Modern dietary dogma considers wheat germ to be a nutritious addition to the diet. However, there are three important reasons why savvy consumers do their best to avoid this modern-day health food even if organically grown.
Wheat germ got its start in the modern diet around the time that the refining of grains gained popularity.
With the endosperm stripped away for making white flour, the bran and the germ were left as waste products that needed a market.
The best way to sell any food to Americans is to market it as healthy, so that’s exactly what grain producers did. This approach proved to be a highly effective strategy.
Since the germ portion of wheat is a good source of natural vitamin E, folate, several minerals including phosphorus, zinc, and magnesium, and essential fatty acids, at first glance, such claims seem justified. (1)
However, a thorough examination of exactly what wheat germ is and production methods to manufacture it leads a critical thinker to the conclusion that avoiding this modern-day health food is the best approach.
Wheat Germ is Not a Whole Food
The first thing to realize about wheat germ is that it is a fractionated food. This means that the germ, which represents a very small part of each wheat kernel, is physically separated from the rest of the grain.
Such a violent process requires a factory to accomplish. This isn’t something you can easily perform in your home kitchen!
In other words, wheat germ is NOT a whole food.
It’s actually quite amusing to see the list of wheat germ uses suggested by manufacturers. The most common recommendation is to replace up to 1/2 cup of flour in a baking recipe with it! (2)
Doesn’t this seem a bit ridiculous…strip the germ away from the wheat kernel, grind it up, sell it to you (for a premium) in a jar to add back to your baking recipes?
Wouldn’t it be far more economical, healthy, and just plain smart to just use whole grain flour, to begin with, that contains the intact, unfractionated germ?
In short, wheat germ has no business being included anywhere in a whole-food-based diet even if organically certified.
Wheat Germ Oil Fatty Acid Profile
Most people don’t think of cereal grains as a source of fat, but they most definitely are. The germ of cereal grains contains this macronutrient.
Wheat germ oil has a fatty acid profile that is about 64% polyunsaturated. About 55% of wheat germ oil is omega-6 fats and about 7% is omega-3. (3, 4)
These fats are very delicate and need to be cold-pressed, refrigerated and sealed in airtight dark bottles. Otherwise, they are highly prone to rancidity.
When you separate the germ of the wheat from the bran and endosperm, you are exposing the delicate wheat germ oil to light and air which hastens the production of free radicals as the oil quickly goes rancid.
Note that organic wheat germ oil is going to go rancid just as fast as conventional.
Thus, the second important reason to avoid wheat germ is because it is a highly rancid, free radical-loaded product.
Thanks but no thanks!
Difficult to Digest
According to the Weston A. Price Foundation, wheat germ is very difficult to digest.
This stems from the fact the germ is not prepared in a traditional manner for optimum digestibility and nutrient absorption. This means that it was not soaked, sprouted or sour leavened (sourdough) first. (5)
While wheat germ itself may contain a plethora of nutrients, if your body can’t metabolize and absorb those nutrients, eating them is a worthless addition of empty calories to the diet.
Another way wheat germ harms digestion is the likelihood that it contains glyphosate residue from the off label use of Roundup for desiccation of wheat crops before harvest. Not all farmers do this, of course, but enough do that consuming anything conventional-wheat related poses a risk.
Glyphosate is known to harm beneficial microbes in the gut, paving the way for the development of autoimmune disorders slowly over time.
Fermented Wheat Germ Extract
Perhaps you’ve heard of fermented wheat germ extract (FWGE).
It was invented by Hungarian biochemist Mate Hidvégi in the early 1990s.
Despite the name, this product is not a traditional food.
FWGE is marketed as a dietary supplement for cancer patients under the brand name Avé® in the United States. It is manufactured as Avemar® in Hungary.
The research suggested that FWGE may have some immune system boosting effects for those with cancer, rheumatoid arthritis or systemic lupus. However, the evidence to date is incredibly weak at best. (6)
Healthy Substitutes
Hopefully, by this point, you’ve realized that wheat germ is not a health food and should never appear on your shopping list.
If you enjoy the texture that wheat germ imparts to baked goods, yogurt, casseroles and the like, here are a few healthy alternatives to use instead.
- Homemade breadcrumbs. Made from whole grain sprouted or authentic sourdough bread (such as this brand), DIY breadcrumbs are very easy to make and will provide the same texture as wheat germ with much better digestibility and without the rancidity.
- Unfortified nutritional yeast. This is an excellent alternative to wheat germ for stirring into yogurt and smoothies.
- Ground seeds. I suggest a coffee/herb grinder to process sprouted seeds into coarse flour to add to meatloaf, casseroles or baked goods for added texture and nutrition. Note that I do not recommend ground flax meal as it is too high in estrogens for our modern pseudo-estrogen inundated lifestyle.
References
(1) Cereal Germ
(2) What is Wheat Germ
(3) Wheat Germ Oil
(4) Fatty Acid Composition of Wheat Germ Oil
(5) Grains, Nuts, Seeds, and Beans
(6) Fermented Wheat Germ Extract
Hi Sarah,
I have always liked your site and will continue to return for your concise take on health and wellness.
This is my 50th year in Medicine, 46 as a nurse and 47 years in Alternative Functional Medicine. I do not eat wheat germ or recommend it to my patients. I do recommend Metatrol, the highly concentrated medical form of Fermented Wheat Germ Extract (FWGE) because of the unique ability of its 2 small capsules/day to negate the Warburg Effect (WE) in cancer cells. What’s WE? Its how cancer cells trick the body to let it keep growing. In August of 2020 the results of a study at the research lab of Dr. James Watson (one of the Nobel discoverers of DNA in the 50’s) on Metatrol (called A250 in the study) concluded that it reversed the WE in cancer cells, turned them into healthy cells that then terminated themselves as all healthy cells eventually do. Here is the link to the whole study. Read just the Abstract (premise) and Conclusion unless you like to read detailed molecular biological studies.
Dr. Watson states: “As a non-toxic, orally available, and efficient in vivo tumor growth inhibitor, A250 has the potential to support standard chemotherapy treatments and targeted therapies by modulating cellular energy balance and enhancing apoptosis.”
I have been using the formula with my cancer patients (and myself, and I have a wheat allergy) for 15 years (even in its older crude forms: Avemar etc.). All of my cancer patients on it are in remission and healthy. The older form, Avemar is 5,500 mg/day, not gluten/gliadin free and heat sensitive. Metatrol is only 41 mg/day, gluten/gliadin free and not heat sensitive. Buy it from a doctor or direct from the inventors, only manufacturer that owns the exclusive rights to produce Metatrol, the blessing of wheat/ germ for so many who would otherwise suffer.
Be well,
Ralph “the Nurse”
My comments as a scientist chemist are:
Yes omega-3 fatty acids are subject to rancidity but not omega-6 fatty acids. But Omega-3 is only 7% the rest is Omega-6.
Wheat germ oil has the highest content of vitamin E of any vegetable oil and it reduces rancidity. This means that wheat germ oil has the least tendency to rancidity of vegetable oils. Wheat germ oil contains phytoceramides (up to 6%) which prevent skin aging.
I am a holistic psychologist. You are correct that wheat germ will go rancid quickly, which is why it is normally sold in vacuum packed sealed glass jars. No air, no rancidity. I tell my clients to simply keep the wheat germ in the refrigerator once they open the jar. If the jar is not opened, and is kept in a reasonably cool place, it will keep fresh for many years. I accidentally discovered this after finding an eight year old jar of wheat germ in the back of a closet. I opened it to give it the sniff test out of curiosity. It was perfectly fresh. Rancid oil stinks, you don’t need a lab to test it. Eating wheat as a whole food only means consuming a high percentage of white flour, which is what a wheat berry mostly is. The bran is a think layer on the outside, and the wheat germ is a tiny flake at the base. All the rest is white flour. This is extremely important if you are diabetic, or are otherwise carb sensitive. Wheat germ has almost no carbohydrates, and almost no gluten either. As for it not being a whole food, we do not eat whole apples (the core and seeds), whole chickens (feathers, bones and beaks), or truly whole much of anything, And the author insults the dedicated pioneer nutritionists who first discovered the value of wheat germ. They were most certainly not shills for the flour industry. And the flour industry made very little effort to take advantage of their findings.
Spot on!
She mentioned the nutritional value was present but unavailable because of oxidized omega 6. As far as dedicated pioneers, they are Kellogg robber barons/eugenicists who wanted to profit off the by-product while selling snake oil. It is healthiest to limit seed oils because of the damage it does to humans. It is best for one’s wallet to just use whole grain flour for the verry little bread some insist on eating. Your argument was good but can it stand up to these facts?
The wheat germ oil I take is very delicious, organic and fresh. It has helped me give up sweets, cookies and ice cream. If you buy good quality, you will feel a difference.
Not sure if you even read the article?
Me too. And I agree with you. Depends on the quality of the product. Fully agree with Sarah regarding RANCID wheat germ.
What about the spermidin in wheat germ? Doctors in Germany are testing and recommending spermidin for Covid19.
There are plenty of other whole foods rich in spermidin intead of a a rancid, fractionated food like wheat germ.
i am sorry i don’t believe you it has helped people with cancer better do more research.the fermented wheatgerm
As I reported about in the article, the research is incredibly weak that fermented wheat germ is helpful for cancer. This is a pharmaceutical product, not a traditional food despite its sneaky, misleading name.
I agree with frank. It does help with cancer. I have eaten it for many years with no digestive problems whatsoever.
I don’t know where on you pages to ask this. Regarding wheat, not wheat germ. I received another email vilifying wheat altogether. Something about a chemical that behave like morphine and makes a person want to eat more and more. I have looked for the original article, but cannot find it. I make my bread with wheat that is unbleached, non bromated, and not treated with glyphosate. Are you familiar with this chemical? I have no intention of giving up my bread. I eat two pieces of toast every morning and that is pretty much it. I don’t buy packaged bake goods. Life is short.
I never eat wheat germ, but my family uses wheat germ oil as sunscreen. Started last year, haven’t had one burn, even when we visited the mountains of Colorado.
As Angela said, Wheat germ gives me the worst stomach ache! I have to be extremely careful eating anything with it.. But my neighbor seems to always have it. Great article!
Some people with very strong digestion might have no symptoms eating it, but it is still doing damage from all the (all but certain) free radicals in the rancid wheat germ oil. I know someone who added raw rolled oats to their smoothies for years (which would really tear up the intestinal tract) and claimed it was healthy only to end up with colitis out of the blue a few years down the track. No way to tell if the raw oats every day was the cause, but it certainly wouldn’t have been healthy as this person sadly thought it was. All grains need to be carefully prepared to be digestible and to avoid damage to our rather delicate one-stomach intestinal tract.
Wheat germ gives me terrible gas. Anything that rips up your gut like that after you eat it can’t be healthy!