Wheat Contains Not One, But 23,000 Potentially Harmful ProteinsSayer Ji, Contributor No, the problem is that gluten is an abstraction, and in its perceived singularity profoundly misrepresents the true extent of the problem, much in the way that the tip of an iceberg does not convey the massive threat submerged below Gluten is the Latin name for glue, and signifies the doughy complex of proteins within the wheat plant, further classified as either gliadins (alcohol soluble), glutelins (dilute acid or alkalis soluble), or other. Because wheat is a hexaploid species (doesnt that sound creepy?), the byproduct of three ancestor plants becoming one, with no less than 6 sets of chromosomes and 6.5 times more genes than found in the human genome, it is capable of producing no less than 23,788 different proteins a fact as amazing as it is disturbing.[i] Well, any one of these proteins could elicit what is known as an antigenic response, i.e. the immune system identifies a wheat protein as other, launches either an innate or adaptive immune response, and attacks self-structures accidentally, as a result. What would happen is that many of these proteins would pass through our intestinal tract, made more permeable by the dual effects of gliadin (zonulin up-reguation) and wheat lectin (the invisible thorn), hence opening pandoras bread box of autoimmunity and systemic inflammation. Keep in mind that 23,788 proteins is a very large number. And given the recombinatorial possibilities inherent in such a large number of distinct, different proteins, some of them have emerged by sheer accident as nearly identical (homologous) in structure and configuration to both narcotic drugs and virulent components of immune-system activating microbes. There have been a number of gluten exorphins identified: gluten exorphin A4, A5, B4, B5 and C, and many of them have been hypothesized to play a role in autism, schizophrenia, ADHD and related neurological conditions. In the same way that the celiac iceberg illustrated the illusion that intolerance to wheat is rare, it is possible, even probable, that wheat exerts pharmacological influences on everyone. What distinguishes the schizophrenic or autistic individual from the functional wheat consumer is the degree to which they are affected. So, while acknowledging that gluten is a problem is a good first step in the acknowledgment ofthe dangers of wheat, it is just the beginning of a journey into understanding the true nature, and extent of damage caused by this debilitating food. RESOURCES This article first appeared at GreenMedInfo. Please visit to access their vast database of articles and the latest information in natural health. 