Wheat, gluten, and the human body

Gluten is a protein found in the wheat kernel. Humans have been consuming wheat in the last 10,000 years of their 2 million year adventure on earth. Besides its late introduction, wheat and its products have been genetically modified for endurance and yield of wheat for the past 50 years. Additionally, extra ‘vital’ gluten is used as an external supplement during bread production to increase the puffiness and taste of bread.

Gluten is also found in barley and rye.

In order for grains to continue their lineage, they must avoid digestion by humans and/or other animals. Their digestion means no reproduction. The proteins that inhibit the digestion of grains are called lectins. Two important lectins, prolamin and agglutinin, that are found in grains and legumes can affect humans.
The gluten present in wheat is a prolamin. The sekalin in rye, hordein in barley, zein in corn, and avenin in oats are also prolamins.
Two other proteins found in the wheat kernel are the wheat germ agglutinin and amylase-trypsin inhibitors.

Gluten and the other grain prolamins and agglutinins can harm the human body in many ways:
Increasing intestinal permeability (causing leaky gut)
Stimulating the enteric and peri-enteric immune system
Causing secondary inflammation secondary to leaky gut
Causing autoimmune immune responses and cross-reactivity due molecular mimicry (similarity of the body tissues to the proteins entering the body)
Causing immediate, delayed type I and delayed type IV allergic responses
Causing histamine secretion leading to histamin intolerance worsening
Causing food intolerance due to increased intestinal permeability
Damaging the intestinal villi
Through exorphins (morphine-like substances) from incompletely undigested proteins

Which can lead to:
Celiac disease
Non-celiac gluten sensitivity (NCGS)
Baker’s asthma
Acute or delayed allergies (itching, rash, eczema, runny eye-nose)
Irritable bowel syndrome (spastic colitis)
Dysbiosis (gut bacterial imbalance)
Small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO)
Infantile colic

All grains contain 60-75% starch. Therefore, in addition to the above-mentioned reasons, they also cause harm by increasing the glycemic index and the glycemic load of foods. They aggravate or cause insulin resistance, latent diabetes, high blood sugar, weight gain, and high triglycerides. These lead to obesity, abdominal obesity, atherosclerosis, high blood pressure, type II diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. Wheat fructan content is very high, which causes FODMAP intolerance and IBS aggravation.

Gluten, amylase-trypsin inhibitors and wheat germ agglutinins are found in wheat; gluten is found in rye and barley, other prolamins and agglutinins are found in other grains (oat, corn, rice, sorghum), pseudograins (quinoa, chia) and legumes (soybeans, lentils, dried beans, mung beans, cowpeas, kidney beans, peanuts).