Key Concept #5: Grains Are Totally Unnecessary

Hey all.

Did you know?

Despite their exalted position in the Conventional hierarchy of healthy foods, grains are completely and utterly unnecessary.

And yes, that even goes for whole grains.

I mean, what’s so great about them, anyway? What unique nutrients do they provide?

If you want fibre, eat vegetables.

If you want antioxidants, eat colourful produce.

If you want carbs, eat fruits and tubers.

Humans got along fairly well without wide scale grain agriculture for many thousands of years, and there’s no real reason to buy in today, especially when you consider the grain antinutrients like gluten that impair digestion, reduce mineral absorption, and damage the intestinal lining.

What is it, then, that necessitates 10-12 servings of whole grains a day? It’s madness.

Besides, for all the supposed health benefits that the grain-obsessed like to say are supported with tons of studies, this just isn’t the case when you look a little deeper.

Those studies invariably compare whole grains to refined grains, and in that case, the whole grain will generally win out. I’d suspect that if you compared a whole grain-based diet to a grain-free Primal way of eating, you’d get very different results. Unfortunately, that study hasn’t been done.

There’s nothing good in grains that you can’t get elsewhere, and plenty bad that you won’t find elsewhere. Don’t eat ’em.

Mark Sisson