What’s a cow got that you ain’t got?

Grains are the seeds of grasses. If you were to take a stalk of 18-inch tall semidwarf wheat, the creation of a genetics laboratory, you can’t eat the roots, nor the stalk, leaves, or husk. You can, however, isolate the seeds, remove the husk, then dry, pulverize, and heat them. You will then have something–porridge or flour–that can yield something you might view as food. But the seed, just like the rest of the plant, has components that are indigestible, such as wheat germ agglutinin, D-amino acids, gliadin (partially digestible), and trypsin inhibitors, among others. The one component that is digestible is amylopectin A, accounting for the exceptional glycemic potential of wheat and other seeds of grasses, explaining why two slices of whole wheat bread increase blood sugar higher than 6 teaspoons of table sugar. Why can ruminants digest grasses, even obtain most of their nutrition from them, while humans find them almost completely indigestible? Ruminants, such as cows, goats, sheep, and camels, have extensive evolutionary adaptations that allow them to digest grasses. For instance, ruminants: Grow teeth continuously to compensate for the wear caused by sand-like particles, phytoliths, in grass blades. They also lack upper incisors, replaced by a bony dental pad to seize hold of grasses. You grow teeth twice in a lifetime, only during childhood and adolescence, and have proud bite-worthy incisors. Produce copious quantities of saliva. A cow typically pro...
Source: Wheat Belly Blog - Category: Cardiology Authors: Tags: Wheat Belly Lifestyle grains Grasses Ruminants Source Type: blogs