Dave Lader is a Tucson-based martial arts, fitness, and wellness instructor with over twenty five years of experience. He is currently a 5th Dan Master of Chung Do Kwan Tae Kwon Do and has additional training in numerous other styles, including Gung Fu, Aikido, Hapkido, Karate, Judo, Jutitsu, Muay Thai, Tai-Chi, Capoera, Pa Kua, and Hsing- I. David has also studied yoga and Pilates, and he received formal dance training at the Royal Ballet School in London. He founded The Dojang in Tucson, Arizona in 1991. It was here that Mr. Lader combined his understanding of biomechanics with his knowledge of classical ballet, traditional Korean martial arts, and yoga to develop his signature system, Warrior’s Dance. Dave Lader has shared his expertise with hundreds of students, and his schools have produced over forty Black Belt and Black Sash experts combined. Go to http://davidladerhealth.com for more information.

1. The
Downfall
of
Modern
Wheat
By David Lader
The food that used to be at the heart
of many diets for thousands of years, bread,
is now considered ‘poisonous’ by many
health experts because of the gradual
modification of wheat.
Nowadays, it's very common to hear
terms like "gluten-free" and "celiac's
disease" thrown around, and a lot of people I
come across are skeptical. "Bread's been
around forever so how can it be bad?" they
say. "Our ancestors never had bread-related digestive issues or diseases. I bet all this talk about
gluten is just a bunch of new age nonsense."
The truth, however, is that there's a very good reason why these problems didn't arise
until relatively recently - the wheat we eat today is a far cry from the wheat we ate in the past,
even as few as 60 or 70 years ago. The food industry has developed new ways of processing
wheat that strip away all nutritious components (such as bran and germ) and leave only starchy
carbs and highly refined flour that has contributed to huge spikes in blood sugar in many
consumers.
Wheat and bread have also changed because they are prepared differently now. Bread
used to be baked by soaking, sprouting, and fermenting wheat and then baking the bread with
slow rise yeast. This fermenting process is where a lot of the benefits of bread came from, like
increased amino acid lysine and reduced anti-nutrients such as phytic acid, lectins and enzyme
inhibitors. Today, however, our flour is not fermented but bleached, and our bread is baked with
quick rise yeast to save time and money.
But wait, there's more. Beyond the processing and the preparation, the plants themselves
have changed! Older, highly nutritious varieties of wheat like Emmer, Einkorn and Kamut have
fallen by the wayside, replaced by various versions of high-yield dwarf wheat. This plant came
about from genetic modification in the 1960s, and its concentrations of zinc, copper, iron, and
magnesium are about 28% lower than non-modified wheat of the past. Scientists have confirmed
through samples that soil has not changed over the years - the decrease in nutrients comes only
from the modification of the wheat itself.
Celiac disease indicates that a person has a severe form of gluten intolerance. The reality
is these intolerances have always been around; they just were never an issue until modern bread
started containing higher amounts of problematic glutens. In fact, none of us are meant to be
consuming as much gluten as we do now.
Unhealthy breads are now ubiquitous, and it's increasingly hard to find older bread strains
like Einkorn. The safest bet is to make bread yourself, or leave wheat out of your diet
completely. All of the nutrients I've mentioned that used to be found in bread can now be found
in other foods, so you won't be starving your body of anything it really needs if you give up
wheat entirely. Try eating more vegetables instead – they are far more nutritious, and far less
toxic!