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There are many foods that have either natural opioids or trigger an opioid-like response in the body that most people eat daily. The question is whether these are foods that we should be avoiding, or did Mother Nature put those opioids in foods so that we will eat more of them?
Perhaps the most compelling argument suggesting that these food opiates may be important for humans points to mother’s milk – which is loaded with morphine-like substances. Clearly, this was to ensure that an infant would keep coming back for more, and no doubt linked to the survival of our species.
On a side note, mother’s milk is sweet, which also triggers an opioid brain response. While we have surely overshot the sugar runway with refined carbs and added sweeteners, the sweet taste for early humans was perhaps the world’s first “insurance plan” of sorts. If a foraged food tasted sweet, it was a safe bet that it wouldn’t kill you.
In one study, infants were fed a sugary substance while an adult stared at them in the eyes during the feeding. The infants made a mental note of the sugar dealer. Later, when a group of adults entered the room, the infant scanned the group and locked onto the sugar dealer – suggesting that the sugar-brain-survival pathway may be a human hard-wire, liken to the neighborhood ice cream truck frenzy for kids. (1)
The other foods that have natural opiates or trigger an opiate response are: Soy, spinach, rice, meat, fish, wheat, dairy, fruit, coffee and chocolate. (2) Are we to avoid all of these foods? Wheat and dairy opioids, or exorphins specifically, have been highly criticized for creating an addiction to these foods, while coffee and chocolate, which are more addictive, are touted as the new health foods. In fact, coffee has been recently endorsed by the FDA, suggesting numerous health benefits as long as you drink less than “five cups” per day. (3) See my article “Coffee: The Good, The Bad and The Ayurvedic Perspective” for more on this.
Many gluten-free experts make the case that it is the naturally-occurring wheat opioids that cause cravings, foods addictions, overeating and weight gain. For example, in the book, Wheat Belly, studies cite a significant reduction of wheat consumption when these opiates are blocked by an opioid-blocking drug.
But when you dig just a little deeper, you find that the consumption of meat was also blocked by up to 50 percent when meat-eaters were given the same opioid blocker. (5) In fact, there are numerous studies that found that the same opioid blockers reduce people’s total consumption of all food by 22 percent in one study (6), and 28 percent in another, suggesting that perhaps all foods trigger some sort of an opioid-like pleasure response that is linked to our survival and that we are hard-wired to consume. (7)
The reality is that there are various types of toxins in lots of the foods we eat, and we have been eating them and adapting to them for millions of years. The exorphins in wheat, if not completely digested, can cause some intestinal irritation, but it is also clear that we have the digestive power, microbes and enzymes to fully digest wheat – opioids and all. The problems seems to lie in the inability for many folks to digest in the way we were designed, and this digestive breakdown – not wheat itself – is responsible for most of the gluten sensitivities of today.
As I cite in my new book, Eat Wheat, we have millions of years of evolution (not just 10,000) that suggest that we are well-equipped to digest wheat. There is quite an involved digestive process that allows humans to fully break down gluten and its so-called “toxic” opioid constituents. The enzyme DPP-IV, for example, is a naturally-occurring enzyme that is found in the mouth saliva, small intestines and intestinal lymph that can completely breakdown gluten and its opioid exorphins. (8,9) There are also gluten-digesting enzymes and microbes found throughout the digestive tract all the way from the mouth to the anus.
Join me in Eat Wheat, where I take you step-by-step to reboot all of these powerful digestive pathways.
Alex Opie says
September 28, 2018 at 9:01 amDoctors have been telling people opiates are fine since the ancient age, true. But that comes as no surprise there is money in the sale of addictive products. There is even more money when the problems that arose from treatment are treated by more Doctors.
Denial starts early when someone becomes introduced and addicted to something. Sugar is addictive, throw gluten, or one of many other grains into the mix and you have a drug cocktail. Hardly different from the things folks have openly shunned for centuries.
Wake up, stop letting food control you, eat pure, feel great. Everyone should look in to intermittent fasting. Try an elimination diet and don’t look to cheat and “reintroduce.” People do not need herbal supplements to digest “properly” if we eat what we are meant to be eating.
Ilze Skrupskelis says
October 30, 2016 at 11:01 pmUnless one can eat organic wheat, it’s best to avoid it, because according to what I have read, farmers spray wheat with Roundup before harvesting. Apparently this is used as a dessicator to make harvesting easier. (!!!)
mike bradshaw says
September 15, 2016 at 6:18 amThank you Dr John I like most of what you write but I have to disagree on this one. The problem here is that modern wheat has been genetically modified since the early 70s and now nobody really digests the protein or the gluten properly…when I eat it with other foods it feels like I do not digest the other foods well either…wheat has no nutrition in it when i eat it its like eating fresh air its empty and therefore pointless. What value is there in eating it? It also has a very low vibration generally and is mostly grown with one of the most toxic nasty fertilisers on the planet glyphosate which is highly toxic and has terrible side effects in the human body. The opioids are much worse than pre 70s people are generally unconsciously addicted to the wheat because of there opioid properties without knowing it…an hour after consuming wheat I start to get grumpy and irritable because of withdrawals great! And basically wheat is shoved into everything which makes it hard to avoid and just dumbs people down…its cabbage food! It also has a desensitising effect on the body, a numbing effect great if you are feeling lousy and want to suppress what you are feeling! AND WORSE STILL…..it spikes blood sugar worse than sugar on its own and we know all about the effects of that and peoples insulin levels/response and the huge epidemic of diabetic and pre diabetic conditions….so really I cannot see even 1 good reason to eat wheat but there are many really BAD ones!! Sorry i like the majority of what you write but wheat should be avoided by everyone plenty of better alternatives like spelt and gamut and quinoa if you really want grains…
mindy says
September 12, 2016 at 11:16 amI quit wheat and dairy about 7 years ago when I found out I had an auto immune condition (Hashimoto’s). I have done a ton of gut health work and also did some genetic testing because I wanted to see if I could go back to these foods after gut healing. I am not celiac, but tested positive for gliadin sensitivity from both parents as well as casein. I also am heterozygous for the MTHFR gene which has plagued me most of life, in hindsight. I know that in the right environment gut enzymes can turn on and off genes. I am a career herbalist and have done lots of healing therapies from a wide range of modalities. Still, I react when I eat the slightest dairy, even small amounts of sheep or goat milk cheeses. Gluten, not quite as much. Wonder if there is hope that I can return to these foods. My diet is otherwise impeccable; I have done your seasonal cleanse several times.
John Douillard says
September 26, 2016 at 3:54 pmHi Mindy. Thank you for reaching out! You may really enjoy the new book I’ve got coming out. The eBook is currently on sale for only 99 cents through Oct 2nd. The book targets all of these concerns and worries, with over 600 scientific studies and over 30 years of hands-on experience with my patients. Find out more here: http://eatwheat.lifespa.com/
Pamela says
September 12, 2016 at 9:24 amThen how does a person with Celiacs digest this information?
John Douillard says
September 26, 2016 at 3:49 pmHi Pamela, thanks for the question. Those with Celiacs Disease need to continue a gluten free diet as this is actually an autoimmune disorder in which the body triggers an immune response that attacks the small intestine.
Colby says
September 12, 2016 at 7:27 amGrade A; proper digestion is the key to preventing wheat intolerance. But can most people manage this? Step 1: digestive reset and detoxification. (This may even take years.) Step 2: gradual reintroduction of wheat with effective (proteolytic) herbal digestive aids.
The above isn’t typical to expect of your average person, though it’s certainly ideal! (Even without the reintroduction of wheat, to rid the body of sensitivities and problems.)