What's with the "What's With Wheat" movie?

I was planning on doing a masterpost about grains and gluten for a while now.
Since there's a new movie on the subject about to launch, I figured I'd be remiss in my duties if I didn't get this together about now.

This movie "What's With Wheat" you may have heard of appears to have been inspired by the financial success of a similar fearmongering misinformation piece known as "That Sugar Film" and there appears to be some cross-promotion between the makers of that film and this one. The "experts" and funders of the movie are a veritable who's who of woo, featuring all manner of pseudoscience based health & diet authors in particular.

Not having or intending to watch this fictional piece I cannot offer a review myself but I will add links to reviews as they become available. As to the claims the film makes, I understand that they range from the "gluten is bad" to the "it's not the gluten it's the chemicals they spray on the crops" to the "the wheat is GMO which makes it bad" sort of nonsense that has been claimed and debunked repeatedly for at least as long as I've been in the fitness business.

Here's an entry from a blogger who was offered a cut to promote the film, but declined on ethical grounds: Nurse Loves Farmer - No, I Will Not Promote Your Anti-Wheat Documentary.

It's always ironic to me that these "alternative" health marketers constantly claim that we can't trust the scientists and the qualified health professionals as they have financial incentives to promote certain information... while they themselves run affiliate programs offering financial incentives to promote their own, non-evidence based misinformation. As a side note, remember that time they tried to pay ME off to promote lchf and paleo pseudoscience? I sure haven't forgotten it.

The following links alone will debunk many of the disingenuous claims of this marketing piece masquarading as a documentary:

• Wheat Has Not Changed.
• Wheat In The World.

In the next section you'll find links regarding the benefits of keeping cereal grains in your diet unless you have an actually diagnosed medical reason to avoid them.

As I've attempted to explain for years now... active people have a certain ENERGY requirement as well as other nutritional requirements to meet. They will best meet those requirements through a more inclusive diet, rather than a more restrictive one.

The Master Post On The Benefits Of Keeping Whole Grains In Your Diet Starts Here:

Latest Update: January 2019

• Blow to low carb diet as landmark study finds high fibre cuts heart disease risk.
• The lifesaving food 90% aren’t eating enough of. 
• Carbohydrate quality and human health: a series of systematic reviews and meta-analyses.

 

Whole grain consumption and risk of cardiovascular disease, cancer, and all cause and cause specific mortality: systematic review.

http://www.bmj.com/content/353/bmj.i2716?etoc

What is already known on this topic

• A high intake of whole grains has been associated with a lower risk of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and weight gain
• Recommendations for whole grain intake have often been unclear or inconsistent with regard to the amount and types of whole grain foods that should be consumed to reduce chronic disease and risk of mortality

What this study adds

• A high intake of whole grains was associated with reduced risk of coronary heart disease, cardiovascular disease, total cancer, and all cause mortality, as well as mortality from respiratory disease, infectious disease, diabetes, and all non-cardiovascular, non-cancer causes
• Reductions in risk were observed up to an intake of 210-225 g/day (seven to seven and a half servings/day) and for whole grain bread, whole grain breakfast cereals, and added bran
• The results strongly support dietary recommendations to increase intake of whole grain foods in the general population to reduce risk of chronic diseases and premature mortality

Consumption of whole grains and cereal fiber and total and cause-specific mortality.

http://bmcmedicine.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12916-015-0294-7

• Consumption of whole grains were inversely associated with risk of all-cause mortality and death from cancer, cardiovascular disease (CVD), diabetes, respiratory disease, infections, and other causes.
• Our data suggest cereal fiber is one potentially protective component.

See also: http://www.livescience.com/50231-whole-grain-cereal-fiber-early-death.html

 Gluten free diet and nutrient deficiencies: A review.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27211234

• GF-diet was found to be poor in alimentary fiber due in particular to the necessary avoidance of several kinds of foods naturally rich in fiber.
• Micronutrients are also found to be poor, in particular Vit. D, Vit. B12 and folate, in addition to some minerals such as iron, zinc, magnesium and calcium.
• Moreover, an inadequate macronutrient intake was reported related above all to the focus on the avoidance of gluten.

Association Between Carbohydrate Nutrition and Successful Aging Over 10 Years

https://biomedgerontology.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2016/05/23/gerona.glw091.full 

• Consumption of dietary fiber from breads/cereals and fruits independently influenced the likelihood of aging successfully over 10 years. These findings suggest that increasing intake of fiber-rich foods could be a successful strategy in reaching old age disease free and fully functional.

 

Whole-grain wheat consumption reduces inflammation in a randomized controlled trial.

http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/early/2014/12/03/ajcn.114.088120.abstract

• Whole-grain wheat consumption reduces inflammation in a randomized controlled trial on overweight and obese subjects with unhealthy dietary and lifestyle behaviors.

No Effects of Gluten in Patients With Self-Reported Non-Celiac Gluten Sensitivity

http://www.gastrojournal.org/article/S0016-5085%2813%2900702-6/abstract

And a couple more I've shared already in an earlier entry, in case you missed it then:

• Myths Busted: The Whole Grains Council.
• Intake of whole grains is associated with lower risk of myocardial infarction. 

And here's a link to the Australian 2016 Grains For Health Report.

But what about Adrenal Fatigue though?

I'm glad you asked. For good measure here are some links discussing this condition, which is frequently invoked by fearmongers to convince you to adopt whatever form of restrictive diet they are selling.

Does such a condition even exist though? Spoiler: in the context they describe, nope.

• Fatigued by a Fake Disease.
• Adrenal Fatigue: Myth vs Reality.
• Adrenal Fatigue: A Fraud Perpetrated On Unsuspecting Patients.
• And while we're at it: Debunking The Myth Of Leaky Gut Syndrome.

Bottom line: there's money to be made in fearmongering, but there's a lot of harm to be done in promoting restrictive dieting via fear aka orthorexia. There are many benefits to including whole grains in a healthy & balanced diet.

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