Sharing with you this most informative blog from PaleoValley. “Mirror mirror on the wall, who’s the greatest dietary villain of them all?
Turns out, it might not be gluten but a little-known plant lectin by the name of wheat germ agglutinin (WGA).
Its super villain power? Self defense….
How WGA Wreaks Havoc
A rhinoceros has horns. Snakes have venom. Wheat has...you guessed it...wheat germ agglutinin.
It’s a plant lectin with extremely tough bonds - the same kind that form vulcanized rubber. Unlike other plant lectins, not even cooking, sprouting, fermenting, or digesting can break them down.
It also acts as a really potent pesticide, resisting breakdown, accumulating in tissues, and interfering with biological functions as a result.
In fact, it’s such a good built-in pesticide that it’s already caught the attention of biotech firms who are genetically modifying plants to INCREASE WGA content.
Here’s where things get really interesting, and the dangers of this toxic lectin grow more apparent...
WGA is picky with its kill strike and only attaches to and disrupts specific carbohydrates, primarily N-Acetyl Glucosamine and N-Acetylneuraminic acid (sialic acid). Doing so protects it from:
Fungi (whose cell walls are composed in part of N-Acetylglucosamine)
Bacteria (whose cell walls are made from a biopolymer of N-Acetylglucosamine)
Insects (whose outer coverings are composed of chitin, which is made with N-acetylglucosamine)
Worms, birds & HUMANS (who use N-Acetylglucosamine to build various tissues throughout the body)
In fact, the strength of our joints, tendons, and cartilage is completely dependent on the structural integrity of N-Acetylglucosamine.
If that gets compromised (which it does whenever WGA is involved), a painful chain reaction will follow.
That’s not all WGA does though…
It also binds to and disrupts our glycocalyx, which is the mucous layer that acts as a barrier between cells and their surroundings.
It’s found in the lining of our blood vessels and digestive system and is composed largely of both WGA’s targets - N-Acetylglucosamine and N-Acetylneuraminic acid.
Experts Think WGA Could Be Even More Detrimental Than Gluten
That’s because it can damage most tissues in your body even if you don’t have a genetic susceptibility to it or autoimmune issues.
In fact, new research indicates WGA plays a role in the creation of celiac disease - entirely separate from gluten - because studies have shown that celiac patients have significantly higher levels of antibodies to WGA than they do to gluten.
Plus, its microscopic size allows its devastation to infiltrate throughout the body. Even smaller than gliadin (the problem maker in gluten), WGA measures just 36 kilodaltons.
To put that in perspective, the intestines allow passage of molecules up to 1,000 kilodaltons in size, so it easily passes through that barrier and into your bloodstream.
As a result, the devastation delivered by WGA can be widespread and summed up in 2 categories…
1. WGA Makes Us Sick
The kind of “sick” WGA causes isn’t necessarily the kind that immediately materializes with fever, congestion, and sore throat. It’s more like the kind that causes a slow and gradual deterioration of health.
The kind where one day you wake up and think, “How did I get here?”
Don’t believe me? Take a look at the research:
Studies show that WGA binds to certain kidney cells and interferes with their function. A 2007 study in the International Journal of Cancer even linked frequent bread consumption to 94% higher risk of kidney cancer.
A 2009 study revealed how WGA stimulates the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines in intestinal and immune cells.
A 1988 study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America detailed how WGA passes through the blood brain barrier. Other studies show it can inhibit nerve growth factor, which is critical for the survival of certain neurons.
A 1992 study indicates WGA can block DNA replication by inhibiting necessary components from entering the nucleus.
WGA is proven toxic to cells, and a 2004 animal study shows it’s not just toxic to cancerous tissues but to normal, healthy cells as well.
And the list truly goes on and on…
But let’s talk about the 2nd thing WGA does.
2. WGA Makes Us Fat
WGA actually mimics the action of insulin, and here’s why that’s a problem…
Under normal circumstances, your pancreas releases insulin into the bloodstream whenever sugar enters from the gut. That insulin is then transported to fat, muscle, and nerve cells where it ‘opens the door’ and lets sugar in to be used for energy.
Then, once it tells whatever hormones are involved that the message has been received, it vacates, leaving behind an ‘open slot’ for another hormone to attach.
WGA can “act” the same way...except it doesn’t vacate.
There are only so many ‘slots’ available for hormones to attach, and WGA can hog some of those slots, preventing certain hormones from binding to their receptors and imparting their special message.
Leptin is one of those hormones that gets blocked, leading to leptin resistance. Since leptin is responsible for telling your brain to stop eating, when it is blocked from doing so, your brain never gets the message.
As a result, it triggers your body to eat more and reduce energy expenditure, making you burn less calories…which, of course, is a recipe for obesity.
So How Do You Avoid WGA?
This just goes to show that just because the majority believes something to be true doesn’t mean it is.
Case in point - the “many benefits” of whole grains, sprouted grains, wheat germ, and wheatgrass.
In fact, WGA is most densely concentrated in whole wheat products, and remember, WGA doesn’t break down with sprouting.
So the obvious wheat/WGA products to avoid would be things like whole wheat bread, pasta, wheat bran...things you may already be avoiding.
But the less obvious culprits are the heavily marketed “healthy products” like wheat germ and even popular superfood powders.
Since wheatgrass is so cheap, it’s almost always one of the top ingredients in “healthy” greens powders.
But guess what? Wheatgrass is full of WGA…
That’s why we left it - along with all other WGA-containing cereal grasses - out of Paleovalley Organic Supergreens.” Hi
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