Go With Your Gut Beyond Menopause

Do We Need Grains in our Diet?

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Do We Need Grains in our Diet?

Listen or watch | The grain drain: why grains might be making you miserable and what to do about it

Karen Langston

and

Lauren Gabrielle Foster

Jun 09, 2025

Transcript

Dana is standing in the cereal aisle, eyes glazed over, clutching a box of “whole grain” cereal like it’s going to transform her life like the box promises. Her jeans are too tight, her brain is foggy, and her gut… it’s constantly talking back with groans and gurgling. She’s trying to do the right thing by eating healthy, but nothing feels right.

What if Dana’s not failing her body?
What if the system and perhaps her breakfast is failing her?

In today’s episode, I am the guest on Lauren’s Foster’s podcast Everyday Magic. Before we get into it, I wanted to take this opportunity to say hello 👋👋 and welcome to new subscribers that have joined us

And, to say a big thank you to those who joined us during our live broadcast of this podcast.

Betty Boldbrew

Tim Ebl 🇨🇦

Kathleen Thorne RN, LMT

and thank you for the input too.

We are taking a journey through body awareness, ancestral diets, and the hidden science of grains, lectins, and metabolic chaos. You’ll hear why your comfort foods might be stirring up more than nostalgia—and how to begin loving your body in a whole new way.

So fascinating ladies, even though I’m the guest today, you know I couldn’t resist bringing a little sass and grace to the seat. If you’re ready, it’s time to question the norm, trust your wisdom, and sage with sass and grace in everyday life. Hold on to your oat milk latte because you can either watch or listen in this week. Here are the show notes;

The Primal Perspective on Grains

Grains are relatively new in the human diet—introduced only about 10,000 years ago with the rise of agriculture. From a Primal or ancestral health perspective, that’s a blink in evolutionary time. Our bodies evolved on diets rich in protein, healthy fats, roots, fruits, and greens, not cereals.

And here’s the kicker: when we started farming grains, we also started seeing signs of declining health like shorter stature, more cavities, and metabolic issues.

Why Grains May Be Messing With You

Here’s what the science and evolutionary biology are showing us:

1. Anti-Nutrients: Nature’s Chemical Defenses

Grains are protective little things. They contain anti-nutrients—compounds designed to help them survive, but not necessarily help you thrive.

2. High-Carb, Low-Payoff

Grains are dense in carbohydrates and light on nutrients. That means:

Blood sugar spikes
Insulin resistance
Crashes and cravings
Fat storage

Not exactly a recipe for thriving.

3. Omega-6 Overload

Grains and processed grain products are a huge source of omega-6 fats—especially when combined with refined seed oils. This throws off your omega-6 to omega-3 ratio and fuels chronic inflammation.

4. Low Nutrient Density

Compared to vegetables, meats, and fruits, grains offer very little bang for your nutrient buck. Even the few vitamins they contain are often blocked by anti-nutrients like phytates.

5. Evolutionary Mismatch

We’re biologically wired for nutrient-dense, whole foods—not Cheerios. The switch to grain-based agriculture may have made farming easier, but it came at a cost to our metabolic and digestive health.

But What About Whole Grains?”

Even whole grains carry the same problems at least in North America:

High in lectins and phytates
Spike blood sugar
Often loaded with glyphosate (especially in North America)

However, I still believe that there is room for grains for some people such as blood type A. They are the newest blood type evolving from agriculture practices. If you are going to eat grains, we need to look at where the grains are coming from, how they were stored and the best way to process them. Sticking to ancient grains such as millet and kamaut are great choices. When it comes to wheat how about going to the source? One of my subscribers (be sure to check her out)

Mary Ploppins

she likes to source her foods from the source. She gets her wheat sometimes from Italy when she can find it from a source that doesn't exploit labor. Sometimes the Ukraine. Check out what she wrote in our chat:

We can also process grains the old fashioned way by milling them as whole grains so that we can reap the nutrient benefits. My very good friend Chef and Health Coach

Carolyn Akens

and Baker of Bread Emporium who happens to be 75 no meds no health ailments has been advocate for milling grains the right way .

Here is how other blood types fair with gains;

Phytase, Phytic Acid & Your Gut

There is some research that phytic acid binds to minerals like calcium, magnesium, and iron, making them harder to absorb. While the enzyme phytase can help break it down, most people don’t make enough of it especially if their gut is compromised. So perhaps you need a good digestive enzyme and there are ways to test for that.

Soaking and fermenting grains helps activate phytase however, I believe we are compromising our gut bacteria by doing so. Perhaps soaking is OK, but do not ferment. I answer more about this in the podcast. If you would like a broader explanation hit the comment button:

Lectins, Blood Types & Gut Confusion

Lectins can bind to your gut lining and immune cells—sometimes mimicking your blood type antigens. This can be a huge problem if you have autoimmunity or microbial imbalances.

Different blood types may react differently to specific lectins, as seen here:

Glyphosate, GMOs & Global Grain Controversies

Let’s talk about chemicals conventional and sometimes even non-GMO grains like wheat, oats, and barley are often sprayed with glyphosate a known gut disruptor just before harvest. This practice is banned or restricted in many European countries, but allowed (even standard) in the U.S. and Canada.

Not All Grains Are Created Equal

If you do eat grains, opt for ancient grains like einkorn, spelt, kamut, millet, or teff or look for oganic and hand milled. Modern wheat has 42 chromosomes. Einkorn? Just 14—and a completely different gluten structure.

Final Thoughts from the Episode

Whether you're team bread or starting to eye your grain stash suspiciously, here’s what I want you to walk away with:

You are not broken.
If grains leave you bloated, tired, and inflamed—it’s not you, it’s them.
Try swapping just one grain-heavy meal this week with a whole-food alternative: think roasted squash, sautéed greens, or root veggies with protein and healthy fat. Then, notice how you feel.