More "wheaty" facts

- Botanically, tomatoes are a fruit. Legally, however, they are a vegetable, at least according to the US Supreme Court. (Nix v Hedden, 1839).
- Arkansas decided to play it safe and named the tomato as its state fruit and state vegetable.
- Corn is also treated as a vegetable, but of course it's a grain. Its closest living relative is the teosite bush.
- Insoluble fiber is generally regarded as healthy, but think about it--what is the point of eating something you can't digest? Some studies indicate that fiber moving through the gut causes a lot of irritation and damage, and the resulting mucous (your bodies' defense) is what actually moves things through.
- Genetically, today's wheat is completely different than 'heritage' wheat. The point being, if our bodies had once adapted to wheat as a food source, it hasn't caught up.
- There are two primary kinds of wheat--red and white. (The red is usually bleached to make it white.) In South America, there is a purple variant.
- Domestic wheat has been bred so the 'rachis' does not release the seeds. Thus, domestic wheat cannot survive in the wild.
- In English, corn is a generic term for grain. Only Americans have used it to specifically refer to maize.
- 85% of corn is genetically modified.
- Hominy is corn that has been soaked in lye.
- Like wheat, most corn is a semi-dwarf variety, growing less than 6 feet. Wild corn grows up to 9 feet.
- Porridge is any grain cooked in milk or water. Oatmeal is obviously oats. Polenta is maize, grits are hominy, and wheat is Cream of Wheat. (There doesn't appear to be a generic term for this.)
- Oats do not contain gluten, but many people who are sensitive to wheat gluten are usually sensitive to the proteins in oats, as well.
- Rolled oats are just that--the grain is flattened by rollers, making it easier to digest. It is also heated and dried, making it 'shelf stable.'
- Cut oats are used for oatmeal--the finer the cut, the faster they cook.

The wheat of all evil

[There are so many things I should be doing right now, other than researching wheat.  I'm not going to do them, obviously; I just want to acknowledge they exist.]

First, some salient (or at least interesting) facts:

• Wheat is a cereal grain, which are grasses cultivated for the edible components of their grain.  (The word cereal derives from Ceres, the Roman goddess of harvest and agriculture.)  The other major cereal grains are maize* (corn) and rice. Minor cereal grains include barley, sorghum, millet, oats, rye, buckwheat, and quinoa (although the last two are not true grasses.)  Rice grows better in tropical climates, wheat in temperate climates, barley in cold climates, and oats in cold, wet climates.
• Wheat was cultivated as long as 11,000 years ago, but wild wheat was exploited as long as 23,000 years ago. Animals, including dogs and cats, eat wild grasses (although they never thought to grind it up, mix it with water, and bake it).
  
• Wheat was a key crop enabling civilization not only because it could be easily cultivated on a large scale, but could be stored as well.
• Over the past 50 years, human population has increased by 227%, while wheat production increased by 300% (from 222 million tons to 682 million tons)  Between 2007 and 2009 alone, wheat production increased by 12%!
• Along with maize (817 million tons),rice (679 million tons), and other cereals (284 million tons),  that's 2.1 pounds of cereal per person per day.  (Of course, most of that is fed to animals -- it takes 16 pounds of grain to produce one pound of meat.)
• China and India produce more wheat than the US
• Wild wheat (including spelt) has a tough hull, while domesticated wheat has a brittle "rachis." To obtain the grain, wild wheat needs to be milled to remove the hulls, whereas in domestic wheat the chaff breaks up during threshing, releasing the grains.
• Once the plant has produced its seed grains, it dies and begins to dry out.  Once it is dry enough for storage, the wheat is cut, threshed, and winnowed.  (Today, a "combine harvester" does all three steps.
• Today, 81% of wheat cultivated is of a "dwarf" variety, both because the shorter plant allows more energy to be put into seed production, and because the stalks are less likely to fall over in the wind.
• Depending on the variety, 100 grams of wheat contain 12.6-15.4 grams of protein, 1.5-1.9 grams of total fat, 68-71 grams of carbohydrate, 12.2 grams of dietary fiber, and 3.2-3.6 mg of iron (17-20% of the daily requirement).  The whole grain is a concentrated source of vitamins, minerals, and protein, while refined flour is mostly starch.
• Wheat protein is called "gluten," and about 1% of humans are intolerant, or have trouble digesting this. Some people are also allergic to wheat. 
  

Overall, for the other 99% of us, wheat sounds like a superfood, but it has three problems:

• First, while gluten intolerance only affects about 1%, gluten sensitivity is estimated to effect about 33% of the population.  This sensitivity causes inflamation in the digestive system, which in turn is linked to cancer and heart disease!
• Second, wheat has been hybridized to the point where it barely resembles its original form, and the new hybrids have much more gluten.  (And "organic wheat" is still modern wheat.)
  
• Third, wheat is more efficiently converted to blood sugar than almost any other carbohydrate, including table sugar!  After two hours, your blood sugar crashes, causing you to eat more, and contributing to obesity.

Even more alarming, studies show that wheat (or more specifically, gluten-derived polypeptides) can bind to the brain's opiate receptors. This effect can be blocked by taking naloxone, the same drug given to heroin addicts!  It takes about 5 days for the withdrawal cravings to subside.

My favorite quote, though, was from Dr. William Davis, responding to the "research" that eating whole grain wheat was healthy:

The research...is all conducted the same way: white flour is replaced with whole wheat flour, which, no question, is better for you. But taking something bad and replacing it with something less bad is not the same as...eliminating it altogether. It would be like saying that filtered cigarettes are less bad for you than unfiltered cigarettes, and therefore, a bunch of filtered cigarettes is good for you.

Bear in mind this is not an occasional food -- for the average person, wheat makes up 20% of our total calories!

Mark Sisson also pointed out, grains don't want to be eaten.  Animals develop defenses, fruit developed an indigestible seed (and so wants to be eaten!), but all grains can do is poison you, which they do.  (Gluten is both a protein for the germinating seed, and a poison--hence the intolerance.)

So that's why I'm trying to cut wheat out of my diet...and also why I'm failing so miserably at it.  Help is on the way, however, from an unlikely source: Judaism.  This year Passover occurs In early April, which celebrates the Jews flight from Egypt with these words:

For seven days you shall eat unleavened bread ... you shall guard the unleavened bread, because on this very day I will take you out of the land of Egypt; you shall observe this day for your generations as an eternal decree. - Exodus 12:14-17

Of course, this isn't a prohibition against wheat -- matzoh is made from wheat flour, and you are required to eat it at the passover seder! -- but the fact is, unleavened bread tastes pretty awful, so I won't be eating much of it.  And hopefully, at the end of that week, the cravings will have passed, and I can cut one more thing out of my diet, having already done soda, meat, and nuts.

* Bill Bryson, in his book "At Home," pointed out that the Mayans managed to create corn from a grass, and tomatoes from an herb.  Nobody has any idea how they did it.

10 great things I saw today

1) Snowdrops and crocuses

2) Ladybirds on a rosemary plant

3) Venus-Jupiter-Moon conjuction

4) Youtube videoes from CGP Grey

5) My brother lying in a pool of his own (virtual) blood

6) The UK Parliament

7) A Magnum mini

8) A kiddush plate

9) Sculls in the park

10) Two of my friends

 

Three foods I'm excited about

I still haven't gotten the hang of cooking for one.  I cook for two and tell myself I'll have leftovers, but I never do.  This is why I've put on a stone* in the last 4 months.  However, while I've been playing in the kitchen, I've 'rediscovered' a few favorites:

1) Dates.  I bought them to put in a smoothie, and then I ate them all and had to go back to the shop.  Delicious!

2) Limes.  I know, so silly, but I've been squeezing them into everything lately -- cranberry juice, a papaya smoothie, over veggies.  Just amazing.

3) Creamy garlic dressing.  The recipe is so simple -- you throw 8 garlic cloves and 2-3 tablespoons of lemon juice into a blender, and while blending you slowly pour 3/4 cup of olive oil in to make a nice creamy dressing.  The recipe I used called for some liquid amino acids (i.e. soy sauce) which made the sauce turn beige; tasted delicious, but I want to try again without.  This recipe also called for a three-inch piece of ginger; I used a one-inch piece and it was still fiery!  Can't say all that oil is healthy, but over raw or steamed veggies, nothing beats it.

* 14 pounds

Verbal diarrhoea

(And yes, that's the British spelling.)

I know I suffer from this nervous condition, as I tend to fill up all available silence with my own voice, generally talking shite.  I think this has become worse as I've been living alone and working from home, as I don't get to socialize as often, and so the little part of my brain that filters what I say (which has always been a little wonky) is now completely broken.  However, tonight I went so far over the line, even I was aghast.  On a first date with a girl from the Czech republic, I asked why Hitler wanted to kill the Slavs.

To her credit, she actually answered the question.  She wasn't sure what Hitler had against Slavs, other than they weren't Aryan, but she did tell me that many blond-haired blue-eyed children were taken from their parents and given to German parents to raise.  I had no idea.

Otherwise, the date went fine.

Renault ads

This is such a great commercial:
http://youtu.be/3axug8TEPII

This is pretty funny, too:
http://youtu.be/1pwN-yiho4M

Accidental security

The world being what it is, synagogues have to provide security at services.  At the London synagogue I attended, all members were expected to participate once or twice a year.  I joined the Maidenhead synagogue in December,  but no one had contacted me about security detail, so last Friday I asked.

Huge mistake.

It turns out Maidenhead has a small team of volunteers who provide security once or twice a month.

And I had just volunteered.

I actually don't mind.  For some reason, I'd wanted to give something back, perhaps because the way the rabbi welcomed me, or maybe because the London synagogue had given me so much.  For whatever reason, I was happy to help out.

Today I met with the head of the security team, who has been doing this for 27 years.  I thought we'd take an hour or so -- we took three, plus I have a follow-up appointment with the caretaker to go over the building procedures, and then I have to shadow three other details, on a Friday, Saturday, and Sunday service!  Then I'll be allowed to stand out front and open the gate for people.

Is it overkill?  Perhaps. There have been no incidences in Maidenhead in 27 years, other than being picketed once during the 2009 Gaza blockade.  However, the 'Community Support Trust' (which coordinates security information for the Jewish community in the UK) documented almost 600 incidences in the UK in 2011.  (You can read more here.)

So that's it.  I won't get a badge or a star or anything other than the satisfaction of helping the community.  I've never done that before--should be interesting.

At 32

At 32, I had just started working for American Honda, making great money, working with a fantastic team, cycling into work, had lots of responsibility, and for perhaps the first time in my life really loved my job.

At 32, I accidentally became vegetarian.

At 32, I had been in a relationship for over 10 years, and was quite sure it would last forever.

At 32, I'd been living in the same house for 6 years, longer than I'd lived anywhere in my life.

At 32, I was just beginning to plan the bed and breakfast, which would eventually cost me my savings, my home, and my relationship.

At 32, I'd never lived outside of Los Angeles, and had only been out of the country twice -- a European trip when I was 19, and a trip to the Canary Islands 10 years later.

At 32, I never wanted to have children.

At 32, I didn't know how much I could love someone.

At 32, I had a great life, but I hadn't really lived.

Longest-running West End shows

These are the longest running shows that are currently still running:

1. Agatha Christie's The Mousetrap at the St Martin's Theatre – opened 25 November 1952 – 60th year
2. Les Misérables at the Queen's Theatre – opened 8 October 1985 – 27th year
3. The Phantom of the Opera at Her Majesty's Theatre – opened 9 October 1986 – 26th year
4. Blood Brothers at the Phoenix Theatre – opened 28 July 1988 – 24th year
5. The Woman in Black at the Fortune Theatre opened 15 February 1989 – 23rd year
6. Chicago at the Garrick Theatre opened 18 November 1997 - 15th year
7. Mamma Mia! at the Prince of Wales Theatre – opened 6 April 1999 – 13th year
8. Disney's The Lion King at the Lyceum Theatre – opened 19 October 1999 – 13th year
9. We Will Rock You at the Dominion Theatre – 14 May 2002 – 10th year
10. Stomp now at the Ambassadors Theatre opened 25 September 2002 – 9th year

Interesting that 8 out of 10 are musicals, including Blood Brothers, which I saw last night (albeit the touring version in Reading).  The music was instantly forgettable, but its saving grace was a lead actor, Sean Jones, who moved from a 4-year-old kid to an adult having a psychotic breakdown, and everything in between, with absolute genius.  The final scene was so tense, it was hard to believe that scarcely an hour before he'd been pretending to ride a horse around stage!  I really wish him great things.

You can't go home again

You could say I had a bit of a breakdown at Trader Joe's the other day. It wasn't the fantastic selection of nuts, wines, and frozen vegetarian foods; it was the memories associated with so many products, and the different stages of my life. The ak-mak crackers were from my late teens, a period of discovering new foods, books, and music, and really defining myself. The dalmatia fig spread was my mid-twenties, buying a house near a Whole Foods market, settling down, and socialising. The meatless corn dogs took me back 10 years, when I accidentally went vegetarian and had to rediscover eating all over again.  The "volcano" coffee is what I served at the B&B, after discovering a Trader Joe's had opened 45 minutes away  The cashews were a sad reminder of when I finally decided to cut nuts out of my diet because of a mild allergic reaction (although I still cheat occasionally).  But the most poignant item were the blue corn tortilla chips, which just reminded me of my dad, gone 17 years last week.

It's funny to consider my history in terms of foodstuffs, but I guess that's what history is made of--not the sharp highs and lows but the daily grind. I'm grateful to have had all these wonderful experiences and times in my life, and to be able to relive them through such simple reminders.  However, at the moment I really miss that stability and financial freedom I once enjoyed, and so the memories can be bittersweet.

But in writing this, I discovered that Trader Joe's was bought by a German company which also operates the Aldi stores in the UK.  4 years here and I've not been to an Aldi's, but there is one less than a mile from my house, so I will be checking them out soon!