— Health from a biblical perspective —

Dear Health-minded Reader,

The biggest challenge faced in changing from this nation’s “suicide diet” to a better one, is getting sound information.  We all harbor years of wrong, incomplete and/or outright erroneous ideas about diet and health.  Also, when further inquiries are begun, we’re then faced with a deluge of conflicting notions.

One such area of considerable confusion concerns grains.  By virtue of information appearing in the mass media, especially when accredited to credentialed “experts”, it’s accepted as true.  However, present research invalidates many of the widely held ideas — in particular, regarding the downside of cereal grains.  Do your homework, not only to gain the light of truth but in so doing, you just might discover the cause of your own chronic, painful and dangerous health issue.

Should We Eat Grains?

Are they really good for you?

The quick answer is a qualified “no”. Hold it!  I realize that’s tantamount to attacking Mother’s Day, apple pie, etc. — but you DO want the truth don’t you?  What follows will not likely agree with the “party line” espoused by the U.S.D.A., or their proponents unaware of that agency’s conflict of interests (c’mon, the astute don’t ask McYukko’s about the merit of eating burgers).

What follows is supported by the most current, mainline research and independent studies — but please do your homework.  We suggest starting with the resources listed on pps. 209-237 of “Dangerous Grains” by James Braly, M.D. and Ron Hoggan, M.A.  But be warned, what you’re about to learn is alarming.  On the other hand, you also might discover the cause of a persistent health issue that has defied resolution.

Reasons to question grains

There’s a growing body of data suggesting that humans and grains are basically incompatible.  Reasons put forth are:  (1) even after cooking, we have marginal digestive ability to completely break down their complex proteins; (2) cereal grains (wheat, rye, barley and oats) contain protein molecules that are especially difficult to digest, components of which actually injure the GI tract;  (3) most leave an acid metabolic ash in bodies that are already typically deficient in alkalinity;  (4) some of grain’s proteins produce in the body, exorphins which are biochemically similar to the addictive and health damaging components in heroin, cocaine and morphine;  (5) some 200 chronic illnesses and conditions have been traced to grain consumption, including intestinal and autoimmune diseases, osteoporosis, cancer, chronic pain, digestive and brain and disorders, psoriasis problematic pregnancies. (6) eating cooked grains encourages consumption of more (bad) dietary fat.

The Main Culprit

Gluten is a group of storage proteins including gliadin and sub-groups such as glutenins.  They are made up of long (hard to digest) strings of amino acids, the very molecular structure that makes them so desirable to bakers because gluten lends malleability and elasticity to dough.  Contrary to the prevailing notion that only 1 in 5000 are negatively impacted by these proteins, current data puts the number nearer to 1 in 3 — or approximately 90 million Americans.  Symptoms range from addiction to gluten’s opioids, to celiac disease and frankly, far worse.

A particularly harmful component is gliadin because it damages the small intestine’s lining and lawn-like villi. They are flattened upon contact, impairing their ability to absorb food nutrients, but that’s not all.  This mucosal intestinal lining releases many gut hormones that stimulate or aid digestion and the immune function.  These hormones also communicate with the brain and heart.  Equally important, it serves as a barrier from the environment — much like our skin.  A healthy lining blocks absorption of undigested or partly digested food as well as toxins, non-foods, yeast, bacteria and parasites.  It is perhaps the largest “organ” in our body, its surface area estimated to be larger than a tennis court.  But, unlike our outer skin — it’s a mere one-cell thick!

Gliadin further damages the lining by causing gaps between the shoulder-to-shoulder cells, resulting in increased intestinal permeability — “leaky gut” for short.  This allows all manner of foreign material into the bloodstream and leads to a host of serious, secondary health problems.  Ordinarily, these un- or partially digested food molecules would be wasted by exiting the body along with other fecal matter.  Instead, their entry in the blood is viewed by the immune system as an enemy attack.  Antibody production often follows, causing inflammation at the invasion site.  Moreover, chemicals released as a result of the inflammation cause even greater permeability and a self-perpetuating cycle is established.  Though leaky gut is caused by a number of factors (antibiotics, indomethican, aspirin and ibuprofen, etc) gluten is one of the most widespread.  It’s common for people to ingest several doses of gluten every day of their lives.

Food Allergies

There is a lot of evidence to show that somewhere between 15-42% of the general population are, by virtue of a leaky gut, absorbing some of these undigested gluten proteins into their blood.  Once our immune systems produce gluten antibodies and as long as the leaky gut condition persists, the “allergic” reaction to any food containing gluten continues.  Can you better understand where food allergies come from; especially to wheat?

Autoimmune Diseases

When proteins making up our own tissues appear similar to “invader” proteins, our immune systems will attack our body!  The best explanation of how that happens is through a dynamic called molecular mimicry (MM) and it is THE link between gluten and arthritis, MS, diabetes, psoriasis, liver and thyroid disease, etc.  MM is driven by the fact that very different proteins are frequently structured similarly.  When foreign proteins or large fragments of protein enter the blood, their presence is sensed by the immune system, interpreting them as non-self and potentially harmful.  It begins production of antibodies tailored to identify and destroy those invaders.  These antibodies act just as they would to the proteins of infectious agents such as bacteria and viruses; they attack.  The immune system also produces memory cells which log and recognize certain parts of the invader’s protein structure, should it ever enter the bloodstream again.

The part of the protein sensed by the antibody is a set of amino acids, called an “epitope”, to which the antibody attaches itself.  Like a combination lock, these groups have a number of amino acids arranged in a specific order.  The memory cells recognize the invader by that combination of amino acids in their protein structure and signals for rapid production of many antibodies.  They are called “antigen specific” antibodies because the immune system has constructed them to identify and attack only molecules with that epitope sequence.  This process is the basis of vaccination and acquired immunity.

The Disease Connection

Alarming similarities between gluten protein structure and human tissue have been reported and it is now believed that some gluten antibodies turn against the person’s body.  The blood of gluten-consuming, leaky gut persons always has a high number of antigen-specific gluten antibodies.  It is thus theorized that gluten consumption lies at the root of most autoimmune disease.  According to Braly and Hoggan¹, “Gluten is at least a factor in many, perhaps most cases of autoimmune diseases.”

In Conclusion

In the most superficial way, we’ve perused the connection between the consumption of gluten-containing foods with autoimmune problems and food allergies.  Far more detailed studies link gluten proteins to over 200 chronic illnesses and health conditions — including infertility, osteoporosis, chronic pain, over- and underweight issues, brain disorders, intestinal disease, arthritis, diabetes, autism, AIDS, asthma, ataxia, eczema, anemia, ADD, celiac, myasthenia gravis, calcium deficiency, cirrhosis, colitis, dementia, dermatitis, diarrhea, dyslexia, etc., etc.  State-of-the-art research and studies strongly suggest cereal grains are harmful to health and should not be eaten.

The Good News

Some grains are non-acid-forming and without gluten.  Eaten raw, they can be very health supportive by first soaking or spouting to disarm their enzyme inhibitors and magnify their nutritional benefit.  They make marvelous dressings, sauces, dips and when dehydrated below 107 degrees, make fine crackers and breads.  Best of all, they’re still LIVE!

1. Dangerous Grains pg 191.

— From our readers —

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Question: How come my bone loss has increased for another consecutive year in spite of taking calcium supplements and consuming lots of dairy? — (often asked)

Answer:  We do not, cannot, nor would we attempt to diagnose or prescribe for your health condition.  However, we can state that you’ve identified two likely causes: the dairy and the supplements. Strange, I know!  Although they share a common downside of being “dead”, it’s more complicated than that.  — ed.

Disclaimer: The Hallelujah Health NEWS newsletter emphasizes nutrition-related health issues, to educate, encourage and provide lifestyle information.  There is no intent to diagnose, treat, prescribe for, cure or prevent disease.  The author or publisher assumes no responsibility for the use or effects of said information.  Hallelujah Health NEWS is a free public educational service, solely to promote a healthier lifestyle.

ABOUT US:  Founded in 1993, Hallelujah Living Ministries is a donation-based, non-denominational Christian outreach to uplift, inform and challenge followers of Jesus Christ.  For more information or a copy of our always-free print newsletter, please include a  postal mail address along with your comments and prayer requests. Thank you for visiting  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

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