There is evidence suggesting that ancient Egyptians used moldy bread, specifically containing a type of mold called Penicillium, as an early form of antibiotic.

  • Maeve
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    -14 days ago

    Additionally, today’s wheat, corn and other grains (food in general) isn’t the same, as ancient times. Too many added chemicals, added gluten, sugars, etc. The nutritional value is mostly lost, but for the added nutrients, and I’m not entirely sure they’re absorbed the way we think they are.

    • @[email protected]
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      4 days ago

      “Added gluten” makes no sense, but yes the modern wheat is bred to have waaay less bitter taste and secondary nutrients, whild being high in short carbohydrates like sugar. It also contains way more gluten.

      The fact that especially wheat seems to only be used in a highly filtered form, doesnt help.

      And yeah, genetic diversity is important here too.

    • @stoly
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      44 days ago

      I’m not sure why you’re being downvoted here. It’s common knowledge that although we produce more food it’s not as nutritious as before. We get more mass but less dietary value.

      • Maeve
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        34 days ago

        We get more mass but less dietary value.

        Absolutely. Obese people have died from malnutrition, and that’s a whole other ball of wax.

        • @ChicoSuave
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          34 days ago

          Davis said that the wheat we eat these days isn’t the wheat your grandma had: “It’s an 18-inch tall plant created by genetic research in the '60s and '70s,” he said on “CBS This Morning.”

          I hate to be the guy pointing out the obvious but farming is low budget genetic engineering. A huge number of crops have seen so much attention by farmers, scientists, and agribusiness that they are different from the food grown 100 years ago.

          The person in the article, which doesn’t source their findings and which has no other voices of concern, sounds like they are churning up worry from nothing. appreciate the article as evidence but it sounds like vague shade towards wheat. The only chemical mentioned is gliadin, which if you look at you will see is a component of gluten, a protein that we have been eating for 12,000 years. If it was dangerous, we would have found a clue long ago and had a defined issue by now, like celiac disease.

          • Maeve
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            24 days ago

            I just picked a news source most Americans would find palatable. There is plenty of decent research, and science changes when data changes. The issue is sorting out junk science, which is harder when research is made up and peer reviews are "yes, seems legit, I didn’t have time to dig in "