Hub and I have had to eat gluten-free for the last three years.  I discovered my IBS, raging restless legs and ultimate virtual digestive collapse was due to gluten, and my Hub followed me as an experiment, and his severe brain-fog, depression and acute irritability all went away to our amazement.

I have been on a quest though to try and figure out why.  Why are so many people becoming intolerant of what is such a basic food group?  How come Celiac Disease and Gluten Intolerance were virtually unheard of 50 or 60 years ago?

What I have recently discovered is very profound.  It is because modern processed wheat products are not prepared properly.

All grains and seeds - grains, seeds, legumes, nuts, etc., contain phytates.  These are natural nutrient-blockers, designed to prevent the seed from germinating prematurely.  They have to be neutralized by phytase which is an enzyme, and that can only be triggered by prolonged contact with moisture.

All seeds and grains should be soaked for 12 - 24 hours prior to use.  The fact that they aren't in modern commercially-made food explains why many who are gluten intolerant also go on to develop problems with other grains - corn, soy, and other bean flours.  The plethora of unprepared wheat and other grains that are in modern processed food is creating a worldwide undermining of our nutritional strength.  The un-neutralized phytates are preventing us from absorbing nutrition properly.  Without enough nutrition, the body cannot function as it should - hence the rapid escalation of multiple health issues......

The other problem is that modern bread is developed too fast for the chemical interactions between the flour, the yeast and the water to convert the gluten and other proteins into substances our bodies can deal with.  Improperly converted gluten becomes toxic in the body and can trigger all sorts of health problems - which is why so many are gluten intolerant - and why GI is linked to so many different diseases and ailments.

Traditional bakers would typically prepare the dough the afternoon or early evening before, leave it to prove overnight, and bake it the bread the following morning - giving the dough well above the minimum 6 hours needed for the interaction to take place.

Commercially-made breads - and even many home-baked breads, are usually completed within two or three hours - and some is even finished within 45 minutes!  Is it any wonder, in light of this that so many people are developing problems with the grains?

So, I did an experiment and made some long-proved bread to see what would happen.  Neither of us reacted to it at all.

I now make my bread in the afternoon, leave it to prove overnight and bake it the next day - usually a process that takes around 17 hours from start to finish.  I also find that I need hardly any yeast - a bare quarter teaspoonful suffices, because the yeast has plenty of time to work its way through the dough.

If I could find a local source of whole un-milled grains here in South Wales, UK, to grind at home freshly for each loaf, I would be in my element.  If anyone knows of anywhere, I would be very grateful.

Ali.