200: Top Takeaways + Q&A from Benefits of Eating Wheat
We’re keeping the discussion going about the eye-opening information Sue Becker shared in the last two podcasts on the benefits of eating real wheat. In this podcast you’ll learn:
How I implement the freshly milled organic wheat into my diet
Thoughts on how Biblical people incorporated carbs and protein
Answers to your most pressing questions
I’ve been blown away by the positive feedback and receptivity to this topic. Let’s wrap it up with some Q&A and important takeaways.
Come listen!
EPISODE 200: Top Takeaways + Q&A from Benefits of Eating Wheat
Show Notes
(0:00) Intro
Hello my friend, welcome back to the club, how are you today?
I wanted to do a follow-up on the wheat podcasts because I think many of you, like me, were kind of blown away by Sue’s information, I got a lot of great feed back.
I want to make clear that I am still eating gluten free aside from what I am baking at home with the freshly milled flour.
Gluten free in the case of an elimination diet or a gut healing protocol. There are still good reasons to take gluten out of the diet just like you might have to remove dairy or eggs for a while.
True food allergy is an alllergy to the protein. So whether it’s the proteins in the wheat, dairy, eggs, soy, corn, peanut - those are the most common - the allergy is to the protein.
We need to consider the way these foods have changed over the last 100-150 years and how it has been processed.
We have to consider the poor digestive function of most Americans.
Like Sue said, one of the most recommended and prescribed medications is an acid blocker which prevents you from making the stomach acid you need to break down the protein. When they can’t be broken down, it not only feels like bricks in your belly but leads to leaky gut and those big ol food molecules passing into your bloodstream in a way that alarms the immune system and then you start having immune responses.
But what if you ate the food in its highest quality form and prepared in a way that is good for you AND you had good digestive function? That’s the ultimate trifecta - the holy trinity if you will when it comes to food consumption.
(5:30) Breaking Down the Macronutrients:
The Carb Convo:
I had a question about how I’m working this bread out in a macronutrient way.
Being able to eat carbs that I like is the whole crux of how Feast 2 Fast started.
If you’ve taken F2F with me you know that it’s all about how to - what I call - Be The Boss of Your Carbs.
How can we still eat these delicious foods and stay at a healthy weight, keep our blood sugar regulated - all that good stuff.
I’m fitting this wheat bread into it just as I would gluten free bread. But there’s really not any easy to access, store bought gluten free bread that is good for you. The most redeeming thing I can say about them is that they are gluten free. There’s no nutrition in them.
After hearing Sue speak, I was like - wouldn’t it be better to eat bread that actually has some redeeming qualities that actually offers nutrition like B vitamins and Vitamin E?
In F2F we’re always looking for the most upgraded versions of our Heck yeahs. And I would argue that fresh baked bread with freshly milled organic wheat is a definite upgrade over storebought or even most homemade GF breads.
(10:17) Let’s talk about protein:
When Sue said she didn’t need as much protein because she’s a grandma and getting older I wanted to say - Sue, yes you do sister friend - don’t skimp on the protein as you age.
Do I believe Biblical women ate 90g or 120g of animal protein every day? Absolutely not.
In the CHC and in my 10x Stronger groups which, in that program, we DO try to hit up to 90g of protein on most days. We make 120g an optional extra challenge. It’s not easy to do.
We have so many health obstacles now that they didn’t use to have in biblical times. Don’t get me wrong, they had obstacles. But they were of a more acute nature - like somebody getting a cut and having an infection, childbirth, those sorts of things. People weren’t dying of heart attacks, diabetes and cancer like they are today.
What we have now is about a billion more toxins that disrupt hormones, gut terrain and brain function. We have an unbelievable amount of new “foods” that didn’t used to exist including seed oils and processed carbohydrate foods.
Carbs today have become hyperpalatable, but when you focus 20-30% diet on getting protein, it helps prevent overeating, it’s the macronutrient that most profoundly changes your body composition in a positive way - make more lean, and you just don’t feel so hungry all the time.
Yes, you can get all of the amino acids you need from plant based foods like beans and rice - but you have to work harder at it and risk overeating. Grains are carbohydrates. And you have to eat quite a helping of each to get the right amount of EAAs you need to keep your muscle.
You have to have good gut bacteria to be able to process all of these carbohydrates and that’s another problem we have in modern times. Biblical people would have had a strong presence and diversity of gut bacteria because they didn’t have all of the toxins, processed food and antibiotics.
I recently heard Dr Gabrielle Lyon who is a protein expert talk about studies of certain gut bacteria that might help plant proteins be utilized more like complete proteins that you might get from animals.
(14:40) Plant Foods:
Job 30 says: From want and famine they were solitary, fleeing into the wilderness, in former time desolate and waste who cut up mallow by the bushes, and juniper roots for their food.(Job 30:3-4)
In a Biblical commentary it said: Mallows is likely “saltwort” and “broom” is likely Juniper? The saltwort is used as a salad, and the broom roots—a root crop. Job says, in fact, that these vegetables were the food of the poorer classes.”
Sue mentioned Isaiah 7:15 which says Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil, and choose the good.
The commentary suggests that it wasn’t butter but curds like Sue said, but the point the verse is making is that those would have been common foods for children. It says, The common food of children in that country, where these articles were in great abundance, and of the best sort. The principal meaning of the verse seems to be, that this child, called Immanuel, should be brought up in the usual manner,
Meaning, Jesus would eat like all the other kids.
Nowadays, most everything is sprayed with pesticides!
Pair that with the poor soil conditions of today and not only are many of our plant foods reduced in nutrients but also come with a big helping of poison.
(24:11) One thing I meant to ask Sue and didn’t get to was about using yeast vs fermentation. I asked her in an email and she said this:
We predominately use an instant yeast for our yeast leavened breads. The brand is Fermapan (a French strain) Instant yeast. We sell it in 1 lb vacuumed sealed packages and is very reasonably priced.
I do some sourdough which I do love. But I am not totally convinced is the ONLY way to enjoy the nutritional benefits of bread. Sure the longer, slower fermentation will increase perhaps some of the nutritional benefits much like the fermentation of milk to yogurt increases the B vitamin content.
But any fermentation will make nutrients more available whether that is with a traditional sour dough or yeast.
Sourdough leavening has both yeast and lactobacillus organism. Some people claim that they find they can better digest sour dough bread and therefore prefer only sour dough.
I have never had a problem with either. And since as a culture, we Americans are more used to a softer, fluffier bread, I typically use a straight yeast dough for my bread.
(25:48) Q&A
Angie:
Q: How often can you or are you supposed to eat the bread - is it daily? Every meal?
A: There’s no rule. I don’t eat it every day and certainly not every meal. I probably eat it 2-3 times a week. As I mentioned earlier I keep it moderated within my F2F carb parameters and am balancing it out with other carbs I might be eating in the day so as not to over do it. That’s the way I’ve eaten for years and years. This has been a lateral step for me - just a healthier version of the bread or muffins or pancakes or whatever I might be cooking for the family and eating. I think you could eat it every day if you wanted to - I just do think we have to be mindful of carb load.
Q: Can you make the bread and freeze it, or will that change the “good stuff”? Just thinking about if I could make it for my son in college and freeze it until I can get it to him.
A: Yes, freezing it is a great option. The key is not to let the flour sit too long before you bake with it because it starts oxidizing - that’s the problem. You want to use the flour soon after you mill it. But you can bake it and freeze it and it will be fine.
I haven’t frozen any yet. I typically bake it - in my bread machine - take it out and let it cool, well usually I cut off a slice while it’s still hot and slather it in butter and oh my goodness its so good. And it’s really filling. But once it’s cool, I wrap it up in a tea towel and leave it on the counter actually I don’t even put it in the fridge. I feel like somewhere along the way I heard to do that but I can’t say for sure. That’s just what I do. And then it’s gone in about 2 days - 3 days tops.
Q: Is there one grain that is better than others? I noticed she mentioned several grains in the wheat family - is there an advantage to any one over the others?
A: I think it depends on what you’re using it for. On her website she says:
To make a yeast bread, you will need hard red or hard white wheat. For pastries, pancakes, biscuits, or any baking powder/baking soda recipe, you can use a soft white wheat (the hard wheat can be used for these recipes, but the soft wheat will be lighter).
If you can, get a bucket of hard red wheat AND a bucket of hard white wheat. Experiment, see which type your family likes best. OR, get a bucket of one type and ask for a few pounds of the other. The red has the "nutty" flavor we all associate with whole wheat. The white wheat is milder than the red, and is more suitable for breads with toppings or fillings, or where you don't want to taste as much of the bread (our Ruben Bread and Turkey-Sausage Bread are stuffed; pizza and coffee cake have toppings; French bread and cakes taste better with white wheat).
I will say that I have the hard white, spelt and einkorn. I haven’t used the hard red. And I’ve mixed it up. I’ve made bread with a spelt/einkorn combo - which is a darker, slightly denser bread than the hard white. I’ve mixed the hard white with the one of the others - I’ve just kind of played with it with no rhyme or reason. That’s for bread. When I’ve made pancakes or muffins I’ve used straight up hard white. Listen, I’m just learning about all this too but there’s no wheat police that’s going to show up if you do it wrong. K? Just play around with it. As I said I use my Hamilton bread machine - no specific reason for that one it’s just the one my mom gave me for christmas a few years ago because it has a GF setting and that’s what I used to make the GF bread. But I use the whole grain setting which is #11 when I make the wheat bread - inquiring minds wanted to know that. Got that question from karen. Also karen wanted to know the recipe I use and so I will tell you here but also put it in the show notes and also email it to those of you on my email list so you don’t have to go hunting and pecking for it. That’s the benefit of being on my Sunday Sendout list. If you’re not already on it - sign up to get these kinds of updates.
Recipe I use in my bread machine (in this order):
1.5 c hot water
⅓ c extra virgin olive oil
⅓ c honey
1 egg
2 egg yolks
2 t salt
4-4.5 c flour (from 2 cups milled grains)
1 packet organic yeast
If you have a recipe that calls for lecithin you can use egg yolks. Lecithin is an emulsifier and helps everything blend better. I diidn’t have any when i got all of my stuff and I was eager to make the bread and I had remembered you could use egg yolks in that way and I like having the nutrition of the egg yolks in there and it worked so that’s what I’ve been doing.
Also Angie - I’m sure there’s some slight variation of nutrition among the different flours. I think Sue uses these the most but she also mentioned the Ezekial blend that she likes as well that is a mix of the different grains. I haven’t tried that yet.
Julie:
Q: To be clear, the milled bread does have natural Gluten in it (natural part of the process), however it makes it okay because of all of the natural vitamins, etc. in that are being preserved and not stripped away like the commercial breads out there?
A: Correct Julie. It’s naturally packaged with everything else which doesn’t leave the gluten so exposed - you might say.
Q: How does the bread that is "Gluten-free" formulate into bread if it's a natural process that takes place? Does this mean that Gluten free breads, pie crusts, bagels, etc. have a substitute that is not healthy or more unnatural?
A: Gluten free flour - which can be made from lots of different kinds of flours - blends of rice and corn, cassava flour, almond flour and coconut flour are gluten free - but they don’t have those gluten forming proteins that Sue talked about. That’s why GF breads aren’t light and fluffy like breads with gluten proteins. So they’re not necessarily adding anything in place of that they just don’t have it naturally. Make sense?
Q: Do you know if there are options to purchase already "milled packaged flour" to make our own bread, muffins vs. having to purchase a mill machine and make it? Also, are there already "milled breads" and other bread products on the market such as a Whole Foods, etc. Or the only way is to mill the wheat and make the foods ourselves?
A: I don’t know of any already milled packaged flour - I’m sure there’s some out there - but the concern there is that the flour starts to oxidize quickly so it’s not shelf stable. Now, maybe if somebody fresh milled it and then froze it? I read somewhere that you could freeze your milled grain for up to 6 months. But I think the ideal use is to mill it and use it within a day. The same answer would apply to buying milled breads - they would have to be in the freezer to preserve the nutrients. I would do an internet search for local millers in your area and see if you can find something.
Elaine:
Q: Do you think people that have IgA antibodies to gliadin show up on their GI Map are a candidate for freshly milled whole wheat? Or would that be indicative of celiac disease?
A: Having IgA antibodies on a GI MAP is not a marker of Celiac disease. It can indicate a response to gluten or one of the many proteins in wheat. But like Sue and I talked about - there could be a lot of reasons someone might have a response to wheat or any other protein. Someone might need to cut out gluten while they do some gut work and I’d still be on board with that but I think Sue would say to start with freshly milled bread. I think I would give the choice to the client - which feels more doable - going GF or making your own bread. Of course there is expense incurred to start making your own which is why she’s probably been so gracious over the years in making it and giving it to people to try.
An intestinal biopsy is the gold standard way to confirm Celiac disease. There’s also more extensive antibody blood work that can be done that would give you a better idea
You could also be genetically tested to see if you carry one or both of the HLA DQ2 and DQ8 genes, but Carrying them doesn’t mean you have or will ever develop celiac disease. If you have do have one or both, your risk of developing celiac disease is 3% instead of the general population risk of 1%.
Lori:
Q: Did you take any special enzymes or supplements or prepare in any way before eating the bread?
A: Nope I didn’t. I just jumped right in. I wanted to see what my body would do. And it did ok! I wasn’t doubled over in pain. I wasn’t bloated. I pooped the next morning. Nothing unusual popped up with my skin condition. I didn’t gain weight over the months I was eating it - but like I said - it’s not like I wasn’t eating carbs and then I just started. I’ve always eaten carbs except for that little Carnivorish experiment I did a few years ago.
I really wish I could have gotten my act together to have some labs done so I had something to report. But the box is still sitting on my dining room table and I haven’t done it yet. But now I’m on this parasite protocol - that’s a story for another podcast - I muscle tested positive for a Cestode last weekend - and I’ve got all kinds of things stirred up in my body. That’s why I sound kind of hoarse. Feeling kind of ick. Anyway, I’ll get to the lab test at some point and report back.
Edita:
Q: Is it possible to mill the grains using Vitamix? It comes with the standard big container for making smoothies but I separately bought a small container specifically for pulverizing grains. I use this small container to break down flax seeds, chia seeds etc. Can I use this small container to mill wheat grains cause I am not sure how hard these grains are?
A: That’s a good question Edita. This came up in my group and a few of the ladies seemed to think it would. Give it a try and see what you think!
(43:09) Closing Thoughts:
I am just blown away by the receptivity to these podcasts
I think this is going to gain traction especially with the prometabolic movement and everybody coming back around to carbs. I never left them. But I did leave wheat and it did take me a while to be open to it and that’s ok.
You can buy the Wondermill and various kinds of wheat at Sue’s website.
It’s also on Amazon: Wondermill
You can also find wheat varieties here
I use this bread machine
(45:02) Outro & Disclaimer
Thanks for listening! Have a healthy and blessed week!