Not All Grains Are Equal
A 101 guide to wheat grain: what it is, where it comes from, and which grains are the least reactive
I used to think that all wheat was the problem. That it was all the same and it didn’t matter if it was organic, ancient, or heirloom—if it was wheat, then it had gluten and I couldn’t eat it.
But the deeper I got into the research on wheat grains, the more it became clear that—with everything in life—it is much more nuanced than initially thought. The different types of grain and their lineage matter. What we do to the wheat matters.
I’ll get into more on how we process the wheat in a future post, because I want to start with a look at the grain itself and what types of grain are the least reactive and best to start out with when reintroducing wheat after a wheat-free diet (e.g., gluten-free, paleo, keto, carnivore, etc.).
What Exactly Is Wheat?
A wheat berry is a whole grain made of three parts:
Bran: the fibrous outer layer, rich in minerals and antioxidants
Germ: the nutrient-dense core, packed with healthy fats, vitamin E, and B vitamins
Endosperm: the starchy bulk of the grain (this is what your store-bought white flour is made of)
When we eat wheat as flour, we’re eating mostly ground endosperm—unless it’s whole grain, in which case we get the bran and germ too (along with more fiber, minerals, and sadly, sometimes more lectins).
Nutritional Profile for Single Serving of Einkorn Bread
Calories: 165
Protein: 6-7g
Carbohydrates: 30g
Fiber: 4-5g
Fat: 1-2g
+ micronutrients: iron, zinc, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, vitamin E, beta-carotene (vitamin A), and lutein.
What Is A Wheat Berry?
A wheat berry is the entire seed. If you have the wheat berry you can mill it into fresh flour at home.
Freshly milled wheat that you use immediately holds onto its antioxidants, vitamins, and essential fats. Whole grain flour that you didn’t mill yourself loses nutrients fast. Once the grain is cracked open, the antioxidants start breaking down, the vitamins degrade, and the healthy fats begin to oxidize. And if it’s pure white flour? It’s even worse—those nutrients were never there to begin with.
You can read more about the effects of conventional milling on the wheat’s nutritional profile here, here, and here.
Where Did Our Wheat Come From?
This is where it gets interesting and I’ll plan to talk more about the history of wheat in the future, but here’s what I can share for now:
Wheat did not start as a universal crop. It evolved over thousands of years through natural and human hybridization. The oldest and purest wheat grain is Einkorn, with just 14 chromosomes. As nature got more complicated, we got Emmer (28 chromosomes), then came Durum (e.g., Timilia), Kamut, and Spelt. Eventually, things got even more hybridized and we eventually got modern wheat (42 chromosomes).
The more chromosomes, the more complex the wheat—and the more likely it is to trigger a reaction. The genetic complexity of the grain matters when you’re trying to find the one with the least reactive compounds.
Einkorn wheat has a relatively simple genetic profile and weak, simple gluten genes that many sensitive people can tolerate. Modern wheat, with its 42 chromosomes, has a broader range of gluten genes (more gliadin and glutenin variants), lectins, and other immune-triggering compounds that may contribute to reactivity.
My advice for anything in life is to always start with the least reactive option, then work your way up from there. So start with the wheat grain that has the least amount of reactive compounds. That would be Einkorn, then work your way up to the next least reactive grain (see my grain reactivity chart at the end).
What Do All Those Wheat Terms Actually Mean?
As with any field, there’s a special vocabulary that you need to wade through when first getting started. Here’s a quick cheat sheet to help with those questions like, is ancient grain the same thing as heirloom? (hint: it’s not)
Ancient Grains: original, unmodified grains that have been cultivated for thousands of years, without genetic changes and hybridization.
Heirloom Grains: pre-industrial wheat that is passed down regionally. Not as bad as modern wheat, but generally not as good as ancient grains.
Modern Wheat: bred for yield and durability, not for health nor digestibility. This is what’s in most store-bought bread and in the bags of flour.
Hard vs. Soft: hard wheat has more protein and stronger gluten (great for bread); whereas, soft wheat has less gluten and is gentler (great for pastries).
Red vs. White: just refers to the color of the bran. Red wheat can be more bitter.
Spring vs. Winter: spring wheat is planted later in the year and has a higher protein content (read: more gluten). Winter wheat is planted in the fall and harvested in the summer; it’s milder in flavor and lower in protein (read: less gluten).
Most heirloom and ancient grains are soft or medium-texture with golden or white bran, which makes them more palatable and often more digestible. Modern wheat, on the other hand, is almost always hard red, high-protein, and bred for yield, not for health or digestibility. It’s more likely to irritate sensitive systems.
Why Some Wheat Feels Better
Although all we hear about is “gluten”, gluten may not be the only compound you’re reacting to or even be the problem. Here’s a bit more about the other reactive compounds in wheat:
Gliadin: the most reactive part of gluten. Gluten is made of gliadin and glutenin. Gliadin is highly immunogenic and is most associated with leaky gut, celiac disease, non-celiac gluten sensitivity, and MCAS-type reactivity.
Lectins: plant defense compounds that help protect seeds from pests. In humans, it can bind to the gut lining and trigger inflammation or immune responses.
WGA (wheat germ agglutinin): most active lectin in wheat and especially high in modern wheat and hard red wheat. It binds directly to gut lining cells, causes leaky gut, triggers immune activation and mast cell irritation, and accumulates in the body.
ATI (Amylase-Trypsin Inhibitors): in the wheat endosperm and can set off immunity and inflammation, even in non-celiacs.
FODMAPs: fermentable carbs that cause bloating and gut issues.
Gluten might get all the blame, but these compounds are just as problematic. And lectin and FODMAPs are found in other foods.
So Which Grains Are Worth Trying?
If you’re thinking about experimenting with wheat again, not all varieties are created equal. I vetted over 25 ancient and heirloom grains using a framework that scores them across key reactivity markers—including ploidy (genetic load), gluten and gliadin content, lectins, ATI levels, and FODMAP impact.
I ranked each grain by overall inflammatory potential, so you can make the best choice for yourself.
These are the grains with the lowest overall reactivity—the ones I’d personally feel safe starting with in reintroducing wheat.
Einkorn
Rye (technically not a wheat, but close enough)
Emmer
Frassineto
Sonora
Timilia
Russello
Saragolla
All of the above grains aren’t gluten-free, but their gluten and other reactive compounds are relatively low. I would only start with Einkorn.
The following heirloom grains aren’t that bad, but I would only try them after you’ve successfully tried the ancient grains and even still, I would only use them as a mix-in vs. using it exclusively: Pacific Bluestem, Golden Drop, April Bearded, Banatka, Halycon, Red Fife, or Purple Straw.
🔒 The full scoring chart for all grains and how they measure for key reactivity markers is available to my subscribers. This includes all 25 grains and lets you pick which ones can set you up for success in enjoying bread, flatbreads, and baking again.
Here’s a quick preview of what’s inside the full chart:
Final Thoughts For This Week
What I’ve come away with is a new appreciation for wheat and its lineage. Not all wheat is the same.
Picking the right grain is just part of the puzzle. There are still decisions to make—like how to get the best grain, whether to sprout, the ratio of grains used, how to ferment, and how to store the grain. And that’s before you even get into baking. In short, there is a lot more work ahead of us.
Follow me along the way as I experiment with home-milled, ancient grain baking!