The differences between hybrid and heirloom wheat strains compared to genetically modified, or GMO wheat approved by the FDA. Which are safe to eat and what to avoid!
The bestselling book Wheat Belly, by William Davis MD, resulted in many people believing that genetically modified (GMO) wheat is already present in the food supply.
While it is true that scientists around the world are testing GMO wheat including the United States, a drought-tolerant variety is only being cultivated in South America at this time. (1-4)
The warnings against wheat in Wheat Belly are specifically in reference to hybrid wheat strains. This is very different from genetic modification.
However, GMO wheat is definitely on the horizon in the United States and coming at us very quickly with the recent FDA approval of Argentina’s drought-resistant strain. (5, 9)
Let’s examine the differences between hybridized and GMO wheat and what to know to eat wheat safely in the changing landscape ahead.
Hybrid Wheat
Most of the wheat in the world is hybridized.
The only non-hybrid exception is einkorn wheat, which is in the same natural state it was many millennia ago. It is, in fact, the first and most ancient cereal grain known to humanity.
Contrary to popular belief, all other heirloom or “heritage” wheat varieties are hybridized.
Familiar examples include spelt, kamut, red fife, and white sonora, among many others.
Be aware that food propaganda from mainstream media has intentionally conflated the terms “GMO” and “hybrid”. (6)
Thus, it is critically important to understand the scientific distinctions between the two.
Hybrid Plant Cultivation
When hybridizing a plant, farmers select for one or more natural DNA characteristics during cultivation.
This encourages the development of a strain that is, for example, sweeter, larger, or more resistant to drought.
Hybridization never involves tampering with DNA by mixing it with an unrelated species.
Thus, hybridization can occur either spontaneously in nature or via careful cultivation by farmers.
Genetic Modification
By comparison, genetic modification mixes the DNA of different species.
One of the earliest attempts at GMO wheat was the creation of triticale, a forced and unnatural cross of wheat and rye. Triticale seeds are sterile.
Since then, DNA mixing has gone even further off the deep end, involving the mixing of plant, animal, insect, or even microbial DNA!
In short, genetic modification is a completely unnatural, “Frankenfood” approach to cultivation.
In my opinion, it is an abomination.
Beyond the moral issues of risking planetary health through the introduction of unnatural, invasive species, there are significant health risks to humans who consume GMO foods.
Genetically modified foods trigger a massive inflammatory effect in the body. They should be avoided at all costs.
Hybrid vs GMO Wheat
Applying these differences to a practical level, hybridization of plants has been practiced for centuries by farmers.
In fact, most of the plant foods we consume every day are hybridized in some form or fashion.
As mentioned earlier, hybridization occurs through the selection of desirable and inheritable characteristics that are either dominant or recessive genetic traits.
It can also happen spontaneously in nature due to environmental stress of some kind.
In the case of wheat, strains that are high in gluten have been favored in recent decades given that they are more desirable in food processing.
High-gluten hybrid wheat holds together better for massive food production and shipping purposes.
The result is that modern wheat is much higher in gluten than nonhybridized strains (einkorn) or even hybridized heirloom varieties such as spelt.
How did modern wheat get so high in gluten?
The reason is because modern wheat was artificially hybridized using radiation during the “Green Revolution” of the 1950s and 1960s.
This suspect process produced hybrid strains in a lab that perhaps would not have been possible using traditional cultivation practices. (7, 8)
Is Hybrid Wheat Healthy?
So far, we’ve established that GMO wheat is not the same as hybrid varieties.
GMO wheat is not safe to eat. If and when it makes its debut into the food supply, avoid it like the plague!
What about hybrid wheat? Can this be consumed safely?
My opinion is that heirloom wheat varieties that are natural hybrids using ancient cultivation techniques would be safe to eat.
This is assuming that your digestive system is in good shape and you can eat it without any autoimmune or inflammatory symptoms.
Sourcing Wheat Varieties Safely
Modern wheat is another issue entirely. This type of hybridized wheat was created using radiation-induced mutagenesis.
Irradiated wheat is the type of wheat in processed foods and the form most people have issues with.
Although I can digest modern wheat without symptoms, I choose to avoid it in favor of heirloom varieties or (best choice), einkorn (here’s the source I suggest).
These varieties are more nutritious and put less of a strain on the digestive system.
If you choose to eat modern wheat because it is less expensive, I would suggest, at the very least, to always buy organic.
This is because modern wheat crops are desiccated with herbicides containing glyphosate right before harvest.
This virtually guarantees a heavy residue in the wheat flour ground from these kernels.
Glyphosate (Roundup) destroys gut flora. In addition, it contributes in a massive way to the development of autoimmune issues including cancer.
Another tip. Whatever form of wheat you eat, sprouting, soaking or sour leavening grains as practiced by traditional societies is still a critical step. This careful preparation breaks down gluten into more digestible form and allows better nutrient assimilation with less strain on digestion.
(1) The World’s First Drought Resistant GMO Wheat is Here
(2) GM Wheat that Repels Aphids Grown by British Scientists
(3) Brazil approves GMO wheat on food supply fears
(4) GMO Wheat Being Tested in Two States
(5) GMO wheat gets OK from U.S. FDA
(6) Farmers may have been accidentally making GMOs for millennia
(7) Wheat mutagenesis by combining recurrent irradiation, hybridization and DH-technology
(8) History and Overview of the Green Revolution
(9) GMO wheat in the US? It’s getting closer
I’m really considering GAPS for myself. I currently have to take thyroid replacement meds for hypothyroidism and inhaler for asthma. Do u know if I can keep doing that on GAPS until hopefully I don’t need it or will the meds “block” the healing?
You should consult with a GAPS practicioner. Kim Shuette in San Diego is a good resource for these types of questions. You can reach her biodynamicwellness.com
Grain is the tool of tyrants; it is the food of slaves.
Thanks to Wheat Belly, many people are seeing amazing benefits in their health simply due to eliminating wheat. Yes the GAPS diet might also see the same benefits but it’s not an easy diet and takes a lot of time and effort to implement. Wheat belly is a much simpler option for most people.
You blame processed foods for people’s gut problems, most processed foods contain wheat. Coincidence? I think not.
Also, the first stage of gaps eliminates wheat anyway.
Not true … all grains and disaccharrides are eliminated on GAPS not just wheat. Eliminating just wheat is a band-aid approach to health. It solves nothing. As gut imbalance continues to deteriorate, more and more and more foods will need to be eliminated over time … best to deal with the root of the problem and solve it with GAPS. I’m not into band-aid approaches to health myself. I like to just make the problem go away — permanently.
Processed foods are but ONE problem causing gut imbalance. Rampant overuse of sugar, antibiotics, and other meds is a HUGE part of it. Many processed foods do not contain any wheat and yet contribute to gut imbalance as well. Switching to processed foods that don’t contain wheat is not going to move the ball forward to better health in the slightest.
Great article. Thanks for thanks for the clarification! All of our foods have changes drastically over the years – another great example is the potato. Too many people are demonizing wheat as the root of all evil.
I see your point about gut health and the flaw you are pointing out in wheat belly. My question is: Are we really getting a lot from properly prepared grains? Like you commented on coffee ” It would still be wise to avoid coffee though as it has little to no redeeming value other than a few antioxidants which is no way overcomes the negative downside of this health robbing drink.” So if you have eliminated grains and are on working towards healing your gut, is there a huge benefit from adding properly prepared grains back into your diet? Could you not get the few nutrients that properly prepared grains has to offer from other foods?
I feel that properly prepared grains are an integral part of the diet. Any woman who has breastfed knows that soaked oatmeal causes her milk supply to go through the roof. A baked potato doesn’t do the same thing by a longshot. If grains contributed nothing to health then traditional cultures would not have consumed them AND Dr. Price would not have observed that the cultures that consumed a balanced diet of animal foods and cereal grains were the BEST proportioned and the STRONGEST. It is the extremes in diet that produced the least desirable results with vegetarians being the unhealthiest and the grain free populations not equaling the health of the balanced cultures which ate cereal grains.
I have prepared and eaten traditional foods for several years including fermenting, sprouting, soaking, good fats, raw milk, etc. I have learned so much from the NT book, their website, and various blogs and videos (love yours Sarah). I am grateful for such depth of resources. I have no digestive issues at all, but after reading Wheat Belly I gave up grains a few months ago. Although I sometimes miss my yummy sour dough bread with butter, I am glad (at least for now) that I gave up wheat and most other grains. I have lost the few pounds that I needed to; I’ve always had a small waist and I was beginning to get a bit “thick” around the middle. I had not eaten processed foods, vegetable oils, sugar, or taken any drugs of any kind in over 20 years. I also have lost almost all of my cellulite. The best benefit though has been that without an automatic “go to food” (bread), I have gained such an appreciation for winter squashes, lots of vegetables, beans, and even nuts. I have become much more creative in the kitchen. I won’t say that I will never go back to eating grains, but at least for now eating no wheat works for me. BTW, I am 60 years old.
If it works for you, then by all means don’t eat it! 🙂
I know for me, I would be very unwell if I was grain free. It is not in my genetic makeup to eat that way as I am not an Eskimo.
Although I should add that a few months on GAPS did me a world of good but I knew when it was time to come off it and reintroduce grains and I was better than ever for that decision!
Probably about 80% German, light skin, hair, eyes… my genetic makeup contains Celiac. You don’t have to be an Eskimo to not need wheat
I don’t think hybrids are bad in general, but in this case, the research suggests that our hybrid wheat isn’t what it used to be, not only in gluten content, but in overall nutrition. My family hasn’t gone off of wheat, but we eat a lot less and have been eating a wider variety of grains to get max nutrition. There are several ancient wheat varieties still available that are higher in nutrition. Spelt has become my new favorite, as it is closer to wheat, but much higher in nutrients.
I do think Wheat Belly falsely claims that wheat is the “big” problem… we have so much more going on than wheat, but it is a clue into our food system that often, grains, vegetables, fruits are engineered for production purposes and not health purposes.
Thanks for the clarification. I thought it was already in the food supply too. Do you buy your organic sprouted flour from http://www.organicsproutedflour.com? I just saw the ad on your page and was wondering if that is the best source. I have just been buying organic flour from the health food store. Thanks again.
Kaley
Hi Kaley, I make my own sprouted flour. It’s pretty easy … video on this blog if you need to learn how.
thanks. I will check that out!
I think most of us need to get some testing done regarding food allergies. I think with the increased amount of gluten in the wheat and what- hundreds of thousands of years worth of evolution-due to hybridization; it would be foolish, even with a borderline allergy to grains to continue to eat wheat. In my humble opinion Dr. Davis has brought up a fact about the hybredization. First, nevr tested. And the gluten has never been fully examined.
You lost me as a reader. Dr William Davis never claimed the wheat we eat was a GMO. He specifically reitterated that wheat has been hybridized with meathods that, in his opinion, were worse than GMO.
Thanks to Wheat Belly I found that I am allergic (not intollerant or sensitive) to all grains. Wheat was the worst offender. Dr William Davis provides good reseach on wheat. The plant is different than it was 50 years ago and those changes are not suited to all people.
I agree that unhealthy guts are a large reason why we have so many problems, but I think scientists fiddling with our food supply are doing much worse damage.
Correct .. he never claimed that but many people think that is what he meant and are seriously confused. I get emails all the time from people who think wheat is GM because of reading that book.
If you fix your gut chances are you will be able to eat grains again properly prepared. Avoidance of grains is only necessary temporarily and a paleo/primal diet will NOT fix the gut. GAPS is what is needed for 6 months to 3 years or so and then “normal” traditional eating can be resumed.
I’d rather eat things that don’t need to be de-toxified first.
Umm… What would you eat then? You *do* realize that all plant foods have some kind of natural toxin in them, right? Leafy greens, beets, apricots, figs, and others are high in oxalates. Avacodos, tomatoes, blueberries, honey, and peppers (among others) are all high in salicylates. Grapes, berries, and teas are high in tannins. Broccoli is goitrogenic. All these foods are still good, nourishing foods. You just have to prepare them properly in order to reduce the irritating effect of the toxins. And some of them can’t reduce these innate toxins no matter how you prepare them (like avocado or honey).
@ Food Renegade, obviously it would take high doses for this to harm you, not how you prepare your food. The last time I checked none of the foods listed needs to be “prepared properly”.
Funny – she misreads your article, and states emphatically that you’ve lost her as a reader! Gotta be thick skinned to be a health blogger, I tell ya!
Par for the course I’m afraid 🙂
Jana… I agree with you 100%… and cutting the wheat out of my diet in August has changed my life… no more heart burn, no more sore knees, no more vertigo or migraines, the list goes on and on.
I didn’t read Dr. Davis’ book until months after I started the Dukan Diet, but it explained exactly why I questioned 3 weeks into my diet why those things had stopped.
Why don’t you take it to the next level and heal your gut which is the reason for the problem with wheat in the first place (in most cases)? Cutting out the wheat is a short term band-aid approach. You will find over time that other foods cause the same problems as wheat did and you will have to cut those out as well … more and more and more foods cut out over time if you don’t address the root of the problem which is gut imbalance.
Hi Sarah… thanks for the reply… I have cut out wheat, sugar and all processed foods, at this point. I don’t take antibiotics or other pharmaceuticals. I do, on occasion use homeopathics or herbs. I get regular chiropractic, massages and acupuncture.
My gut is about as perfect as it could get, at this point 🙂
I have had no bloating whatsoever since cutting out wheat in August… no IBS, no crampy diarrhea, happy tummy 🙂
Sounds like elimination diets help for awhile, but then people can develop intolerances to more variety of foods as Sarah says, and also new symptoms surface. Wondering if eliminating foods creates nutritional deficiencies over time causing more problems. Healing the gut, the re-gaining food tolerance is a better approach long term than just food avoidance. Unfortunately, healing the gut can take sooooo loooong…….
I think you are correct. Davis cites hybredization and GM. The GM has just increased the problem. I will stick with the wheat free and make an effort to avoid gluten as much as possible.
Bravo!!! I applaud you for this article. I’ve been reading the anti-grain materials for the last year and it all comes back to traditional preparation. We have greatly cut down our grain consumption in the last few months but finding we don’t necessary enjoy the restriction.
So now we are looking into learning traditional soaking methods. I failed miserably at sourdough but will definitely try again!
Yes, sourdough is tricky.