Wheat, Gluten, and Other “Stuff”

By the time this blog post publishes, we will be in the middle of or at least nearing harvest in western KS.  So, what a better time than the present to talk about all things WHEAT!

First, I want to follow up with the cliffhanger from last week.  Wheat is not a GMO!

OK…now that we have that cleared up, here are some fun facts about wheat in Kansas! 

Kansas is the:

·         #1 wheat producing state

·         #1 state in wheat milling

My dad’s hands holding wheat he grew

Now, I will move on to yet another trending topic in the food world…gluten/going gluten-free.

Gluten containing grains:

(besides wheat)

·         barley

·         rye

·         triticale

·         farina

·         spelt

·         kamut

Gluten-free grains:

·         rice

·         corn

·         sorghum

·         quinoa

·         millet

·         buckwheat

·         amaranth

·         gluten-free oats

Going gluten-free (GF) has become quite a trend but is only necessary for those with Celiac disease, gluten intolerance/sensitivity, and dermatitis herpetiformis.  If you don’t know what these are, you can be thankful and don’t need to go GF.

There is no scientific evidence that going GF is connected to weight loss.

In fact, from 2000-2010, obesity prevalence increased in adults over 20 while wheat flour consumption decreased.

So, unless you have one of the situations requiring going GF, go enjoy all whole grains while supporting Kansas wheat farmers at the same time!

Cover Photo Credit: Ingrid Dumler