What does the bible say about Grains?

Grains. It seems as though more and more people are moving to a grain free diet now and it has sparked my interest! Why this has become so popular? I love grains and breads so the thought of giving it up makes me want to rebel and stock up on as much as possible. There's something in me that when I try to cut something out of my diet it makes me want it that much more. Does it have that affect on you?

Anyway what sparked my interest in whether or not grains are really good for us was so many friends of mine have been doing the Paleo diet. Basically you eat real food except Dairy and grains. The real food part I'm totally on board with of course! Isn't it weird that we have to specify that we want to eat REAL food now? I find it mind boggling. But the dairy and grains part I have a difficult time accepting.

So, I decided to read more and educate myself on grains, and of course what the bible says. If you have read the bible at all you have most certainly come across passages referencing wheat, barley, & bread. Jesus calls himself the bread of life.

"Then Jesus declared, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty." - John 6:35

I also like this passage in Deuteronomy:

"For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land —a land with brooks, streams, and deep springs gushing out into the valleys and hills;
a land with wheat and barley, vines and fig trees, pomegranates, olive oil and honey; a land where bread will not be scarce and you will lack nothing..." Deuteronomy 8:7-9

Surely God doesn't intend for wheat to be bad for us. Or unhealthy.

NOW, here comes the scientific part. Grains we have today are nowhere near what they had in biblical times. We typically get our grain in the form of flour, processed and bleached from the grocery store. Grain that is genetically altered to resist disease, and sprayed with pesticides. They are refined which strips them of their vitamin and mineral components. So they need to go back and fortify it with extra synthetic vitamins that are of little value and possibly even dangerous to our health!

It's no wonder so many people have negative reactions to grains these days.

We also need to look at how Grain was prepared back then. They soaked, fermented, and sprouted grains to make them ready and more easily digested.
In whole grains there is a substance called phytic acid. This is what blocks the absorption of the essential nutrients. Whole grains also contain enzyme inhibitors that interfere with digestion. Soaking, sprouting or fermenting grains before eating them neutralize the phytates and enzyme inhibitors, which essentially predigest grains so that all the nutrients are available to you.

Those that are allergic to grains can tolerate them when properly prepared. Isn't that interesting?

So, what I've concluded is that if you can't prepare your grain using one of those techniques, it's best to avoid the processed flours and breads we have today. They are all essentially fake. By the time it makes it to your home, it's been processed, refined, fortified and turned into something not even close to it's original form.

Of course this isn't just something so easily done!! It takes time to change our ways. I'm going to attempt to sprout my own grain. It's totally been on my to-do list for weeks now so hopefully now that I've talked about it I'll get on it and share the how-to/results with you :)

What are your thoughts? Do you eat grains, or have you cut them out?


-Jessi