australia.
Jennifer Hillary Devine wrote: «Why oh why is health so covert, when pathology is the norm?»
Because the business of healthcare is in the business of delivering care, and not in the business of delivering actual health. Indeed, the way the money presently flows tends to reward chronic and acute care, and punishes creating a clientele that doesn’t need on-going interventional care.
Consensus doctors are in the business of treating pathologies, frequently just the symptoms, sometimes just the markers, often ineffectively, and unsurprisingly with risk of more pathology as side effect of treatments. Root cause correction is very rarely on the menu outside of Functional Medicine. In the case of most chronic non-infectious ailments, the root causes arise from what we eat, which is a topic almost entirely ignored in med school. The menu isn’t on the menu, and even when it is, the prevailing dogma there is still deadly.
The profession doesn’t even really hide their priorities. The mission statement for one of the North American doctors’ guilds is: “…promote the art and science of medicine and the betterment of public health.” Mission statements are not casual phrasing. Organizations construct them quite carefully. Let’s parse this one:
art
I translate this to “whatever the membership is already doing”, which may or may not be backed by any real…
science
I wonder if most doctors actually know how to read science papers. I read them, and perhaps 80% of them need to be printed on tear-off rolls so they’d be more useful in the loo. We are still recovering from the agenda-driven, warped (if not fraudulent) lipid “science” of the 1950-1975 era. Nutrition papers are even less accurate, but typical MDs never read nut. papers.
betterment of public health
Notice that actual health is a tertiary goal, and one that tends to be quite accidental under the Standard of Care.
So where does that leave us?
Self-directed healthcare is where, which was the subject of a separate blog post by Dr. Davis last week.
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Hello,
My latest blood work results are as follows:
Glucose serum fasting 88.3;
Cholesterol 270 (normal range =50);
Triglycerides 47.8 (normal range <150.6);
DHEAS 420 (normal range 35-256);
Testosterone 37.5 (normal range <57.7);
Progesterone <0.22 (postmenopausal <0.22);
Estradiol <16.3 (postmenopausal <55);
TSH 0.94 and 0.89 after one week (normal range 0.35-5);
T4 free 17 and 18 after one week (normal range 12-22);
T3 free 3.7 and 3.8 after one week (normal range 2.6-5.7).
I am a 46 year old female. My main symptoms are hair loss, absence of a period and 15-20 lb of excess belly fat which is hard to lose even with the WB lifestyle.
I would appreciate any advice and suggestions anyone can give me.
Thank you very much.
Mina
Mina wrote: «My latest blood work results are as follows:»
Are you the same Mina who has commented off and on since 2011, and/or was featured in a 2015-02-25 article? (I have no way of knowing)
The blog format is not a very productive place to explore labs. Dr. Davis’ Cureality site is better suited for that. This article I wrote there might be useful to you:
Wheat Belly / Cureality Suggested Labs
I can’t make any sense of some of your numbers due to lack of units of measure. I wouldn’t have any insight on the most of the hormone markers in any case.
On the thyroid, the fT3 looks to be below target. That, plus the symptoms, suggest that a complete thyroid work-up is indicated, including rT3, TA, AM temperature, and having a physician who pays attention to symptoms. Are you supplementing iodine?
On thyroid, there’s a video series running this week that Dr. Davis recommended. I linked to the site under the recent Undoctored thread here on the blog. You can also use the blog Search feature on “thyroid” for several useful articles.
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Hi Bob,
Thank you for your reply.
No, I’m not the same Mina.
Here are the results with the units of measure:
Glucose serum fasting 88.3 mg/dL (normal range 65-106);
Cholesterol 270 mg/dL (normal range =50)
Triglycerides 47.8 mg/dL (normal range <150.6);
DHEAS 420 µg/dL (normal range 35-256);
Testosterone 37.5 ng/dL (normal range <57.7);
Progesterone <0.22 ng/mL (postmenopausal <0.22);
Estradiol <16.3 pg/mL (postmenopausal <55);
TSH 0.94 and 0.89 mIU/L after one week (normal range 0.35-5);
T4 free 17 and 18 pmol/L after one week (normal range 12-22);
T3 free 3.7 and 3.8 pmol/L after one week (normal range 2.6-5.7).
I'm supplementing iodine with organic kelp. My morning body (oral) temperature is always above 97.3F.
Dr. Davis talks about low DHEA in his book Total Health but I don't know how to lower elevated DHEAS. Is this the reason I experience hair loss and weight gain?
Mina
Mina wrote: «Here are the results with the units of measure:»
Thanks. The FBG and TG look well within program targets. It’s peculiar that HDL is absent.
The elevated DHEAS, which I presume is DHEA Sulfate, is new to me. Dr. Davis’ works, going back to Track Your Plaque, focus on depressed DHEA-S, usually addressed with monitored supplementation. I haven’t found any discussions of elevated.
So to follow up on it (which is getting out of the scope of what I do here) would just involve the same sort of searching that you’re probably already doing, and you’re probably many clicks ahead of me. If this marker is indicating a problem, it may be a case of “consult a skilled practitioner”.
re: «Is this the reason I experience hair loss and weight gain?»
But my snap non-professional insight is to be a bit skeptical of elevated DHEA-S with those symptoms, because hair loss is normally associated with low DHEA-S. Further, hair loss is also associated with thyroid problems, for which you do not have a full suite of tests, which might clarify that low Free T3. Because you’re taking kelp, it does suggest that it’s less likely that it’s a simple case of iodine deficiency. Auto-immunity (e.g. Graves’ & Hashimoto’s) need to be ruled out.
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I know wheat and gluten and grains will cause you to have tremors of the brain. your head will shake and you can’t feel it. I know for I have them when I eat wheat of any kind and grains. I also eat for my blood type and it keeps me from the tremors in my brain.
We are what we eat and it must be pure food no process low fat foods of any kind.
Helen Evans wrote: «I also eat for my blood type…»
That would be Peter J. D’Adamo’s Blood Type Diet®? Which blood type are you, and what did his program suggest for diet? My understanding is that for one of the types, the diet is approximately vegan, and there are significant micronutrient issues that must be covered if anyone is going to do that.
As far as I can tell, Dr. Davis hasn’t discussed the BTD since 2011 (and BTD has changed since then). Not having studied BTD myself, my approach would be to implement Wheat Belly first, and if it doesn’t resolve all issues, then consider any BTD strategies that are both consistent with WB, and actually turn out to work.
re: «We are what we eat and it must be pure food no process low fat foods of any kind.»
If someone is eating low fat, they probably aren’t following Wheat Belly (which is substantially more than just grain-free).
My personal view is that the future of optimized human diet is indeed going to factor in genotype, phenotype (which includes BT), and current/desired epigenetic expression, all of which seem to be the direction that Dr. D’Adamo is heading. But it’s critical to nail the top hazards in diet before prioritizing familial refinements. Everyone, regardless of blood type, needs to address no-grains, low net carbs, high specific fats, gut flora, modern micronutrient issues, thyroid, and other issues. Wheat Belly Total Health and later books cover it all.
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And positive results with grain elimination and psoriasis? Thanks.
Eric wrote: «And positive results with grain elimination and psoriasis?»
Commonly reported. You can use the blog’s search feature on “psoriasis” but you might start here:
Don’t Let Grains Ruin Your Skin
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