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THE HISTORY OF GRAINS, PART 1 AN EXPERIMENT: [" Every day the 2 scientists looked in on the cage of mice. Each time 1 or more dead animal had to be removed from the cage. After 60 days, more and more mice were dropping dead. One of the scientists looked worried. " I don't know how much more of this experiment they can take. We may end up killing all of them in the next few weeks if we don't stop" The other scientist nodded his head. " It seems cruel, I know," he said, " but I think we're discovering something important here. This diet we've got them on should tell us a lot more about proper nutrition, or rather, what poor nutrition can do to an animal." The second scientist sighed. You're right. Here's their meal for today." " The same as yesterday?" " Yes, and the same as the day before that. You know that's the only food we're feeding them for 90 days." The younger scientist took the food and tore it into pieces and dropped it among the mice. They moved sluggishly toward it and sniffed it. Some were huddling in a corner, sick and barely able to move. He finished feeding the mice their experimental diet. He brushed the crumbs from his hand. " Guess I better get another loaf of bread to feed them again tomorrow. Same brand?" " Doesn't matter." Said the older scientist, " Just so it's white." After a 90 day diet of white bread, 40 of the 64 mice were dead. The survivors had developed many of the diseases of "modern" man- heart problems, anemia, and extreme nervous disorders.)] It has now become obvious that white bread, breakfast cereals, flours- all refined grain products contribute greatly to ill health. Yet studies indicate they make up 1/3 of the average person's total carbohydrate intake each day. Refined grains are acidic in nature due to their mineral content, and consequently, they acidify the body and predispose it to excessive mucus formation. They are practically devoid of natural fiber and low in moisture, hence constipating. Perhaps most important of all, refined grains are nutritionally imbalanced. It is because of this imbalance that these foods are responsible for several degenerative diseases. Calcium leaching from bones and teeth occur because of the altered phosphorus-calcium balance in these products. In natural organic foods that are eaten in their whole and unprocessed state, all the elements for proper nutrition are in their proper balance. This balance is completely destroyed in the refining process of grains. For example, the mineral cadmium always exists along with zinc in foods. The zinc acts as a balancing mineral for the cadmium and prevents it from being absorbed in too large quantities by the body. When grains are refined, zinc is destroyed but cadmium is not. Cadmium in excessive amounts is hazardous to human health. As another example, both iron and copper are destroyed when grains are refined. Copper is necessary for the utilization of iron by the body to produce healthy blood. Inorganic iron is added back to the stripped flour, but not copper. One cannot fool around with the natural balance of nutrients in foods, and then hope to restore them or negate the harmful effects by this processing. Any refining of the grain quickly destroys the B- vitamins, vital for the health of the nerves and body. Interestingly enough, the body requires B vitamins to metabolize these grain products( which is why they are present in the food in the first place) If these vitamins are removed from the grain products, then the body must rob from the current supply of B vitamins in the body so that these grains can be digested. Whenever foods are eaten in fragmented, refined or processed form, a lower level of health invariably results. (extracts written by Mike Benton )