By Mae Chan

If we exclude sugar, approximately 70% of all calories in the western diet come from a combination of wheat, dairy, soy and corn. The problem is, they’re toxic to our bodies and don’t do anything to advance our health.

Were it true that these four foods were health promoting, whole-wheat-bread-munching, soy-milk-guzzling, cheese-nibbling, corn-chip having populations would probably be experiencing exemplary health among the world’s nations. To the contrary, despite the massive amount of calories ingested from these purported “health foods,” we are perhaps the most malnourished and sickest people on the planet today. The average American adult is on 12 prescribed medications, demonstrating just how diseased, or for that matter, brainwashed and manipulated, we are.

How could this be? After all, doesn’t the USDA Food Pyramid emphasize whole grains like wheat above all other food categories, and isn’t dairy so indispensible to our health that it is afforded a category all of its own?

With Monsanto’s patented genes being inserted into roughly 95 percent of all soybeans and 80 percent of all corn grown in the U.S., the company has also used its wide reach to control the ability of new biotech firms to get wide distribution for their products, including big players in the food industry which have made an entire country falsely believe that these are health foods.

Unfortunately these “authoritative” recommendations go much further in serving the special interests of the industries that produce these commodities than in serving the biological needs of those who are told it would be beneficial to consume them. After all, grains themselves have only been consumed for 500 generations — that is, only since the transition out of the Paleolithic into the Neolithic era approximately 10,000 years ago. Since the advent of homo sapiens 2.5 million years ago our bodies have survived on a hunter and gatherer diet, where foods were consumed in whole form, and raw! Corn, Soy and Cow’s Milk have only just been introduced into our diet, and therefore are “experimental” food sources which given the presence of toxic lectins, endocrine disruptors, anti-nutrients, enzyme inhibitors, indigestible gluey proteins, etc, don’t appear to make much biological sense to consume in large quantities – and perhaps, as is my belief, given their deleterious effects on health, they should not be consumed at all.

We need only consider the undeniable fact that these four “health foods” are also sources for industrial adhesives, in order to see how big a problem they present.

For one, wheat flour is used to make glues for book binding and wall-papering, as well as being the key ingredient for paper mache mortar. Sticky soy protein has replaced the need for formaldehyde based adhesives for making plywood, and is used to make plastic, composite and many other things you probably wouldn’t consider eating. The whitish protein known as casein in cow’s milk is the active ingredient in Elmer’s glue and has been used for paint since ancient times. Finally, corn gluten is used as a glue to hold cardboard boxes together. Eating glue doesn’t sound too appetizing does it? Indeed, when you consider what these sticky glycoproteins will do to the delicate microvilli inside our intestines, a scenario, nightmarish in proportions, unfolds.

All nutrients are absorbed in the intestine through the microvilli. These finger-like projections from off the surface of the intestine amplify the surface area of absorption in the intestine to the area the size of a tennis court. When coated with undigested or partially digested glue (glycoproteins), not only is the absorption of nutrients reduced leading to malabsorption and consequently malnourishment, but the villi themselves become damaged/dessicated/ inflammed and begin to undergo atrophy – at times even breaking off. The damage to the intestinal membrane caused by these glues ultimately leads to perforation of the one cell thick intestinal wall, often leading to “leaky gut syndrome”: a condition where undigested proteins and plant toxins called lectins enter the bloodstream wreaking havoc on the immune system. A massive amount of research (which is given little to no attention both in the mass media and allopathic medicine) indicates that diseases as varied as fibromyalgia, diabetes, Autism, cancer, arthritis, crohn’s, chronic fatigue, artheroscerosis, and many others, are directly influenced by the immune mediated responses wheat, dairy, soy and corn can provoke.

Of all four suspect foods Wheat, whose omnipresence in the S.A.D or Standard American Diet indicates something of an obsession, may be the primary culprit. According to Clinical Pathologist Carolyn Pierini the wheat lectin called “gliadin” is known to to participate in activating NF kappa beta proteins which are involved in every acute and chronic inflammatory disorder including neurodegenerative disease, inflammatory bowel disease, infectious and autoimmune diseases.

In support of this indictment of Wheat’s credibility as a “health food,” Glucosamine — the blockbuster supplement for arthritis and joint problems — has been shown to bind to and deactivate the lectin in wheat that causes inflammation. It may just turn out to be true that millions of Americans who are finding relief with Glucosamine would benefit more directly from removing the wheat (and related allergens) from their diets rather than popping a multitude of natural and synthetic pills to cancel one of Wheat’s main toxic actions. Not only would they be freed up from taking supplements like Glucosamine, but many would also be able to avoid taking dangerous Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs) like Tylenol, Aspirin and Ibuprofen, which are known to cause tens of thousands of cases of liver damage, internal hemorrhaging and stomach bleeding each and every year.

One might wonder: “How is it that if America’s favorite sources of calories: Wheat and Dairy, are so obviously pro-inflammatory, immunosuppressive, and generally toxic, why would anyone eat them?” ANSWER: They are powerful forms of socially sanctioned self-medication.

Gluten intolerance is no longer a fringe medical concept. Researchers are fully aware there is a very big problem with modern wheat cultivation. Wheat is far from being a health food. It makes you fat, causes gas and makes your intestinal tract your enemy, or rather vice-versa. High-yielding and now genetically modified varieties of wheat are making this one cereal grain you’ll probably want to axe from your food list.

Wheat and Dairy contain gliadorphin and gluten exorphins, and casomorphin, respectively. These partially digested proteins known as peptides act on the opioid receptors in the brain, generating a temporary euphoria or analgesic effect that has been clinically documented and measured in great detail. The Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology in Magdeburg, Germany has shown that a Casein (cow’s milk protein) derivative has 1000 times greater antinociceptive activity (pain inhibition) than morphine. Not only do these morphine like substances create a painkilling “high,” but they can invoke serious addictive/obsessive behavior, learning disabilities, autism, inability to focus, and other serious physical and mental handicaps.

Diary is processed by man, homogenized and pasteurized, making it a completely dead food, lifeless and void of nutrients.

Cows are treated inhumanely, wallowing in their own feces, loaded with antibiotics, shot with growth hormones forcing them to produce faster than nature intended and slaughtered in traumatic fashion. The quality of their lives directly impacts the quality of this “food” you are putting in your body.

Live viruses are transmitted through dairy, even pasteurized. This is from unhealthy cows as mentioned above. This is directly linked to many illnesses, including Juvenile Type I Diabetes.

The processing of milk renders it inedible, especially by babies. In infants, it may cause allergies, asthma, auto-immune conditions, eczema, psoriasis and SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome). There is absolutely not one single good reason or argument to give processed cow’s milk to a child.

Calcium is undigested from cow’s milk. The enzymes are destroyed in processing. Milk is so poisonous; the body creates lots of mucus in an attempt to expel the contaminants as quickly as possible. Dairy lines the intestinal tract, leading to poor nutrient absorption and diseases like diverticulitis.

Dairy is so acidic, the body pulls calcium from the bones to keep you alive. Dairy CAUSES osteoporosis. The leading countries who consume dairy all have the highest rates of osteoporosis.

Cow’s milk is the most allergenic and dangerous item in our food supply today.

Moreover, the combination of cereals (also claimed to be natural) are toxic cocktails combining GMO soy, corn, canola oil, wheat and the milk products used to consume them.

As the glues destroy the delicate surface of our intestines, we for the life of us can’t understand why we are so drawn to consume these “comfort foods”, heaping “drug soaked” helping after helping. Many of us struggle to shake ourselves out of our wheat and dairy induced stupor with stimulants like coffee, caffeinated soda and chocolate, creating a viscous “self-medicating” cycle of sedation and stimulation.

As if this were not enough, Wheat, Dairy, and Soy also happen to have some of the highest naturally occurring concentrations of Glutamic Acid, which is the natural equivalent of monosodium glutamate. This excitotoxin gives these foods great “flavor” (or what the Japanese call umami) but can cause the neurons to fire to the point of death. It is no wonder that with all these drug-like qualities most Americans consume wheat and dairy in each and every meal of their day, for each and every day of their lives.

In addition to the serious health risks associated with consuming genetically modified foods, soy poses another risk: hexane. Used in processing soy ingredients to make isolates and concentrates, whole soybeans are bathed in synthetic petroleum-based solvents including the neurotoxin and pollutant, hexane.

Most soy products block the production of thyroid hormone and reduce energy in the body by inhibiting tyrosine kinases, enzymes involved in the transfer of energy from one molecule to another. These enzymes drive cell division, memory consolidation, tissue repair, and blood vessel maintenance and regeneration.

Literally thousands of published studies have shown soy to be dangerous for numerous conditions. Some of these include bladder cancer, breast cancer, asthma, poor memory, fibroids, ADD, ADHD, malnutrition, digestive problems and more. Soy is extremely toxic to the thyroid gland. It’s an endocrine disruptor, therefore affecting the entire hormonal system.

Whether you now believe that removing Wheat, Dairy, Soy and Corn from your diet is a good idea, or still need convincing, it doesn’t hurt to take the “elimination diet” challenge. The real test is to eliminate these suspect foods for at least 2 weeks, see how you feel, and then if you aren’t feeling like you have made significant improvements in your health, reintroduce them and see what happens. Trust in your feelings, listen to your body, and you will move closer to what is healthy for you.

Mae Chan holds degrees in both physiology and nutritional sciences. She is also blogger and and technology enthusiast with a passion for disseminating information about health.