Grains are the fruits or seeds of grasses (family Poaceae or Gramineae), and are not included on the Paleo Diet due to their prolamin and agglutinin content (see How Gluten (and other Prolamins) Damage the Gut, Are all lectins bad? (and what are lectins, anyway?) and Why Grains Are Bad–Part 1, Lectins and the Gut), due to their digestive enzyme inhibitor content (see Wheat and Innate Immunity and How Do Grains, Legumes and Dairy Cause a Leaky Gut? Part 2: Saponins and Protease Inhibitors) and because they are nutritionally inferior to either meat or vegetables (see Gluten-Free Diets Can Be Healthy for Kids and The Importance of Nutrient Density).
Grains include:
- barley
- corn (aka maize)
- fonio
- job’s tears
- kamut
- millet
- oat
- rice
- rye
- sorghum
- spelt
- teff
- triticale
- wheat (all varieties, including einkorn, durum, semolina)
- wild rice
Pseudograins are also not included on the Paleo Diet due to their saponin content (seeAre Pseudograins Pseudobad? and How Do Grains, Legumes and Dairy Cause a Leaky Gut? Part 2: Saponins and Protease Inhibitors). These are the starchy seeds of broad-leafed plants, and include:
- amaranth
- buckwheat
- quinoa
- chia (chia doesn’t seem to have the same negative effects of other pseudograins, see Are Pseudograins Pseudobad?)