Are Grains the Hidden Reason for many Modern Diseases including Tooth Cavities?

9,000 years ago around 7,000 BC wheat and barley were first cultivated. Corn and rice followed 2,500 years later in 4,500 BC. According to human fossil records, prior to this time period, tooth decay was virtually unknown. Teeth recovered from Pakistan dating to around 5,500 BC show signs of being drilled, presumably because of cavities. For the last 5,000 years the average rate of tooth decay has been climbing. The rise in the rate of tooth decay has also been seen in Native Americans who switched from a hunter gatherer lifestyle to a more heavily corn-based diet. The cultivation of grains has fostered the evolution of civilization, allowing city centers to emerge in which large groups of people live together such as in ancient Egypt. Grains also made it possible to raise large armies as it resolved the logistical problem of feeding thousands of soldiers.

In Weston Price’s field studies, a diet centered on white flour, refined sugar and vegetable fats was devastating to the health, teeth and gums of native peoples worldwide. From this evidence even Dr. Price himself concluded that consuming grain products in their whole form would resolve a part of the problem of tooth decay. The natural health community, and now even the US Government and food manufacturing giants, have embraced and promoted the view that whole grains are better for our health.

Beyond the fossil evidence connecting grains to tooth cavities is over one hundred years of scientific research that connects whole grains with a variety of diseases. This evidence is further consistently confirmed by the nearly daily e-mails I receive from stressed-out healthy eaters wondering why their previously cavity-free children now have tooth decay. There is one clear response that over and over again proves to be correct: whole grains.

Considering modern humans (Homo sapiens) are about 200,000 years old, large amounts of grains constitute a very recent addition to the modern diet. Our bodies are not designed to eat grains in their raw form so grains require us to use our intelligence to predigest the grains through the process of fermentation and then cooking. In the absence of careful grain preparation including fermentation, a host of diseases appear.

The famous professor and doctor Edward Mellanby wrote that "oatmeal and grain embryo interfere most strongly" with the building of healthy teeth. He called the effect of the germ of grains on teeth "baneful." He also found that a diet high in grain germ or embryo led to nervous system problems in his dogs such as leg weakness and uncoordinated movements. Dr. Mellanby concluded that most cereals contain a toxic substance that can affect the nervous system. He pointed out the connection of grains and legumes to pellagra, a niacin deficiency, lathyrism, which is immobility caused by bean toxins in the lathyrus family such as a certain type of sweet pea, and pernicious anemia which is related to a vitamin B 12 deficiency. Each one of these diseases is most effectively treated with animal liver. And each one of these diseases can be produced in laboratory conditions by feeding whole grains.

The Anti-Scorbutic Vitamin and Your Teeth and Gums

Scurvy was made famous as a common disease among sailors. It occurred after long sea voyages when sailors had to subsist on dried foods including dried grain products such as hard tack. The symptoms of scurvy include soft and spongy gums which eventually lead to tooth loss, slow wound healing, poor bone formation, severe weakness, nausea and eventually death. Gum disease is a major factor in tooth loss as we age. We learned from dentist W.D. Miller that healthy gums protect teeth from tooth decay. Since tooth loss from gum disease is a symptom of scurvy, it is feasible that what causes and cures scurvy might cause and cure gum problems as well.

Researchers were excited to discover an animal model with which to practice scurvy experiments. Guinea pigs fed a high grain diet developed a condition that appears to be exactly the same as scurvy in humans. To cause scurvy, guinea pigs were fed mostly bran and oats. Another scurvy-producing diet consisted of whole grains like oats, barley, maize, and soy bean flour. An exclusive oatmeal diet would kill a guinea pig in 24 days from scurvy. This very same scurvy-inducing diet produced severe tooth and gum problems in guinea pigs as well.

That whole grains are the cause of scurvy sheds light on the severity of plant toxins found naturally in grains. Guinea pigs fed germinated oats and barley did not contract scurvy. This reveals that the sprouting process may disable anti-nutrients that cause scurvy. Research on scurvy eventually led to the discovery of the anti-scorbutic (anti-scurvy) vitamin which we know as vitamin C. Reintroducing vitamin C in the diet of guinea pigs with raw cabbage (sauerkraut would work for humans) or orange juice resolves the disease.

Some scurvy researchers suspected that the lack of vitamin C was not the essential cause of scurvy. Rather they believed that vitamin C protected against some injurious factor in the diet. Since a scurvy-inducing diet largely consisted of whole grains, perhaps the injurious factor is something in the grains. Today we know that grains contain numerous plant toxins and anti-nutrients including lectins and phytic acid.

Phytic acid is the principal storage form of phosphorus in many plant tissues, especially the bran portion of grains and other seeds. It is found in significant amounts in grains, nuts, beans, seeds, and some tubers. Phytic acid contains the mineral phosphorus tightly bound in a snowflake-like molecule. In humans and animals with one stomach, the phosphorus is not readily bioavailable. In addition to blocking phosphorus availability, the “arms” of the phytic acid molecule readily bind with other minerals, such as calcium, magnesium, iron and zinc, making them unavailable as well. Yet the negative effects of phytic acid can be significantly reduced with vitamin C. Adding vitamin C to the diet can significantly counteract phytic acid’s iron absorption blocking effect. This leaves us with compelling evidence that the symptoms of scurvy like soft and spongy gums leading to tooth loss are the result of a lack of vitamin C, and too many grains, or other phytic acid-rich foods. Perhaps vitamin C’s remarkable ability to heal and prevent scurvy is because of its ability to aid in iron absorption which was disturbed by too many improperly prepared grains rich in phytic acid.

Giving rats and dogs a scurvy-producing diet did not lead to scurvy, it led to another disease, rickets. Rickets is a disease that is known for producing severely bowed legs in children. Other rickets symptoms include muscle weakness, bone pain or tenderness, skeletal problems and tooth decay. To produce rickets in the laboratory, dogs were fed oatmeal. Professor Edward Mellanby describes his findings of decades of research:


[M]ore severe rickets developed when the diet consisted mainly of oatmeal, maize or whole wheat flour than when these substances were replaced by equal amounts of either white flour or rice, in spite of the fact that the former cereals contained more calcium and phosphorus than the latter.


The most severe rickets-producing diet was a mostly whole grain diet which included whole wheat, whole corn, and wheat gluten. Rickets has been identified as a disease of calcium, phosphorous and vitamin D metabolism. In one study, hospital cases of rickets fell greatly in June. As previously mentioned, Activator X-rich butter was shown to prevent rickets. This is because Activator X would appear in high quantities in June grass-fed butter. Germination of oats itself did not reduce the rickets- producing effect of whole oats. But germination together with fermentation of whole grains greatly reduced the severity of rickets. On the rickets-producing diet, teeth become abnormal. There is a known impairment of the ability for teeth to mineralize that is associated with rickets. In rare cases of rickets, some children’s teeth do not erupt. Rickets is cured or prevented by having adequate fat-soluble vitamin D in the diet. This is because vitamin D increases the utilization of phosphorous and calcium in diets with phytic acid, and without phytic acid.

Scurvy and rickets are both produced in laboratory experiments in different animals using a diet consisting largely of whole grains. The connection between scurvy and rickets is not a random coincidence; it has also been observed in humans. Dr. Thomas Barlow of England carefully studied rickets cases in children, and published a report in 1883 suggesting that scurvy and rickets are closely related. Infantile scurvy is also known as Barlow’s Disease. Both scurvy and rickets are connected to serious problems with teeth and/or gums. It seems both possible and reasonable that whole grains can cause scurvy in the absence of vitamin C, and rickets in the absence of vitamin D.

Scurvy still occurs in modern times, and the cause is still the same. In one previously healthy individual, strictly following a macrobiotic diet nearly caused death from scurvy within one year. Her diet consisted mostly of whole brown rice and other freshly ground whole grains.

The Effect of Oats on Children’s Teeth

It is not just in animal experiments that teeth disintegrate from consumption of whole grains. Dr. May Mellanby published several articles in the prestigious British Medical Journal about food and tooth decay from 1924-1932. Multiple investigations were done to show the effect of oatmeal and fat-soluble vitamins on children’s teeth. The children studied already had numerous cavities. A grain-free diet high in fat-soluble vitamins A and D from cod liver oil produced the best results, with essentially no new cavities forming. These grain-free children also showed signs of their decayed teeth remineralizing. The tooth-healing diet included milk, meat, eggs, butter, potatoes and cod liver oil.

By accident medical doctor J.D. Boyd healed diabetic children’s decayed teeth by designing a grain-free diet. The diet meant to control diabetes not only stopped cavities it turned soft tooth enamel hard and glossy. These findings were published in 1928 in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Dr. Boyd’s diet consisted of milk, cream, butter, eggs, meat, cod liver oil, vegetables and fruit. Please note that both Dr. Mellanby’s and Dr. Boyd’s tooth-remineralizing diet came from a time when milk, butter and cream were raw, farm-fresh and grass-fed.

Meanwhile in two other feeding experiments by Dr. Mellanby a low fat-soluble vitamin A and D diet with the addition of ½ to 1 cup of oatmeal per day produced an average of six new cavities per child during the trial period. Their preexisting cavities did not heal in any way. A diet with less oatmeal and some fat-soluble vitamins produced an average of four and a half new cavities per child, with a few of the preexisting cavities healing during the experiment. The take-home message from these experiments is that oatmeal has a devastating effect on teeth, and that the maximum amount of bone growth and tooth remineralization in these studies occurred with grain-free diets.

Both Edward and May Mellanby’s decades of research show that oatmeal interferes more than any other grain studied with tooth mineralization. Intermediate interference of tooth mineralization occurs from corn, rye, barley and rice. Wheat germ, corn germ and other grain germs have a “baneful” effect on teeth. White flour interferes the least with tooth mineralization. That white flour does not interfere as much with tooth mineralization corresponds with Weston Price’s feeding experiments discussed in chapter two in which cavity-ridden school children consumed two meals per day consisting of white flour, and one excellent meal per day with nutrient-dense foods. Even while consuming the white flour the children all became immune to tooth cavities. In human nutrient absorption experiments, in diets with mostly whole wheat flour (8% of grain solids removed) calcium, magnesium, phosphorus and potassium were less completely absorbed than a more refined flour (with 21% of grain solids removed). If white flour interfered the least with tooth remineralization you might wonder why native people on a white flour diet succumbed to tooth decay. The answer lies in the fact that white flour in general either replaced more nutrient-dense foods or that in a context of a low mineral, high sugar diet, white flour was disastrous for teeth. Had white flour been consumed with cod’s heads and cod’s liver, or raw milk cheese the results would be different. (Note: I do not advocate white flour consumption.) Rather white flour was consumed generally with sugar in the form of pastries, or with jam and jelly on toast.

The long chain of beliefs that have led to the modern conclusion that whole grains are healthy to eat comes without looking at the complete body of evidence. The problems seen with whole grains primarily lie in the toxic properties Dr. Mellanby identified residing in the bran and the germ. Grain toxicity is then exponentially magnified by the absence of vitamins C and D in our diet which protect against grain toxins. Conversely, overly processed and mishandled grains, particularly white flour, have their own host of health consequences. The answer to healthy grain consumption lies in the middle ground of not overly processed, and not minimally processed.

Experiments with sprouted grains showed that oats and corn that are first sprouted and then soured at room temperature for two days (thus eliminating large amounts of anti-nutrients) lost their ability to produce rickets. While germinated and then soured grains do not produce rickets, they do not create optimal bone growth unless there is sufficient vitamin D in the diet.

Problems with Unfermented Grains

Phytic acid has a strong inhibitory effect on mineral absorption in adults, particularly on the absorption of iron. Even a small amount of phytic acid in one’s diet can lead to a significant reduction in iron absorption. While grains, particularly whole grains, are rich in phosphorous, up to 80% of this phosphorous is bound up as phytate, which is not absorbable by the body. Phytic acid inhibits enzymes that we need to digest our food, including pepsin, which is needed for the breakdown of proteins in the stomach, and amylase, which is required for the breakdown of starch into sugar. Trypsin, needed for protein digestion in the small intestine, is also inhibited by phytic acid. The concentration of and types of enzyme inhibitors varies considerably between different types of grains. Grains also contain tannins which can depress growth, decrease iron absorption, and damage the mucosal lining of the gastrointestinal tract. In addition to tannins, saponins in grains may inhibit growth.

Since phosphorous is the crucial mineral to tooth remineralization we want to then eliminate the bound phosphorous as phytic acid as much as possible from our diet. When it cannot be eliminated, then complementary vitamins and minerals from foods will need to be used: in particular calcium, vitamin C and vitamin D to block phytic acid’s effects.

LSD in Whole Grains?

Most, if not all, grains seem to contain nerve toxins, however in different concentrations. Oats and wheat germ seem to contain the highest concentration of these toxins, and white flour much less. Dr. Mellanby referred to this unknown toxin as a toxamin, a toxic substance that is blocked by the presence of vitamins in the diet, particularly fat-soluble vitamins A and D.

The nervous system toxins in many or all beans and grains may explain their insidious effects on teeth. Dr. Mellanby thought the toxin in grains is the same toxin that causes ergot poisoning when grains like rye are infected with a fungus. The interesting note about ergot poisoning is that it can be transferred from the mother to child through breastmilk. It first affects the digestive system, and then the nervous system. In severe cases it also causes seizures and LSD-like effects.

Through examining the diets of people with severe tooth decay I find two patterns. One is an extreme excess of sugar consumption, either from natural sources or from refined fructose. The other is a moderate consumption of whole grains, regardless of whether the grains are soured or not. The effect of the grain toxin on teeth appears very similar to someone ingesting large quantities of synthetic fructose syrup.

Since lectins are a sugar-binding protein, it seems that the toxic substance in grains could be lectins or similar grain sugars. Lectins are also found in high amounts in beans. Many types of lectins are easily neutralized by cooking, fermenting, or digestion. Grain’s baneful effect on teeth may be a combination of many grain toxins like phytic acid and lectins together. Some lectins cannot be broken down by fermentation or digestion and become poison to our bodies; others are not harmful to humans at all. Agglutinin is a lectin in wheat germ that passes through digestion and into the body and produces intestinal inflammation.

Certain lectins are very poisonous. Ricin, the lectin in castor beans, is lethal to humans in even small doses. It destroys cells by affecting their ability to utilize proteins. Lectins in general can bind to the villi and cells in the small intestine resulting in a diminished capacity for digestion and absorption. In particular lectins can interfere with hormone and growth factor signaling which may explain why they could promote severe cavities or other growth problems. A demonstration of lectins’ connection with tooth decay can be shown in a saliva test for lectins that indicates one’s susceptibility to tooth decay.

The Effects of Soaking and Sprouting on Phytic Acid

Scientific studies give us insights into the means to remove phytic acid from grains. Sprouting grains is a wonderful step in the fermentation process. But it does not remove that much phytic acid. Typically sprouting will remove somewhere between 20-30% of phytic acid after two or three days for beans, seeds, and grains under laboratory conditions at a constant 77 degrees Fahrenheit. Sprouting was more effective in rye, rice, millet and mung beans, removing about 50% of phytic acid, and not effective at all with oats. Soaking by itself for 16 hours at a constant 77 degrees typically removed 5-10% of the grain and bean phytic acid content. Soaking increased or did not reduce the phytic acid content of quinoa, sorghum, corn, oats, amaranth, wheat, mung beans and some seeds. These statistics do not illustrate the entire picture. Even though soaking quinoa actually increased phytic acid contents, soaking and then cooking quinoa reduces its phytic acid levels by more than 61%. The same holds true for beans. Soaking and then cooking removes about 50% of phytic acid. With lentils this same procedure removes 76% of phytic acid. Roasting wheat, barley or green gram reduces phytic acid by about 40%. A very interesting report shows the value of grain and bean storage in relation to plant toxins. In humid and warm storage conditions beans lost 65% of their phytic acid content.

Grain Bran and Fiber

Grain bran is high in insoluble fiber that your body cannot digest. This explains the usual indigenous practice to remove grain bran through sifting or other methods. While bran is a fine food for mice, and has been used as an animal feed, these plastic-like substances are not good for humans. Even bran used as fertilizer needs to be fermented to release its vitamins. Many indigenous cultures process their food to make it soft, tasty, and easy to digest. When I was younger I believed the premise that bran was healthy because it had lots of nutrients. So I would force myself to eat bran muffins. Even with the large amount of unhealthy sugar, the bran muffins tasted terrible. I was not listening to what my body wanted when eating the bran. My body did not want to eat bran; it wanted to spit it out. The benefits of fiber from bran are unproven. The large bulky material may irritate your digestive tract. Bran-enriched food, especially bran that is not thoroughly fermented, will have extremely high amounts of demineralizing phytic acid. Focus on foods that taste good and are easy to digest and absorb rather than foods that the television or government says are good but that your body feels repelled by.

Indigenous People’s Fermentation of Grain

It is difficult to hand tailor the available information on grain and legume toxicity and transform it into guidelines for making all grains safe to eat. Each type of grain has a substantially individual botanical structure. Further, each grain species has regional differences; for example, there are more than 50,000 known varieties of wheat. The concentration of grain toxins may vary widely based on the particular grain and its regional variety.

To make grain, nut, legume, and seed consumption healthy we need to remove as much phytic acid and other grain toxins as possible. Because each grain, nut, bean or seed is its own entity, each requires different types of attention to make it safe to eat. How safe grains are for you to eat varies greatly based on your genetic lineage, how old you are (kids are far more susceptible to wrongly prepared grains), how efficient your digestion is, how many grains, nuts, seeds and beans you consume, and what other foods you eat.

Indigenous people went through extreme lengths to process their grains to make them healthy to eat. In our modern culture we do not go to these same lengths, and suffer as a result. The lesson I have learned from the proper preparation of grains and beans is that there are no shortcuts. One wrong move with them, and your teeth might be crumbling apart. Food fermentation preserves food, enriches the vitamin and amino acid content, removes plant toxins, and decreases the cooking time. Grains that are prepared for alcoholic beverages are at first sprouted.

Rye, Wheat, Spelt, Kamut, and Barley

Indigenous cultures know how to prepare grains and beans properly to ensure optimal health. In the Loetschental Valley in Dr. Price’s time the natives did not have doctors or dentists because they did not need them. They also consumed large amounts of sourdough rye bread. A careful analysis of the Swiss diet nutrient chart earlier in this book shows that the high alpine rye bread only provides a little bit more than 0.1 grams of phosphorous in the daily diet than white bread. This is not the huge difference in nutrients that whole grains are supposed to have over white flour. The explanation for this is that the people of the Swiss Alps did not use the whole rye grain.

As in many cultures across the world, the Swiss natives started with a whole rye kernel. But after grinding it slowly on a stone wheel, they sifted the rye and removed approximately ¼ of the flour mixture by weight of all impurities. Bran and germ consist of approximately 15-20% of the entire kernel. To be clear, if they started with one cup of flour, after sifting they would have ¾ of a cup of flour remaining. This rye bread still probably contained trace amounts of bran and germ vitamins. Even without knowing the science of phytic acid and lectins, they removed the phytic acid through fermentation, and removed toxic lectins in the germ and bran of the rye grain by sifting out the germ and the bran completely. It is likely then that the safe consumption of our most common grains similar to rye, like wheat, kamut, spelt, and barley involve a substantial or complete removal of the bran and the germ. The high Alpine natives produced a sourdough rye bread in large batches, which included a four-and-a-half-hour hand mixing time. While the people in the Loetschental Valley baked their bread once per month, a more ancient recipe was based upon only one single communal bread baking per year. That means for the rest of the year the bread aged while it was hung on walls. There is evidence that aging grains under certain conditions removes phytic acid and it may also further degrade other grain toxins.

When considering healthy grain consumption we often overlook the importance of the other foods eaten with the grains. How healthy a grain is to eat for the health of your teeth depends on how much phytic acid and other toxins the grain has as well as how much or how little calcium is in your diet. The Swiss natives who enjoyed near total immunity to tooth decay understood this principle and combined their rye bread consumption with cheese and milk in the same meal. This food combining of calcium-rich cheese and milk, and vitamin C-rich dairy products protected them against any residual grain toxins left in their bread not destroyed by milling, fermentation, sifting, baking and aging. The secret to the healthy Loetschental Valley people is their preparation methods which produced grains low in toxins, as well as their consumption of grains in combination with dairy products which were high in calcium, phosphorous, and fat-soluble vitamins.

Wheat and dairy products eaten together is not just seen in the high Alpine villages. In Africa a traditional dish made from wheat known as kishk involves a laborious process to make the wheat safe to eat. First the wheat is boiled, dried, and then ground. The bran is completely removed as in the case of the Loetschental rye preparation. Milk is soured in a separate vessel, and then milk and bran-free wheat are soured together for 24-48 hours, and finally dried for storage.

Ancient beer recipes do use the bran and germ of grains. Ancient beer is a fermentation method that extracts the good vitamins from the bran and the germ without exposing the beer drinker to the grain toxins. Unfortunately modern commercially brewed beers can cause cavities.


Healthy Oats




Healthy Rice



In a rice-based diet rice toxins are neutralized by sour fruit high in vitamin C, land or sea organ meats rich in fat-soluble vitamins, and sometimes via the fermentation of rice or beans. Completely bran- and germ-free rice, known as white rice, can cause a vitamin B-1 (thiamine) deficiency in a diet very high in or exclusively of white rice. The condition is known as beriberi. Beriberi rarely occurred in people eating partially milled rice which retained a small portion of the bran. I know of people in rice-eating cultures with beautiful white, cavity-free teeth who grew up on white rice.

Brem is a special rice-cake bread from Indonesia. It goes through a truly heroic fermentation process in which the rice is fermented for 5-6 days, and then it is sun dried for an additional 5-7 days. Millet and rice are also traditionally fermented with fish, pork or shrimp for several weeks to produce fermented condiments.

Healthy Corn

Even more than rice, the healthy preparation of corn as a grain is largely dependent upon the variety of the corn being used. This leads to a wide variety of traditional corn preparation methods which range from simple roasting to fermenting for two weeks.

Corn is universally nixtamalized when prepared for consumption as flour. This is a process of soaking corn in an alkaline solution to release niacin (vitamin B 3) and then hulling. Modern corn tortillas, chips, and corn meals have either no corn bran or germ, or have very little corn bran or germ. They also are nixtamalized. Typical corn products with the bran and germ removed would be lower in phytic acid and lower in toxic properties than whole grain corn. I cannot clearly advise on how much of these corn products is safe to eat in relation to dental health. They seem comparable to unfermented unbleached wheat flour. If a food has the entire corn kernel in it, and it has not gone through a thorough fermentation process it probably is very high in anti-nutrients like phytic acid and lectins. I am certain that food products containing the entire corn kernel, either as it is, or as sprouted corn should be avoided. Another issue of concern with corn is genetically modified corn. Because of cross pollination, even many not genetically modified corns may have some genetic alteration. Animals typically will not eat genetically modified (GM) corn unless they are forced to do so. Those that have eaten it have had reproductive problems among other problems.





Characteristics of Indigenous People’s Grain Preparation

  • Biodynamic soil practices.
  • Careful grain harvesting, including slow drying in the sun.
  • Aging of grains.
  • Storing grains carefully, many times with the outer hull to preserve freshness.
  • Grinding grains fresh before preparation.
  • Combining grains with other foods.
  • Generally removing the bran and/or germ from the grain.
  • Use of starters in low-phytase grains.

Phytic Acid Content of Popular Foods

Avoid Commercially Made Whole Grain Products - Yeasted breads have 40-80% of their phytic acid intact in their finished product. If a yeasted bread is made with unbleached white flour, however, it will not have much phytic acid. I have cited numerous examples of the problems with grain bran and germ, and demonstrated that these problems are eliminated by removing the grain bran and germ. There is a big price to pay for not removing most of the bran and germ in the grains in the grass family including wheat, rye, spelt, kamut, and probably barley. I have heard of several cases now of whole wheat sourdough with spelt causing severe tooth decay. This is because fermentation, while good at removing phytic acid, does not neutralize all the grain toxins like lectins in certain types and varieties of grains. This leads me to the conclusion that it is best to avoid commercially prepared breads, crackers, health food bars, pastas, cereals and anything else in the store that contains whole grains. No exceptions. Since quinoa and buckwheat are pseudo cereals and not exactly grains, there is some chance that they can be consumed whole provided you remove the phytic acid. But I do not know this for certain. Without knowing what the exact toxin is in the grains causing severe cavities, and without specifically testing each particular store-bought food, I cannot say that any whole grain foods from the store will keep your teeth safe from tooth decay.


Avoid sprouted grain breads - Another deadly food for teeth is commercially made sprouted grain products from whole grains. The whole grain plant toxins are not sufficiently neutralized by sprouting and these foods can cause severe tooth decay.


Avoid most gluten-free grain products - Many gluten-free products are made with brown rice. Brown rice will be very high in phytic acid and these products should be avoided. Gluten-free grain products made from white rice, on the other hand, will not have much phytic acid or grain toxins.


Avoid breakfast cereals – These now have bran or whole grains added to them for the advertised fiber and supposed health features of bran. Cereals with whole grains will be very high in phytic acid and likely high in other grain toxins.


Avoid health foodbars – Many contain whole grains that are not properly soured and are very high in grain toxins. They also contain lots of sugar.


Limit popcorn – Popcorn has some phytic acid. Definitely avoid it if you have tooth decay. Moderate amounts of popcorn are safe to eat for people who are otherwise healthy.

Safe Grains Guidelines

Low Phytic Acid, and Low Lectin Grains

Here are introductory guidelines that are easy to follow which reduce or eliminate the possibility that grains will harm your teeth. You want your grains to be as free from plant toxins as possible. These guidelines are for grains that are safe for the health of your teeth and that are easy to obtain. Many of the grain products available today are compromise foods. I therefore do not recommend them as part of an ideal diet but they should be adequate. For the reader who wants excellent improvement in dental health without spending hours in the kitchen fussing about grains, this part is for you.

Semolina is the name for the part of the wheat left over after removing the bran and the germ. It is used to make pasta and couscous. It is unclear how healthy these unfermented processed grains are to eat, but they will be low in phytic acid if they are not made from whole grains. Traditionally couscous and pasta would be made from semolina or other bran-free grains that are soured or fermented in some way. These options are not available commercially as far as I know.

Any type of bread made with unbleached white flour will be low in phytic acid. Fermented sourdough bread is the ideal way to consume unbleached flour. Sourdough bread with unbleached flour that is sour in taste is the best grain product available in the western world. Not all sourdoughs are created equally. The bread should be soured at least 16 hours and be sour in taste. Some artisan bakers even freshly grind the whole wheat or rye, and remove the bran and germ to make an excellent soured loaf.

White rice does not have much phytic acid. It appears that white jasmine and white basmati rice in health food stores retain a tiny portion of the rice germ because of their brownish color. White rice does not seem to have negative health effects on people like white flour does. The ideal rice preparation is with rice that is first aged for one year, freshly milled to remove about half or more of the bran and germ, and then soured. Since most of us cannot do this ourselves, our second best options are to choose between high quality white rice, or brown rice prepared with a phytase-rich starter. The brown rice recipe is in the recipe section. If you are not going to soak your rice with a phytase-rich starter, then choose white rice.

Like the other grains, corn products should be fermented. There are many corn tortillas and other corn products in the stores that do not have the corn bran and germ. These should be low in phytic acid and not promote tooth decay. Just keep in mind if you eat any of these compromise foods that any unfermented grain eaten consistently has the potential to cause negative health effects in the long run.


Calcium – Just as in the Loetschental Valley grains go well with cheese. Calcium will block many negative effects from grains, nuts and beans. If you consume bread, have it with a large slice of cheese, or with a cup of raw milk, or both. Lentils go great with some yogurt on the side. The rickets-producing effect of oatmeal was limited by calcium. When vitamin D is low in the diet, even phytic-acid-free grains can deplete levels of calcium. This gives us an important clue to safe grain consumption: have calcium-containing foods with your grains.


Vitamin C – Vitamin C significantly counteracts the negative effects of grain anti-nutrients. Have vitamin C-rich foods with meals that have grains, nuts, beans or seeds in them. High quality unpasteurized dairy products have some vitamin C.


Vitamin C in Food

Serving size 100 grams or 3.5 ounces

Vitamin C Milligrams (mg)

Camu Camu


Rose Hips


Acerola Cherry


Red Pepper






Kiwi, Broccoli


Persimmon, Papaya, Strawberry








Mandarin Orange, Tangerine, Raspberry


Raw Cabbage, Lime


Adrenal Gland


Calf Liver


Beef Liver




Raw Milk 4 Cups


Lamb Brain



Folic Acid may play an important part in working with vitamin C to reduce the anti-nutritional effects of grains. High amounts of folic acid are found in liver from a variety of animals as well as in beans, spices, seaweed, leafy greens and asparagus.


Vitamin D – The anti-calcifying effects of whole grains are greatly reduced by vitamin D. Details about vitamin D were discussed in the last chapter. The more grains you consume, in particular oatmeal or whole grains, the more vitamin D your body needs. There is an upper limit to how much vitamin D will block the negative effect of whole grains. So even with plenty of cod liver oil, people consuming a high whole grain diet can have tooth decay problems. That is why it is important to consume grains that do not contain phytic acid or grain toxins. The combination of low phytic acid grains with vitamin D produced optimal bone growth and protection against rickets in diets that contained grains.


Protein – Traditional nut preparation combines roasted nuts with meat stews. Having protein with grains, nuts, seeds or beans may reduce some of their anti-nutritional characteristics.



Summary of Basic Grain and Seed Consumption Guidelines

Do not eat products containing whole grains or added bran.

Do not eat whole grains that are not home prepared.

Do not eat sprouted whole grain products.

Do not consume white flour products.

Do not consume seeds regularly.

When you consume grains, nuts, seeds, or beans regularly, you need to make sure to have adequate calcium, vitamin C and vitamin D in your diet.



Eating Grains At Home

Introductory Guidelines - If you are going to buy flour from the store, then I recommend buying partially refined flour such as unbleached white flour. Do not use store-bought whole grain flour. Unbleached flour is low in phytic acid. Just keep in mind that for the long run, eating only unsoured unbleached flour is not an ideal health practice. Choose white basmati or white jasmine or sushi rice for your homemade rice dishes.


Advanced Guidelines – The indigenous practice all over the world is for grains to be freshly ground before use. Many people have Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon or other books which have many delicious recipes including whole grain recipes. These recipes provide soaked and soured grain dishes that are easier to digest. The careful suggestion I have is not to use whole grain flour. After you fresh grind your whole grain you will want to sift it to remove the bran and germ. Then follow the recipe. You will have delicious dishes that are easy to digest as a result. Grains that definitely require bran and germ removal to be safe are corn, rye, spelt, kamut, and wheat as well as grains directly related to them. For rice you will need to decide if you want to use brown soaked rice with the phytase starter, or white rice. If you can, you will want to start with a vacuum sealed brown rice (since brown rice goes easily rancid), remove about 50% of the bran, and then soak it with a phytase-rich starter. Soured rice cakes will increase the vitality of the rice.


Oats, Barley, Sorghum, Quinoa, and Buckwheat

I am not totally certain whether the grain bran or germ needs to be removed from oats, barley, sorghum and the pseudo cereals of buckwheat and quinoa. Because I am unsure, if you eat the bran of these grains you do so at your own risk for exposure to plant toxins. If you want to eat these grains regularly, I suggest you do your own research.

Grain Detoxification

When adults come to me with a difficult tooth that is not healing, I recommend they avoid grains for 2-3 weeks to let their body recover and find balance. Also avoid grains, nuts, beans and seeds temporarily if:


  • You are eating a more nutrient-dense diet where you have achieved some cavity healing success, but not complete success, such as a once-painful tooth that now hurts occasionally.
  • If you have been consuming whole grains that were not properly soured, or the bran from rye, kamut, spelt or wheat. It is possible that your intestinal lining is inflamed. Taking a temporary break from grains will help heal this problem.


After grain, nut, bean and seed detoxification you will more clearly be able to evaluate how grains are affecting your body, and which grains feel good for you to eat.


Beans are high in phytic acid and lectins. Lathyrism is a disease attributed to poor people

who in difficult environmental circumstances planted and consumed the extremely hardy bean lathyrus sativus (a type of sweet pea). The toxic substance that caused lathyrism is likely the toxic amino acid beta-N-oxalylamino-L-alanine. Its symptoms include walking difficulties, leg weakness and eventually complete paralysis. Other beans also contain quite a few plant toxins such as soy beans. Lima beans consumed in Nigeria as a staple involve a “painstaking processes” to make them safe to eat.

To completely eliminate phytates, beans need to be soaked overnight in warm water, geminated for several days, and then soured. Most people will not be able to go through the lengths to remove all of the phytic acid in beans. Soaking beans overnight and then cooking them eliminates a good portion of phytic acid in smaller beans like lentils. Simply soaking beans overnight may be good enough for most people. Just boiling beans that are unsoaked will not remove a significant amount of phytic acid.

As with grains, different beans have different concentrations of plant toxins, and require different types of preparation methods. The exact details for indigenous cultures’ preparation of commonly used beans are unobtainable by me at this time. But we can look at a few examples. In Latin America, beans are often fermented after the cooking process to make a sour porridge called chugo. In India lentils are typically consumed split. That means the outer layer, the husk, (equivalent to the bran in grains) is removed. Lentils without the bran are probably the safest beans to eat. Lentils can be soured into tasty cakes with rice called dosas. Take the same food combining precautions with beans as you would with grains. Eat beans with cheese, beans with vitamin D-containing-foods, and beans with vitamin C-rich vegetables and berries.

Bean Suggestions


Soak beans overnight and cook with kombu (sea vegetable) to soften them and aid digestion.

Beans should be very soft and easy to digest when cooked.

Choose smaller sized beans over larger ones.



Prepare soured beans in dishes like dosas.

Breakfast Cereals and Granola

Breakfast cereals are manufactured at high temperatures. One study found that rats that ate only puffed wheat died before rats that were given no food at all. At least one breakfast cereal has killed lab rats faster than when the rats ate only the cardboard cereal box. Many people unwisely continue to eat cold breakfast cereals because of the sugar-powered high it provides, and ignore the digestive distress that follows. Avoid the rancid and improperly prepared seeds, nuts and grains found in granolas, quick-rise breads and extruded breakfast cereals.

Many people eat store-bought granola, which is almost always unhealthy because of its high sugar content and high level of phytic acid from oats. Breakfast cereals, even when labeled organic, are not healthy foods. They contain few nutrients that your body can absorb. The sugar and flour combination will cause a rapid rise in blood sugar and thus promote tooth decay. The cartoon character on the cereal box does not really care if you or your child is healthy or not. Organic cereal may not have pesticides or additives, but it is not a nourishing food. If you must have cereal I suggest making soured homemade rice or hot rye cereal. Flour products need to be combined with protein, calcium, and fat.

Nuts and Nut Butters

I read a comedic story of an indigenous group in the Amazon being introduced to peanut butter. They refused to eat it because it looked like human waste. Dogs are highly allergic to many types of nuts like walnuts and macadamia nuts. The symptoms that dogs suffer from nut poisoning include muscle tremors, seizures, vomiting, diarrhea, drooling, and elevated heart rate. As with grains, nuts are very high in plant toxins including phytic acid. The symptoms suffered by dogs that ingest nuts strongly suggest that nuts seem to have some substance, possibly lectins, which can affect the central nervous system. This nervous system effect is seen more clearly with dogs than with humans. Peanut allergies in humans can cause anaphylactic shock. This is just another potential sign of the potent plant toxins hidden in nuts. It is common for people with rampant tooth decay to rely on raw nut and seed butters as staples, including too much raw tahini.

Nuts are powerful inhibitors of iron absorption. But phytic acid levels in nuts do not directly correlate with the decrease in iron absorption. Even though fresh coconut has a moderate amount of phytic acid, fresh coconut has little or no impact on iron absorption. Sprouting nuts improves iron absorption but only modestly. Vitamin C in the dose of 25 milligrams can prevent compounds in nuts from blocking iron absorption. Interestingly the iron-blocking characteristics of nuts may have to do with how nut proteins are digested. This may explain the indigenous cultures’ propensity to mix nuts with animal proteins.


Phytic Acid Content of Nuts




Roasted Peanut

Sprouted Peanut

Hazel Nut

Brazil Nut








Just so you understand these figures, nuts contain about the same level of phytic acid as grains.

Do not misunderstand me; I think nuts are delicious—especially when they have been sprouted and low-temperature dehydrated, and then roasted to eliminate a large amount of phytic acid. It seems almost universal that indigenous cultures cooked their nuts in some way, such as adding them to meat soups and stews. The problem people have with nuts is that they are consuming too many raw, which means they are high in phytic acid, and too much as a staple, rather than as a part of a wholesome diet. An interesting note about macadamia nuts is that they are an aboriginal nut from Australia. Aboriginal peoples also had access to the highest vitamin C rich fruit on the planet, the kakadu plum. The high amounts of vitamin C in the aboriginal diet may have protected Australia’s Aborigines from plant toxins from macadamia nuts. Many types of macadamia nuts are known to be toxic and are not cultivated. A certain nut from Thailand needs to be buried in volcanic soil for 100 days, and then soaked for three days in water to make it safe to eat. Nuts contain nourishing vitamins, but also potent plant toxins that could adversely affect the central nervous system.

Since many people consume coconut flour, I will mention that dried coconut flour has about the same amount of phytic acid, 1.17 percent,as many grains and other nuts. Coconut does not impact iron absorption which implies that it is much lower in the potent plant toxins found in grains and beans. Traditional societies shred coconut and usually cook it. This is not the same as commercially sold coconut flour. Coconut meal is a less powdered form of coconut flour. Coconut flour is made from the byproduct of coconut milk or coconut oil production. Coconut meal is usually used as animal feed. Even as an animal feed, its low protein digestibility causes pigs not to grow fully when it is used as a protein supplement. It contains twice the fiber of the bran of grains. Because of the phytic acid content of coconut flour, consuming it regularly may affect your calcium / phosphorous metabolism. If you do consume coconut flour, make sure to have plenty of the vitamins and minerals that protect against phytic acid. Again, these are calcium, vitamin C, and fat-soluble vitamins A and D.

Nut Suggestions

Nuts in moderation should not be a problem for most people with minor cavities. If you have severe tooth cavities, or have some nagging cavities that do not heal, consider avoiding nuts entirely until the problem resolves.


Basic Guidelines

  • Avoid commercially produced nut butters.
  • Moderate the amount of nuts you eat; do not make them your staple food.
  • Make sure to have plenty of food-based vitamin C, or calcium-rich foods with your nuts, such as roasted and skinless almonds with cheese.
  • Be careful with almonds; they seem to be very high in plant toxins. The skins must be removed.


Additional Intermediate Guidelines

  • Only consume nuts, and nut butters made from them, that are soaked and dehydrated.


Advanced Nut Guidelines

  • Roast nuts and use them for cooking, particularly with meat-based soups and stews.
  • Extract the oil from freshly roasted nuts.
  • Or, avoid nuts entirely.

The Problem with Grains

Avoiding Commercial Grain Products During Pregnancy

Whole grains Pregnancy


References For Whole Grains and Pregnancy

Johnson DDS, Clarke. "Epidemiology of Dental Disease." University of Illinois at Chicago - UIC. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Sept. 2010

Mellanby, E. Relation of Diet to Health and Disease. The British Medical Journal 677, April 12, 1930.

Barnett Cohen and Lafayette B. Mendel. Experimental Scurvy of the Guinea Pig in Relation to The Diet, J. Biol. Chem. 1918 35: 425-453.

Ibid., 449.


Mellanby, Edward J. The Rickets-Producing and Anti-Calcifying Action of Phytate Physiol. (1949) 109, 488-533 547.593:6I2.751.1

McCollum, Elmer Verner. The New Knowledge of Nutrition. New York: Macmillan, 1918. 312. Print. (Professor of Chemical Hygiene, John Hopkins University)

Ibid., 316.

Ibid., 324.


On Cases Described as “Acute Rickets,” which are probably a combination of Scurvy and Rickets, the Scurvy being an essential, and the rickets a variable, element

Med Chir Trans. 1883; 66: 159–220.1.

Sherlock, Paul, Rothschild, E. Scurvy Produced by a Zen Macrobiotic Diet JAMA, March 13, 1967. Vol 199, No 11

Mellanby, May, and Lee Pattison. "THE INFLUENCE OF A CEREAL-FREE DIET RICH IN VITAMIN D AND CALCIUM ON DENTAL CARIES IN CHILDREN." British Medical Journal (1932): 507-12. Print.


Mellanby, Edward. "The Relation of Diet to Health and Disease." British Medical Journal (1930): 677-81. Print.

J. Physiol. (1942) 101, 44-8 612.015.31 Mineral Metabolism of Healthy Adults on White and Brown Bread Dietaries.

Mellanby, Edward, and D. C. Harrison. "Phytic Acid and the Rickets-producing Action of Cereals." Biochemical Journal (1939): 1660-674. Print.

Mellanby, Edward. “The Rickets-Producing an dAnti-Calcifying Action of Phytate.” J. Physiol. (I949) I09, 488-533

Davidson, Lena. “Iron Bioavailablity from Weaning Foods: The Effect of Phytic Acid”

Macronutrient Interactions: Impact on Child Health and Nutrition by US Agency for International Development Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations. 1996:22.


Tannenbaum and others. Vitamins and Minerals in Food Chemistry, 2nd edition. OR Fennema, ed. Marcel Dekker, Inc., New York, 1985, p 445.




"Fermented cereals a global perspective. Table of contents.." FAO: FAO Home. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Sept. 2010. < >



Daniel, Kaayla. "Plants Bite Back." Wise Traditions 11.1: 18-26. Print.

Denny, Paul. et al. Novel Caries Risk Test" DOI: 10.1196/annals.1384.009


Chemistry. 1993 47(4):333-336.

I. EGLI, L. DAVIDSSON, M.A. JUILLERAT, D. BARCLAY, R.F. HURRELL. "The Influence of Soaking and Germination on the Phytase Activity and Phytic Acid Content of Grains and Seeds Potentially Useful for Complementary Feeding." Sensory and nutritive qualities of food 67.9 (2002): 3484-3488. Print.


Silvia Valencia, Ulf Svanberg, Ann-Sofie Sandberg, Jenny Ruales Processing of quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa, Willd): effects on in vitro iron availability and phytate hydrolysis International Journal of Food Sciences and Nutrition. 1999, Vol. 50, No. 3 , Pages 203-211

Fazli Manan, Tajammal Hussain, Inteaz Alli and Parvez Iqbal. "Effect of cooking on phytic acid content and nutritive value of Pakistani peas and lentils." Food Chemistry Volume 23, Issue 2, 1987, Pages 81-87.

Food Chemistry 1993. 47(4)333-336.

SAMUEL KON, DAVID W. SANSHUCK PHYTATE CONTENT AND ITS EFFECT ON COOKING QUALITY OF BEANS. Journal of Food Processing and Preservation. Volume 5, Issue 3, pages 169–178, September 1981.


Rubel, William. "Rye Bread from France : Pain Bouilli." William Rubel, Author and Cook Specializing in Traditional Cuisines. Web. 04 Sept. 2010. <>. Further reading Marcel Maget’s Le pain anniversaire a Vilard d’Arene en Oisans


Czapp, Katherine. "The Good Scots Diet." The Weston A. Price Foundation. 1 May 2009. Web. 04 Sept. 2010. <>.

Conversation on "Basmati Rice." IndiaDivine. Web. 07 Sept. 2010. <>.

Trinidad P. Trinidada; Aida C. Mallillina; Rosario S. Saguma; Dave P. Brionesa; Rosario R. Encaboa; Bienvenido O. Julianob . "Iron absorption from brown rice/brown rice-based meal and milled rice/milled rice-based meal." International Journal of Food Sciences and Nutrition, Volume 60, Issue 8 December 2009 , pages 688 – 693.




Food Chemistry 1986 22:181−192.

CCVIII. PHYTIC ACID AND THE RICKETSPRODUCING ACTION OF CEREALS BY DOUGLAS CREESE HARRISON AD EDWARD MELLANBY From the Field Laboratory, University of Sheffield, and the Department of Biochemistry, Queen's University, Belfast (Received 11 August 1939)









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