Wheat has had a tumultuous 20+ years.
We hate it. We love it. We write it off. We can’t stop eating it.
It feels like wheat has some mystical grip on us, and finally, we let it go for good.
But then we can’t resist a beautiful sourdough pizza one night, out with friends.
And the cycle continues.
The truth is that wheat, in its purest form, is a superfood… and yes, gluten is generally good for you.
Wheat’s been farmed for over 10,000 years, beginning with lots of different single varieties.
As the demand for white bread grew, crops became homogenized and lost a lot of their nutritional value.¹
Still, wheat has a ton of vitamins, antioxidants, fiber, and minerals.²
It also has a very grounding effect on the body, making you feel calm and settled when eaten in the right amount for your body.
Look for the highest quality heritage wheat you can find and enjoy it, if it works for you.
Gluten is the protein found in wheat, and has a binding, grounding effect on the body as well.
Eaten in excess and in people who have celiac disease or gluten sensitivity, it can cause a lot of health issues.
It acts like glue in the body, so the right amount binds and balances, while too much can slow down digestion, thin the digestive lining, and even cause hormonal imbalances.³
Everyone is different, but wheat and gluten are not bad or wrong in themselves.
Whether you know for sure that wheat and gluten do or do not work for your body, developing a healthy relationship toward them will help you heal your overall relationship with food and your body.
Here’s why: Whether you have an active relationship with all foods or not, you have an opinion on all foods. A subconscious judgment.
As you see someone bite into a cheeseburger on a toasted bun, you may see them as less than you – unhealthy, careless – even if for a subconscious second.
What happens when we develop a food hierarchy is we create tension and resentment between us and specific foods, and wheat is a big one.
We feel virtuous when we avoid it, and like a failure when we “give in.”
When we see all foods as good and nourishing in the correct context, we diffuse that tension and resentment.
When tension and resentment are diffused, we’re far less likely to overeat, binge eat, and revenge-eat.
If you resent and avoid gluten, of course you could go into a tunnel vision binge when you taste bread for the first time in 8 years.
Or you could revenge-eat another food because you’re “not allowed” to have gluten and you’re pissed.
Every food has energy and consciousness.
The foods we eat create our cellular makeup.
Resistance and tension toward any food have the potential to create an acidic environment in the body, as does any negative emotion.
Our negative emotions are beautiful – this is an all-vibes-allowed zone – but they have a chemical effect on the body that can suppress the immune system, digestion, and metabolism.
So we want to work with negative emotions. We want to allow them to be, to feel them fully, and to process them.
When we feel negative emotions toward any food – whether we choose to personally partake in it or not – it’s kind of like harboring unspoken resentment toward a colleague you have to see every day.
It’s much better to communicate and get it out, and to see the best in that person. To make the most of the situation, if you can’t change it.
Wheat and gluten are everywhere – whether you eat them or not, they’re gonna be in your face.
They will always exist, and they actually have a lot of health benefits, and are original superfoods in many senses.
What’s your experience with wheat and gluten?
Whether you eat them or not, do you feel tension or resistance toward them?
I’d love to hear from you in the comments below.
Much love,
Lula
Pasta: @lilfrankies
Sources
1. Whole Grains, The Superfood
3. Gut-thyroid axis and celiac disease
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