Since it’s the holidays and I’m craving treats, and since I love sweet potatoes and apples and not-too-sweet cake, I decided to try this recipe, which I found on WholeFoodsMarket.com. I adjusted the original recipe so that it was gluten-free, and it turned out just perfect. The sweet potato and apple give it both moistness and a nice heartiness. Try it with ginger tea or some nice spiced cider for a delicious treat any time of the day.

Sweet Potato Apple Cake

1 cup gluten-free flour blend  (I used 3/4 cup brown rice flour and 1/4 cup quinoa flour)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 cup sucanat  (the original recipe called for brown sugar)
1 egg
1 large apple, peeled, cored and grated  (I used a Braeburn)
1 (3/4-pound) sweet potato, peeled and grated
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Lightly oil an 8-inch baking pan.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, xanthan gum, cinnamon and nutmeg.

In a second large bowl, whisk together sucanat and egg until well combined. Stir in apple, sweet potato, vanilla and walnuts. Add apple mixture to flour mixture and stir to combine.

Transfer batter to prepared pan and bake until cake pulls away from the edges and is deep golden brown, 40 to 50 minutes. Set aside to let cool, then cut into squares and serve.

Enjoy!

I don’t make dessert very often, but yesterday I made an apple cranberry crisp that was really yummy! This is a nice, hearty crisp that is also wonderful for breakfast. The original recipe came from Whole Foods (www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipes), and I’ve adapted it so that it’s gluten-free.

Gluten-Free Apple Cranberry Crisp

5 medium to large apples, sliced  (I like Braeburns, but Fujis or any other crisp, juicy apple would work well.)
1/2 cup cranberries  (The original recipe calls for dried cranberries, but I use fresh ones.)
1-2 tablespoons sugar  (depending on how sweet you like it)
2 cups gluten-free rolled oats
2/3 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
2 tablespoons ground flaxseed
1-2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
6 tablespoons oil  (I use olive oil, but any mild cooking oil will do.)
4 tablespoons maple syrup

Preheat oven to 375ºF. Spread apples and cranberries in a lightly oiled 9×13-inch baking dish. Sprinkle with sugar.

Combine remaining ingredients, mix well, and press over the apple mixture. Cover tightly with a lightly oiled sheet of foil and bake until apples are just tender, about 45 minutes. Uncover and cook until the topping is golden brown, 20 to 30 minutes longer. Serve hot, warm or cold.

Do you know who really owns Horizon Organics? Kashi? Odwalla? Muir Glen? Cascadian Farms? Silk?

Find out which large corporations own your favorite natural and organic food companies. Check out the chart called Who Owns Organic on the Cornucopia Institute’s website to find out. The results may surprise you.

The Cornucopia Institute is one of the nation’s leading organic industry watchdogs. Their mission is to seek economic justice for the family-scale farming community. Through research, advocacy, and economic development their goal is to empower farmers, in partnership with consumers, in support of ecologically produced local, organic and authentic food.

You can also watch Dr. Mercola’s interview with Mark Kastel, co-founder of the Cornucopia Institute, about corporate ownership of organics and current threats to the organic industry. Then sign the proxy letter to keep dangerous synthetics out of organic foods. (Sign now! Due by November 30.)

Yes. I am a healthy eater. Sometimes to a fault. But I do love my treats.

Last week, for my birthday, I drove out to Pescadero, one of my favorite spots on the coast. Pescadero Beach is amazing—all wild and gorgeous—and I love to stand on the cliffs above the crashing waves and laugh as the wind whips my hair into a crazy mess. The town of Pescadero is also home to Duarte’s Restaurant, known for their artichoke soup and about a gazillion different kinds (okay, truthfully, maybe eight or ten) of homemade pie.

I love pie. LOVE IT. And being a gluten-free pie lover is a real drag. I have yet to find a bakery that offers single slices of gluten-free pie. So, for the love of pie, maybe once or twice a year I break my gluten fast and indulge.

Duarte’s just happens to bake one of my absolute favorite kinds of pie: fresh olallieberry. I got myself a nice big piece of it, brought it to the beach, took one of my little enzyme pills that are supposed to aid gluten digestion—and then I ate that pie slowly, rapturously. I savored every bite. It was fantastic. Then I hung out at the beach for a while, danced on the sand, and had a lovely afternoon.

On the way back home, I stopped in at New Leaf Market in Half Moon Bay. I hadn’t been there before, but thought I’d check out their selection of snacks and treats. (At that point, I was probably coming down off my sugar rush and needed something to sustain me on the drive back to Oakland.) They had a great selection of gluten-free yummies, some of which I’d never seen before, including cookies, cakes, and a wide selection of snack items.

If I’d had more money on me, I could have done a lot more damage, but I decided to limit myself to just a couple of things (in addition to some in-house dry-roasted, organic almonds, which they had for a great price). First, I pounced on some raw goodies called Biscolinos, made by Raw Decadence (based in Redwood City). Each package had three little “biscotti” made from almonds, raisins, coconut and agave. I tried the Lemon & Coconut flavor, which was delicious—a delightful lemony tartness that wasn’t too sweet. (I find that many of the raw coconut treats are overly sweet for me, so it was nice to find one that was just right!) Then I found an old favorite of mine: a Ginger Chewnami, made from sesame seeds, kombu (yes, really!), ginger, and sweetened with brown rice syrup and maple syrup. I haven’t seen these in ages, and it turns out I still love them as much as I used to. They’re made by Rising Tide Sea Vegetables, a company based in Mendocino that sells seaweed products in several local stores (including Whole Foods). If anyone knows a store in the East Bay Area where I can find Chewnamis, let me know! I totally want more.

Since I’m already on the subject of treats, I’ll let you know my current, regular gluten-free favorites. First, Oskri Coconut Bars and nut bars. I really like the plain coconut bars, which are literally just coconut and rice syrup. The nut bars are good, too—not too sweet like so many nut bars. (For the past few weeks, Berkeley Bowl West has been out of most of the nut bars, and I’m going, well, nuts! I need another source…) Oskri (based in Wisconsin) makes a lot of different kinds of bars, including several that are sesame seed-based. Good stuff.

I also love Raweos, made by Blessings Alive and Radiant Foods (from nearby Emeryville). Raweos are like raw Oreos: two raw “cookies” made with soaked nuts, coconut, honey and spices, and a cashew cream center. There are three flavors—one with carob cookies and a vanilla bean center, one with carob cookies and a carob center, and one without carob that’s chai-spiced. (Yum!) The company also makes some pretty insane Kale Chips, which they’ve been sampling lately at some of the local Whole Foods Markets.

Another current favorite is the Spirulina Ginseng Nut Butter Ball from Betty Lou’s (based in Oregon). These balls have an almond butter base and a nice hearty crunchiness. Again, not too sweet. And, yes, they’re green (literally) from the spirulina. Betty Lou’s makes a few different gluten-free snack items, but of the ones I’ve tried so far, these are my favorites. (I usually pick these up at El Cerrito Natural Foods.)

Yes, I love my treats. And I so enjoy discovering new ones! If you’d like to share your own gluten-free favorites, please leave a comment!

And in case the thought of Duarte’s olallieberry pie has you drooling and ready to break your gluten-free diet, you don’t have to drive all the way to Pescadero for it. You can now find whole pies in the refrigerated section of many Northern California Whole Foods Markets.

Cheers!

Great article from Radiance Nutritional Therapy that discusses why cooked food can be better for you than raw. (I tend to agree…) Check it out!

Put Down That Kale Smoothie – Why You Should Cook Your Food

August 19, 2011
By Diana

I hear and read about lots of people making kale smoothies, consuming raw nuts, and munching salads consisting of raw broccoli. So, I decided to take a look at some research to see what the nutritional costs were to eating raw foods. The truth is, it’s better for your body to consume primarily cooked or lacto-fermented vegetables. Breaking down the cellular structure of vegetables through these methods greatly increases the digestibility and nutrient absorption of nutrients in vegetables. Much of the research I’ve found suggests several reasons why cooking might increase the energy available from meat. These include increasing food intake through positive effects on palatability related to texture and flavor, rendering proteins more digestible through denaturation, lowering the cost of digestion through food softening, and reducing immune upregulation by eliminating foodborne pathogens. Given that textural changes are at least partially responsible for the proposed positive effects of cooking on intake, digestibility, and the cost of digestion, non-thermal processing methods that manipulate texture, such as pounding, may likewise be effective in improving the net energy value of meat.

Foods have been heat-treated for many centuries, since our ancestors learned, by trial and error, to master fire for cooking purposes approx. 700,000 years ago, to modify the taste and preserve nutritional properties of foods. The invention and continuous development of food treatment has had a substantial, if not major impact on the intellectual, societal and economic development of mankind. The health benefits of fermentation have been known for centuries. In 76 A.D., the Roman historian Plinio advocated the use of fermented milks for treating gastrointestinal infections.

Cooking destroys toxins.

The first and most important beneficial effect of food processing is that it destroys unwanted compounds and micro-organisms. Pathogenic bacteria are killed when exposed to heat. Cooking also inactivates anti-nutritional factors such as protease inhibitors and other natural toxins. The second effect is enhanced digestibility of food and bioavailability of nutrients. For example, gelatinization of starch makes possible its hydrolysis by amylase enzymes. Destruction of cell walls in vegetables improves the bioavailability of compounds such as carotenoids and polyphenols. Nuts and seeds contain many anti-nutrients in their raw state. Soaking your nuts overnight will increase the bioavailability of the nutrients in nuts and seeds.

Crucifers (like kale) should always be cooked.

Certain foods are associated with disrupted thyroid hormone production. Foods belonging to the cruciferous family are called “crucifers,” and include broccoli, kale, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, mustard, kohlrabi, and turnips. These foods appear to reduce thyroid function by blocking thyroid peroxidase, and also by disrupting messages that are sent across the membranes of thyroid cells. Cooking these vegetables greatly reduces these negative effects.

Eating raw food has a cost.

Cooking also appears to have a positive effect on net energy in the body. Humans on vegetarian diets exhibit higher reproductive performance when eating cooked  food than raw food. Evidence of low energy intake in women eating predominantly rawfood is supported by their having higher rates of amenorrhea or menstrual  irregularities than those eating cooked food.  In one study, it was found that menstruation was absent in 23% of females of childbearing age who ate at least 70% of their food raw and in 50% of women reporting a 100% raw diet. Although these women were primarily vegetarian, the addition of raw meat to the diet did not change the odds of ovarian suppression. The researchers concluded that women suffered because of their relatively low net energy gain as a consequence of  eating their food raw.  A nutritional analysis suggested that in traditional communities, a diet of raw wild foods would render survival and reproduction difficult.

Fermentation improves gut flora.

Fermentation is a non-thermal process that produces chemical changes by enzymes produced from bacteria, microorganisms or yeasts and is one of the oldest known food preservation techniques. During fermentation, the carbohydrate energy source in food, such as lactose in milk is converted to lactic acid. The same happens when pickles are produced from cucumbers. Yeasts convert glucose to ethanol and carbon dioxide. Many health-producing secondary metabolites are produced through fermentation, especially B vitamins and bioactive peptides which can be antimicrobial and immune-stimulatory. In the early 1900s it was realized that bifidobacteria may be effective in preventing infection in infants and the consumption of fermented milks were seen to reverse putrefactive effects of the gut micro flora, leading to the development of the probiotic concept. Probiotics are now used in the treatment of infections and used to promote a  healthy immune system. Consuming fermented foods will improve the presence of healthy bacteria in the gut.

Pounding, curing and cooking meat is beneficial.

When considering meat, there seems to be some evidence that processing meat either by pounding, drying, curing or cooking is beneficial. Pounding meat and making it soft seems to reduce the cost of digestion, partly because it pass more quickly through the gut. The collagen surrounding each fascicle of muscle fibers generally remains too tough for mastication until heated to 60–70 C, when collagen begins to be hydrolysed into gelatin, a soluble protein. Although the muscle fibers themselves remain tough, eat cooked beyond this temperature leads to gelatinisation of the collagen, which separates leads the muscle fibers and the gelatin.

Improved texture of meat makes it easier to chew, and easier for our bodies to break down. Also when the fats are heated to oil from a fat, it’s easier for our bile to emulsify and ultimately leads to faster absorption. In studies, humans and chimps prefer the taste of cooked meat, leading to us eating more of it. Consumption of more protein meant larger brains and bigger muscles as we evolved.

Higher fat meats can lead to better energy balance.

It is important to note that eating cooked very lean meats has a nutritional cost. Archaeological evidence suggests that fat derived from bone marrow may have been preferred over muscle tissue as a source of energy and nutrients among early humans. Diets deriving more than 50% of calories from lean protein can lead to negative energy balance, so-called ‘‘rabbit starvation,’’ due to the high metabolic costs of protein digestion.

Avoiding pathogens in meat.

Cooking kills foodborne bacteria, including strains associated with raw meat products such as Escherichia coli, Salmonella, Campylobacter, Staphylococcus, and Listeria. The potential energy savings due to reduced immune maintenance and upregulation could be sizeable. Raw wild meat is possibly less pathogen-bearing on average than raw meat that has been raised and processed for mass-market consumption. When meat is processed at the slaughterhouse, ecoli and other  pathogens from the intestines can invade the ground meat. This is why most outbreaks involve burgers and other forms of ground meat but is not usually associated with steaks. These pathogens do not enter the inside of the muscle tissue (steaks). When eating industrially raised red meat, I suggest cooking the burgers well. Slow cooking meat appears to be one of the best methods to prepare meat for optimal digestibility.

Lightly cooked fish is healthier than raw or fried.

In the case of fish, it appears that lightly cooked is optimal. In one study where edible portions of fresh fish were used raw, fried, cooked and undercooked, the researchers concluded that the breakdown of fish proteins were all fairly complete, but general digestibility was greatest with underdone fish as compared to raw, fully cooked or fried fish.

In summary, I strongly suggest cooking vegetables, consuming lacto-fermented vegetables, and other fermented foods. If you like to eat raw meat, make sure it is from a very clean source and it’s safer to stick to muscle and organs which are less likely to be contaminated with pathogens. If you are out at a restaurant and  want a standard industrially-raised beef burger, order it cooked well. Focus on slow cooking processes and using primarily grass-fed and wild meats, where the animals are much less likely to be sick (and get you sick). These meats will also have a much better ratio of omega-3 to omega-6 fats, thereby keeping inflammation down. Sashimi and other raw fish from trusted sources are ok, but lightly cooked fish seems to be optimal as far as protein digestion.

References:

Barham, P., 2001. The Science of Cooking. Springer, Berlin.

Blumenschine, R.J., Hominid carnivory and foraging strategies, and the socioeconomic function of early archaeological sites. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond., 1991, Series B 334, 211–221.

Blumenschine, R.J., Madrigal, T.C., Variability in long bone marrow yields of East African ungulates and its zooarchaeological implications. J. Archaeol. Sci. 1993, 20, 555–587.

Carmody, Rachel N.; Wrangham, Richard W., The energetic significance of cooking. Journal of Human Evolution 2009, 57, 379–391.

Evenepoel, P., Geypens, B., Luypaerts, A., Hiele, M., Rutgeerts, P., Digestibility of cooked and raw egg protein in humans as assessed by stable isotope techniques. J. Nutr.1998, 128, 1716–1722.

Halton, T.L., Hu, F.B., The effects of high protein diets on thermogenesis, satiety and weight loss: a critical review. J.Am. Coll. Nutr. 2004, 23, 373–385.

Koebnick, C., Strassner, C., Hoffmann, I., Leitzmann, C.,  Consequences of a long-term raw food diet on body weight and menstruation: results of a questionnaire survey. Ann. Nutr. Metab. 1999, 43, 69–79.

Laden, G., in: Eisenbrand, G., Engel, K.-H., Grunow, W., Hartwig, A., Knorr, D., Knudsen, I., Schlatter, J., Schreier, Thermal Processing of Food: Potential Health
Benefits and Risks. Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG)-Symposium, 2006, Senate Commission on Food Safety (SKLM).

Oka, K., Sakuarae, A., Fujise, T., Yoshimatsu, H., Sakata, T., Nakata, M., Food texture differences affect energy metabolism in rats. J. Dent. Res. 2003, 82, 491–494.

Saha, K.C. The Effect of boiling and frying on the enzymic hydrolysis of fish protein. Journal of the Indian Chemical Society. 1940, 17, 259-63.

Speth, J.A., Spielmann, K.A., Energy source, protein metabolism,and huntergatherer subsistence strategies. J. Anthropol. Archaeol. 1983, 2, 1–31.

Van Boekel, Martinus; Fogliano, Vincenzo; Pellegrini, Nicoletta; Stanton, Catherine; Scholz, Gabriele; Lalljie, Sam; Somoza, Veronika; Knorr, Dietrich; Rao Jasti, Pratima; Eisenbrand, Gerard, A review on the beneficial aspects of food processing. Mol. Nutr. Food Res. 2010, 54, 1215–1247.

Wrangham, R., 2009. Catching Fire: How Cooking Made Us Human. Basic Books, New York, NY.

Read the original article at www.RadianceNutrition.com.

Ah, my favorite time of year!

Apples are now in abundance at my local grocery stores and I am buying! My favorite East Bay organic apple suppliers? Berkeley Bowl West and El Cerrito Natural Grocery.

For a great selection at good prices, Berkeley Bowl can’t be beat. Fuji, Braeburn, Red Delicious, Gala, Pinova, Macintosh, Jonathan, Rome, Empire, Winesap, Honeycrisp, Sierra Beauty, Pink Lady—the list goes on. Today I counted over 15 varieties of apples on their shelves, including the Spitzenberg, rumored to be Thomas Jefferson’s favorite apple.

If you want a fantastic selection and don’t mind a slightly higher price point, El Cerrito Natural Grocery is an apple lover’s paradise. Right now they have over 34 different kinds of apples, including a wide variety of heirloom apples not often seen in these parts. Their selection includes all the usual contenders, plus varieties like Philo Gold, Winter Banana, Candycrisp, Autumn Greetings, Orin, and heirlooms such as Wickson and Ashmeads Kernel. (!) The folks who work the produce section are happy to provide a mini apple tasting, if you’re keen on sampling before you buy. I love talking to Jay, who knows more about apples than anyone I’ve ever met, and has introduced me to varieties I might never have tried otherwise. Like I said, an apple lover’s paradise.

My current personal favorites include Empire, Winesap, and Liberty. I tend to go for something crunchy and juicy, with a nice flavor and just a little bit of a zip to it. While I’ve been digging the Macintosh lately, even though it’s a bit on the softer side, I had an Empire apple the other day that had me running back to the store to buy more. So good! And today Jay gave me a slice of an Ashmeads Kernel—a delightful little apple with a marvelous flavor—and I just might have to add it to my list.

Okay, I know I’m raving about apples here, but I need to put in a good word for the pears, too. If you’ve never tried a Seckel pear, do yourself a favor and go buy a handful of these delicious little morsels! They have an incredible flavor and are just so darn cute they’re hard to resist. Then go for a Warren, a Tosca, a red Stark Crimson, a Concord, a Taylor’s Gold, and hey, the Boscs are really good right now…

And then there are the persimmons…

Oh, yeah. It’s an autumn fruit-lover’s paradise for sure!

I’m really appreciating the information that Dr. Vikki Petersen, founder of the HealthNOW Medical Center in Sunnyvale, CA,  is publishing on her blog, The Gluten Doctors.

This week she discussed the benefits of butter in her post Why I allow butter on a dairy-free diet. She writes:

The problem with dairy products is the protein portion of them.  The protein is pro-inflammatory and much like the protein portion of the grains wheat, rye and barley, it seems that the human body doesn’t respond well to it.  Many researchers state that while we are designed to digest our own mother’s milk for the first few years of life, we were never designed to glean nutrition from the milk of another mammal such as the cow, goat or sheep. For that reason plus a few decades of clinical experience showing that to be the case, I recommend to my patients that they exclude dairy from their diet.

How is butter different? Butter is about 80-82% fat (higher fat butters are available if you look for them), 17% water and only about 1% milk solids (protein).  For most patients I find that minimal amount of protein is insufficient to bother them.  However those that prefer to avoid all milk protein enjoy clarified butter or ghee where virtually all water and protein are removed with only the fat remaining.

Organic is important because the fat is where the hormones and toxins might reside in a non-organic product.  The organic version is free of such contaminants.

And why not simply cook with olive oil and coconut oil and be done with it? Other than the fact that it’s enjoyable to cook with butter or ghee, butter contains an interesting saturated fat that is also an omega-6 fat called CLA.  In the spirit of “never saying never”, CLA is actually a saturated, trans fat that’s very good for you.  It has the unique status of being the sole trans fat that is considered to be healthy and there is quite a lot of information about it because it in fact tends to act like a “good” omega-3 fat in the body.

Here are some of its benefits according to research:

• In animal studies a relatively small amount of CLA was found to reduce tumors by over 50% in breast, colorectal, skin, stomach and lung cancers.
• It was found to reduce high blood pressure, lower the risk for heart disease as well as reduce cholesterol and triglycerides.
• It improved osteoporosis and insulin resistance associated with diabetes and obesity.
• It is an anti-inflammatory and stimulates the immune system to be more effective.
• Lastly, human studies show a benefit in lowering body fat, especially in those who combined taking CLA with exercise.

Read the original post on Dr. Vikki’s blog and check it out for other up-to-date information about gluten-free diets and celiac disease.

I’m happy to say that Oakland’s Café Mariposa is going strong. Today I stopped by for the gluten-free bakery’s third anniversary party.

In a word? Yum!

I sampled such goodies as olive focaccia, tomato focaccia, hot gnocchi, mini beetroast (yes, beetroast) sandwiches, cinnamon rolls, mini Penguinos (delightful little cream-filled chocolate cupcakes), and the new melba toast (simple yet divine!).

I have to admit I pretty much just hung out by the food for a while—everything I ate was really tasty! Inside there was a steady stream of customers nibbling the treats and ordering lunch items such as gluten-free quiche, pizza, and paninis. Outside, patrons were sampling gluten-free beer and organic ice-cream while a terrific little string band accompanied the enthusiastic noshing.

A hearty congratulations and thanks to Mariposa Baking owner Patti Furey Crane on her three years of providing us with her wonderful gluten-free baked goods! May there be many more years to come!

I just read another great post from the HealthNOW Doctors on gluten sensitivity called Can You Be a “Little” Gluten Sensitive?.

In Dr. Vikki Petersen’s opinion, gluten sensitivity appears to be “an all or nothing proposition.” Moreover, she points out that just because you don’t have an immediate reaction to gluten does not mean you’re not sensitive to it. While symptoms of gluten intolerance may occur right after consuming gluten, they can also take anywhere from a few hours to a few days to develop. And because gluten intolerance can cause such a wide variety of symptoms, from the more obvious digestive disturbances to more subtle aftereffects such as brain fog, achiness, irritability or depression, people often don’t connect the two.

Petersen recommends that if you know you are gluten intolerant, either from lab tests or personal observation, you should stop eating gluten altogether. Just because you’re not experiencing immediate, obvious symptoms from gluten consumption does not mean you’re not harming yourself.

You can read the post in its entirety on The Gluten Doctors blog. Dr. Petersen is also co-author of the book The Gluten Effect.

I read an interesting article on Mercola.com today called The Critical Role of Wheat in Human Disease about another potential problem with wheat consumption. The danger in this case comes, not from gluten, but from lectin, which is found in all seeds of the grass family (rice, wheat, spelt, rye, etc.):

Lectin is a type of ‘wheat germ agglutinin’ (WGA) and glycoprotein. Through thousands of years of selectively breeding wheat for increasingly larger quantities of protein, the concentration of WGA lectin has increased proportionately.

WGA is largely responsible for many of wheat’s pervasive ill effects.

What’s more, WGA is found in highest concentrations in “whole wheat,” including its supposedly superior sprouted form.

What is unique about the WGA glycoprotein is that it can do direct damage to the majority of tissues in your body without requiring a specific set of genetic susceptibilities or immune-mediated articulations.

As Mercola says:

Lectin is a defense mechanism for the wheat plant, designed to ward of its natural enemies such as fungi and insects. Unfortunately, this protein is also very resistant to breakdown by living systems, and it easily accumulates in tissues where it interferes with normal biological processes and acts as an anti-nutrient.

Typically, sprouting, fermenting or digestion can help to negate some of the harmful effects of such anti-nutrients (as in the case of fermenting soy, which removes many of its anti-nutrient properties). However, lectins are resistant to these types of processes.

For this reason, lectins exist even in “healthy” sprouted breads and may be in their highest concentrations in whole-wheat varieties.

Mercola notes some of lectin’s dangerous qualities in his commentary, saying that lectin is, among other things:

• Pro-Inflammatory: WGA lectin stimulates the synthesis of pro-inflammatory chemical messangers, even at very small concentrations.

• Immunotoxic: WGA lectin may bind to and activate white blood cells.

• Neurotoxic: WGA lectin can pass through your blood-brain barrier and may attach to the protective coating on your nerves known as the myelin sheath. It is also capable of inhibiting nerve growth factor, which is important for the growth, maintenance, and survival of certain target neurons.

• Cytotoxic (Toxic to cells): WGA lectin may induce programmed cell death.

Mercola goes on to say that WGA lectin may even:

• Interfere with gene expression
• Disrupt endocrine function
• Adversely affect gastrointestinal function
• Share similarities with certain viruses

The article on Mercola’s site was sourced from an article on GreenMedInfo.com called Opening Pandora’s Bread Box: The Critical Role of Wheat Lectin in Human Disease.

You can read Mercola’s article in its entirety here.

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