gluten grains Archives - Amazing Health Advances

Is Sorghum a Healthy Grain?

The AHA! Team — Wed, 20 Aug 2025 05:11:56 +0000

Michael Greger M.D. FACLM via Nutrition Facts – How does sorghum compare with other grains in terms of protein, antioxidants, and micronutrients? And the benefits of red sorghum compared to black and white varieties? Sorghum is “the Forgotten Grain.” The United States is the top producer of sorghum, “but it is typically not used to produce food for American consumers.” Instead, it’s used mainly “to produce livestock feed, pet foods, household building materials…but it is a preferred grain for human diets in other parts of the world, such as Africa and Asia.” There, it’s been a staple and eaten for thousands of years, making it currently the fifth most popular grain grown after wheat, corn, rice, and barley, beating out oats and rye. Sorghum is gluten-free Because sorghum is gluten-free and “can be deﬁnitively considered safe for consumption by people with celiac disease,” we’re starting to see it “increasingly used” as actual human food in the United States, so I decided to look into just how healthy it might be. As you can see below and at 0:59 in my video Is Sorghum a Healthy Grain?, it is comparable to other grains when it comes to protein. Since when do we have to worry about getting enough protein, though? Fiber is what Americans are desperately deficient in, and sorghum does pull towards the front of the pack, as seen here and at 1:06 in my video. The micronutrient composition is relatively “unremarkable, relative to other cereal grains.” As shown below and at 1:15 in my video, you can see how it rates on minerals, for example. Where sorghum shines is its polyphenol content. Polyphenols are plant compounds and “their regular consumption has been associated with a reduced risk of a number of chronic diseases, including cancer, cardiovascular disease (CVD), and neurodegenerative disorders.” It’s also been shown to have “a protective effect…on all-cause mortality.” If you compare different grains, sorghum really does pull ahead, helping to explain why its antioxidant power is so much higher, as seen here and at 1:40 in my video. Now, sorghum gets its grainy butt kicked by fruits and vegetables, but when compared to other grains, a sorghum-based breakfast cereal, for example, might have about eight times the antioxidants than a whole wheat-based one. What we care about, though, isn’t antioxidant activity in a test tube, but antioxidant activity within our body. If you measure the antioxidant capacity of your blood after eating regular pasta, it goes up a little. If you replace 30 percent of the wheat flour with sorghum flour, it doesn’t go up much higher. But, if you eat 30 percent red sorghum flour pasta, the antioxidant capacity in your bloodstream shoots up about 15-fold, as seen below and at 2:22 in my video. Red sorghum? Yes. In fact, there are multiple types of sorghum—such as black sorghum, white sorghum, and red sorghum. Below and at 2:31 in my video is how they look in grain form (including yellow sorghum). Red sorghum and especially black sorghum have extremely high antioxidant activity, comparable to fruits and vegetables, as seen here and at 2:41. The problem is I can’t find any of the colored sorghum varieties. I can go online and buy red or black rice, purple, blue, or red popping corn, and purple or black barley, but red or black sorghum can be harder to find. White sorghum is widely available for about four dollars a pound, though. Does it have any “unique nutritional and health-promoting attributes”? It’s promoted as “An Underutilized Cereal Whole Grain with the Potential to Assist in the Prevention of Chronic Disease,” according to a study title, but what is the “effect of sorghum consumption on health outcomes”? Epidemiological study As you can see below and at 3:20 in my video, an epidemiological study in China found lower esophageal cancer mortality rates in areas where more millet and sorghum were eaten, compared to corn and wheat, but that may have been due more to avoiding fungal contamination of corn than from any benefit of sorghum itself. Though, it’s possible. “Oats are the only source of avenanthramides,” which give oats some unique health benefits. Similarly, sorghum, even white sorghum, contains unique pigments known as 3-deoxyanthocyanins, which are strong inducers of some of the detoxifying enzymes in our liver and can inhibit the growth of human cancer cells growing in a petri dish, compared to red cabbage, for instance, which just has regular anthocyanin pigments. White sorghum didn’t do much worse than red or black varieties, which have way more of the unique 3-deoxyanthocyanins, so it may just be a general sorghum effect. You don’t know until you put it to the test. Researchers found that sorghum suppresses tumor growth and metastasis in human breast cancer xenografts. What does that mean? They concluded that sorghum could be used as “an inexpensive natural cancer therapy, without any side effects. We strongly recommend the use of [sorghum] as an edible therapeutic agent as it possesses tumor suppression, migration inhibition, and anti-metastatic effects on breast cancer” for humans. However, xenograft means human breast cancer implanted in a mouse. Yes, the human tumors grew more slowly in the mice-fed sorghum extracts and blocked metastasis to the lung. Yes, sorghum did the same for human colon cancer that, again, was in mice, but that can’t necessarily be translated to how human cancers would grow in humans, since not only do these mice not have a human immune system, they hardly have any immune system at all. They’re bred without a thymus gland, which is where cancer-fighting immunity largely originates. I mean, how else could you keep the mouse’s immune system from rejecting the human tissue outright? But this immunosuppression makes these kinds of mouse models that much more artificial—and that much more difficult to extrapolate to humans. And that’s a lot of what we see in the sorghum literature—in vitro data from test tubes and petri dishes, and data from rats and mice. There has been “a critical missing piece of the puzzle” needed to link laboratory data to actual beneﬁts in humans. Missing, that is, until now. Thankfully, we now have human interventional studies, which we’ll explore next. Stay tuned for The Health Benefits of Sorghum. Should we all be seeking gluten-free grains? See related posts below. Key Takeaways Sorghum, especially red and black varieties, has high antioxidant levels, comparable to some fruits and vegetables, which may benefit chronic disease prevention. Sorghum contains 3-deoxyanthocyanins, unique pigments that may help inhibit cancer cell growth and enhance liver detoxifying enzymes, especially in red and black sorghum. Animal studies show sorghum extracts may slow tumor growth and prevent metastasis, though these findings need confirmation in human studies. Sorghum is gluten-free, making it a suitable grain for people with celiac disease, and its fiber content may aid overall digestive health. Despite its nutritional benefits, sorghum is mainly used for farm animal feed in the United States, though it is a dietary staple in parts of Africa and Asia. To read the original article click here.

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U.S. Approves World’s First GMO Wheat Grown with Banned Neurotoxic Herbicide

The AHA! Team — Mon, 23 Jun 2025 20:30:56 +0000

Stephanie Woods via NaturalHealth365 – While corporations and even our government tamper with our food, yet another addition is making its way to U.S. soil. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently approved the cultivation of genetically modified (GM) wheat. The first GM wheat in the world comes from Bioceres, an Argentinean company, and French company Florimond Desprez. While Argentina is currently the “only” place where GM wheat products are being consumed, this toxic food is heading to the United States. The movement to deregister GM wheat products is strong and relentless. It will eventually happen, likely sooner rather than later. To avoid this, it is a good idea to begin preparations now. The hidden dangers of glufosinate ammonium One of the biggest concerns about GMO wheat is that it is grown with glufosinate ammonium. This highly dangerous agrotoxin has been banned in the European Union due to its serious health risks. Exposure to glufosinate ammonium has been linked to a range of concerning health impacts, including gastrointestinal issues such as mouth ulcers, abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and sore throat. Cardiovascular problems like low blood pressure (hypotension) and slow heart rate (bradycardia) have also been reported. Neurological effects can range from drowsiness, headaches, agitation, tremors, stupor, confusion, and dizziness to severe outcomes like seizures, retrograde amnesia, coma, and even respiratory failure. Additionally, respiratory complications such as hypoxia and shortness of breath pose significant threats. Given these alarming risks, it’s clear that we must actively avoid products containing this harmful chemical. Unfortunately, we cannot rely on government agencies to protect us; their actions often suggest the opposite. We must stay informed, make conscious choices, and take control of our health and well-being. Too many red flags to ignore! When it comes to GM wheat, the red flags are impossible to overlook. For starters, no publicly available studies or documentation prove its safety. Despite being heavily promoted as “drought resistant,” no credible evidence supports this claim. In fact, GM wheat hasn’t even demonstrated higher productivity compared to conventional wheat. The situation in Argentina highlights another major concern. The country’s National Commission on Biotechnology, the central authority responsible for approving GM foods, is largely made up of representatives from companies that profit from selling GMOs. With such an obvious conflict of interest, there are virtually no checks and balances in place to ensure transparency or accountability. These glaring issues make it clear that GM wheat comes with far more questions than answers. How to avoid GM wheat: Take control of your food choices Avoiding GM wheat is entirely possible with some mindful shopping habits. One of the most effective strategies is to buy organic. Foods with the Certified Organic seal are prohibited from containing GMOs, offering a reliable safeguard against genetically modified ingredients. When shopping, look for the Non-GMO Project Verified seal. While many products claim to be “non-GMO,” this official certification ensures a higher standard of transparency and accountability, giving you greater confidence in your purchases. Another essential step is to avoid processed foods. Whole, organic foods are far less likely to contain GMOs, while processed foods are notorious for sneaking them in through various additives and fillers. Whenever possible, buy directly from local farms. This supports the local economy, allows you to ask questions about farming practices, and helps to ensure you get clean, high-quality food. The reality is that the tampering with our food supply isn’t likely to stop anytime soon. Governments and large corporations often prioritize profit and convenience over nutrition and public health. That means it’s up to us to take matters into our own hands – to educate ourselves, make informed choices, and seek out healthy alternatives to the heavily processed, GMO-laden products they want to push on us. It’s time to stand firm. Every purchase is a choice, a step towards reclaiming control over our health. Push back. Choose better. Sources for this article include: Childrenshealthdefense.org Sciencedirect.com NIH.gov To read the original article click here.

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Curing Canker Sores with Diet

AHA Publisher — Thu, 04 Nov 2021 07:00:03 +0000

Michael Greger M.D. FACLM via Nutrition Facts – Does excluding dairy products, food additives, and gluten-containing grains from one’s diet help those with recurring canker sores (aphthous ulcers)? Recurring canker sores are the single most common inflammatory and ulcerative condition of the mouth, affecting as many as one in five people. As I discuss in my video The Role of Dairy and Gluten in Canker Sores, canker sores can sometimes be a sign of celiac disease, the relatively rare autoimmune condition triggered by the wheat protein gluten. But what about those without celiac disease? Thirty-seven years ago, there was a report of a small group of recurrent canker sore patients who got better after removinggluten from their diet, even though they didn’t have any signs of celiac disease. Without a control group, you can’t know if they would’ve gotten better on their own, but it was an interesting enough finding to spark further study. Given that small series of patients, researchers decided to try out a gluten-free diet on 20 patients with recurring canker sores, once again explicitly excluding those known to have celiac disease. Five of the 20 seemed to get better and, critically, got worse when they were challenged with gluten. Even though there was no control group, in the few patients who got better, the ulcers came back when gluten was added back into their diet. This was not a random group of people with canker sores, though. The reason they had gotten intestinal biopsies to rule out celiac disease was that they had some other abnormalities, so you can’t extrapolate from this study to say that one in five people with canker sores may benefit from cutting out gluten, though it does appear to help some. It would have been better if it had been a blinded challenge. If you cut out gluten (or any food) and just so happen to coincidentally feel better, you might convince yourself that gluten was the culprit. Then, when the researchers give you a piece of bread, just the stress of thinking your ulcers might come back may help trigger the ulcers to actually come back. That’s why, ideally, you do blind gluten challenges to see if gluten really is to blame. For example, if you take people who don’t have celiac disease or a wheat allergy but claim to be sensitive to gluten, you can test to see whether they’re fooling themselves by randomly assigning them to take a capsule with gluten or a placebo made of rice starch. So, the subjects are on a gluten-free diet, and you give them a gluten pill, the equivalent of two pieces of bread, and see whether they get worse. As you can see at 2:17 in my video, just the thought of taking something that might contain gluten—that is, the placebo rice starch pill—made their symptoms shoot up. The reason we know this non-celiac gluten sensitivity exists is that the actual gluten pill made them feel even worse. That is precisely what happened in the case of canker sores: Those who thought they were gluten sensitive got more canker sores when they were exposed to real, as opposed to fake, gluten. Where did they even get the idea in the original study to try cutting out gluten? Well, back in the 1960s, it was reported that the blood of patients with bad canker sores reacted to certain food proteins, such as gluten, as you can see at 3:01 in my video, but they had an even stronger reaction to the milk protein casein. This has since been more formally tested. Fifty patients with recurring canker sores were compared with 50 healthy people for their levels of anti-gluten antibodies and anti-cow’s-milk protein antibodies. Those with canker sores were no more likely to react to the gluten, but the levels of anti-milk-proteins were significantly higher. In fact, the majority reacted to the cow’s milk. These results indicate a “strong association” between high levels of anti-milk-proteins in the blood with recurring canker sores, but what we care about is whether people actually get better when they cut out milk. On hearing their results, three of the patients spontaneously decided to cut all dairy products from their diet for a few months to see what happened—and it did seem to help. There was no reappearance of the sores in the first patient or the second patient—until he had some cow’s milk ice cream. In the third patient, the ulcers seemed to come with less frequency. Those were just observations, though, not an actual study. As you can see at 4:10 in my video, the same can be seen with certain food additives; people with recurring canker sores may react more to certain food dyes. So, if you try people on a gluten-free diet, a dairy-free diet, or a diet free of certain food additives, people will likely respond in different ways. In this case, for example, 6 out of 11 “responded to a dietary withdrawal”—some were better on the gluten-free diet, others improved on the dairy-free diet, while others still on the additive-free diet—but the responses were pretty dramatic, seen within just one week. It seems it might be worth giving these exclusion diets a try to see whether there’s a significant improvement. Can’t you just take an allergy test or something? Apparently not. For example, one poor young woman had recurring canker sores since the age of two—“multiple painful lesions” in her mouth almost constantly. They asked her about milk, and she replied that she rarely drank it because it appeared to trigger more canker sores almost immediately. So, they decided to look into it. They tested her for sensitivities to dairy, both so-called prick and patch allergy tests, and both were negative. Even still, if she felt worse on dairy, she might as well try cutting out all dairy products completely, right? She did, and for the first time in her life, the ulcers went away and stayed away. They only started to appear again when she accidentally had milk. So, even if tests come back negative, it may be worth a try to cut out all dairy and see what happens. We know cow’s milk may play a role in other allergic and autoimmune type diseases, and reports going back decades suggest there’s a subgroup of canker sore patients for whom dairy is a causative factor. “However, awareness of this association is low among both patients and health care providers.” Improvement can happen rapidly. For example, a boy and a girl both had frequent multiple ulcerations for years and then were apparently cured within two weeks of eliminating dairy from their diets. We don’t know how often it works; we just know it does—sometimes. So, as a 2017 paper in the Journal of the American Dental Association suggested, why not give a cow’s milk protein elimination trial a try, “particularly before use of medications with potential side effects.” Other ways to help prevent future outbreaks can include avoiding foaming agents in toothpaste. Learn more by watching my videos Is Sodium Lauryl Sulfate Safe? and Is CAPB in SLS-Free Toothpaste Any Better?. What about treatment? See Topical Honey for Canker Sores and Best Supplement for Canker Sores. KEY TAKEAWAYS As many as one in five people experience recurring canker sores, the most common inflammatory and ulcerative condition of the mouth. Canker sores may be a sign of celiac disease, the autoimmune condition triggered by gluten, a wheat protein. Researchers put 20 patients with recurring canker sores who did not have celiac disease on a gluten-free diet, and five appeared to improve and, critically, got worse when gluten was added back to their diet. There was no control group, however, and it was not a blinded challenge so it’s possible the subjects were expecting an outcome, knowing they were getting gluten. In fact, just the thought of getting gluten made symptoms shoot up in a study performing a blind gluten challenge. Gluten was first identified as a possible culprit in the 1960s, when it was reported that the blood of patients with bad canker sores reacted to certain food proteins, such as gluten. However, they had an even stronger reaction to the milk protein casein. In a more formal test, those with canker sores were no more likely to react to the gluten, but the levels of anti-milk-proteins were significantly higher and the majority reacted to the cow’s milk, indicating a “strong association” between high levels of anti-milk-proteins in the blood with recurring canker sores. Certain food dyes or other additives may also cause more reactions in people with recurring canker sores. Exclusion diets, such as a gluten-free diet, a dairy-free diet, or a diet free of certain food additives, may be informative and seem worthwhile in trying to achieve any significant improvement. Allergy tests do not appear to be useful. Improvement can happen rapidly. In one case, children who had suffered with frequent and multiple ulcerations for years were apparently cured within two weeks of eliminating dairy from their diets. To read the original article click here.

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