The Microscopic Danger Lurking in Grains and Peanuts
Maybe you’ve already given up corn, wheat, peanuts, or and other grains.
After all, they’re not very nutritious to begin with.
But if you are still eating any of those foods, here is a bit more cause for concern:
Masked Mycotoxins Are Efficiently Hydrolyzed by Human Colonic Microbiota Releasing Their Aglycones
What Are Mycotoxins?
Mycotoxins is a fancy name for the toxic byproducts that are produced by mold.
Mold grows on a lot of plants, including many grains. Mold particularly likes peanuts.
And when mold grows on these plants, it leaves behind toxins that are really bad for humans and other animals (such as livestock).
It’s possible (although not always common) to clean grains and peanuts in order to remove most of the mycotoxins. Many countries have limits on the amount of mycotoxins that can be present in food that is fed to humans or livestock.
However, it turns out that many mycotoxins can evade detection but still be quite harmful. In essence, the plants on which these molds grow have defense mechanisms that render the mycotoxins harmless, but then the bacteria in our guts is likely capable of making those mycotoxins harmful again.
Eat Grains and Peanuts At Your Own Risk
Grains and peanuts are already pretty unhealthy to eat.
And yet, mycotoxins are likely to be more of an issue to human health than most people realize. Especially considering that most people don’t realize it at all.
Images: Copyright © Brent Hofacker from Fotolia