Ladies, do you want to do something about the diabetes epidemic that is spreading over our land? There are some simple solutions, and our voice is one of them.
According to Dr. William Davis, wheat-based products give us “wheat bellies,” the kind predisposing us to diabetes. If every mother, wife and daughter were to look in their cupboards and take an inventory of all the food products containing wheat, they might be surprised. Then, if these same women wrote to the manufacturers of these products and explained they no longer have any interest to buy or consume these types of wheat-based products, I have a feeling some major marketing execs would sit up and pay attention. Until then, though, I doubt we’ll be fed anything other than what is good for the bottom line, instead of what is good for our spreading bottoms.
Food manufacturing, especially in our convenience-based society, is big business. Maybe it’s because there’s little time in our modern-day lifestyle for sit-down family dinners made from scratch. One way food manufacturers can help society is to ensure manufactured food products are as good for you as their labels claim and discontinue the use of wheat as an ingredient — at least the kind of wheat we have become familiar with in recent years.
Why? Because the findings by Dr. William Davis, author of the New York Times bestseller, “Wheat Belly” and its accompanying recipe book, “Wheat Belly Cookbook,” make for some rather compelling reading. Or, should I say rather frightening reading, depending on your stomach for bad news.
According to Davis, the wheat of 35 years ago is nothing like the wheat we grow and consume today. I would think any wheat farmer who’s been in the business that long could corroborate this.
The upshot of Davis’s point of view is modern wheat has become so genetically modified we are now consuming what he calls a “Frankengrain,” a grain no longer resembles the wheat of biblical days, the Middle Ages, or even the wheat of the 1950s. Doing the math, the wheat fed to us Baby Boomers in our early years was the old-fashioned kind. Extensive genetic transformations weren’t introduced until the 1960s and 1970s.
Davis claims, “Modern wheat with its newly introduced genetic changes is uniquely and genetically suited to accommodate our demands for increased yield, more desirable baking characteristics, and more pliable dough. It’s just not perfectly suited for human consumption.”
So, you see, it’s not the farmers’ fault this is what we’re eating. It’s not the grocers’ fault either. Nor is it the food manufacturers’ fault. The market is simply responding to consumer demand, including feeding the hungry in Third World countries.
Which brings me to my point. As supply is linked to demand, eliminating our appetite for such products will surely end their supply. We could help our farmers bring back the old-fashioned wheat to our grocery store shelves, just as we already help poor nations develop sustainable farming practices to feed their people. But, it will take our will as consumers to do it. And what better will of a consumer is there than that of a woman’s?
With March 8 marking the 38th anniversary of International Women’s Day, it’s a perfect day to write a letter to the food manufacturers of your favourite products and let them know you are not happy with the type of modern wheat they are using in their products.
In his wheat belly books, Davis raises several concerns that would be good to pass along to our food manufacturers. You could explain the high glycemic index (GI) of modern wheat is making a chocolate bar a healthier choice than a sandwich, and you are finding this difficult to explain to your kids who, by the way, are at increased risk of diabetes according to statistical studies.
Explain today’s hybridized wheat has opiate-like effects on us, except instead of getting “high,” we get increased appetites and weight gain. Explain we don’t like the artificial chemical support today’s modern wheat needs in order to grow.
Women uniting in a wholesome cause to bring back healthy whole grains — now that’s in our best interest.
For more in your best interest, follow Sheelagh on Twitter @sheesays.
