Hi Friends,

Edgar Cayce’s health readings often recommended 'whole wheat bread', and cautioned against 'white bread'. In Probiotic Sourdough Bread I shared some ideas for implementing Cayce's recommendations for whole wheat bread in our modern world.

5. Let the diet be much after that as has been outlined, with this as some changes: Not much bread, but that that is taken should be of whole wheat or rye bread; only of these may the body eat and digest well. Those of not too much starches, and pertaining principally to proteins and of the non-acid reacting in system. Do that, and we will bring the bettered conditions for this body, [106].

-Cayce Reading [106-19] F 52

When Cayce gave this reading, he didn’t have to add qualifications to explain the ideal way to make whole wheat bread. It was a given that bread had to be fermented for a long time before it was ready to be baked.

Something I've recently come to better appreciate is that long fermentation of bread is an important factor for making the nutrition in wheat more nutritious. This was a given in my process for making ‘probiotic sourdough bread’, as it took a long time before my bread started to rise.

I recently noticed this new sign at a local grocer that markets itself to people who are more health-concious:

Longer fermentation is important because it allows more time for the anti-nutrients in wheat flour to be broken down. These are the main anti-nutrients in wheat:

1. Phytic Acid binds to vital minerals like iron, zinc, calcium, and magnesium. This prevents their absorption.

2. Enzyme Inhibitors block trypsin and amylase, which are the enzymes that our bodies use to facilitate digestion of proteins and starches.

3. Lectins are proteins that plants use to defend against their consumption by animals. These plant proteins bind with carbohydrates present in the walls of the guts of animals. The lectin Wheat Germ Agglutinin (WGA) causes inflammation and irritates the gut lining in sensitive individuals.

Other seeds (beans, legumes, etc) also have anti-nutrients. Humans have traditionally reduced the anti-nutrients in seeds by cooking or sprouting them. Acidic fermentation, via the Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Candida humilis yeasts and lactobacillus bacteria creates an ideal environment for phytic acid, enzyme inhibitors and lectins to be broken down.

In addition to the nutrients in wheat that are 'unlocked' by a long fermentation, yeast and bacteria add vitamins to long-fermented bread. The main vitamins added in a long enough ferment are Folate (Vitamin B9), Riboflavin (Vitamin B2), Thiamine (Vitamin B1), Pyridoxine (Vitaminb B6), and sometimes even Vitamin B12 (the cobalt-containing vitamin that is produced by bacterial fermentation and is NOT found in any plant).

Whole wheat bread is the standout for a highly edible food that the modern world turned into something that shouldn't be eaten. Even if a loaf of modern bread is made with whole wheat flour, it will be very hard to digest if it was made with fast-rise yeast.

A lot of people notice that they’re able to eat bread in Europe, but can’t eat U.S. bread. Most of this phenomenon is certainly related to the Europeans using long fermentation.

Sidenote: the Europeans also banned drying wheat before harvest with Glyphosate, but this wasn’t put into place until 2023. The ban postdates decades of travelers’ reporting they could eat European bread without issue. While it’s certainly better to have glyphosate-free bread, it’s just as important to have bread that’s undergone a longer ferment than is used for modern fast-rise breads.

tl/dr: The old bread making process provided enough time to lower the pH of the dough enough to mostly disable all the anti-nutrients. The post-1945 innovations to speed up bread baking took away this protection.

Update: New Websites

Over the years, I’ve focused this email list and my blog posts on my Cayce-focused sub-domain on ideas directly related to Edgar Cayce’s readings. While I’ve started dozens of posts for teslabox.com, I lacked the motivation to finish them.

Recently I searched for my own name and found one of my legal petitions to the Supreme Court of the United States as the first result. I realized this was not ideal for my own personal brand. The issues I raised to the Supreme Court are very important, but from the perspective of “Search Engine Optimization” my own websites should come up higher on the search results. (If you’re curious, start with Application #21A181.)

Some of the other listings on that search were for my dad’s cousin (the DDS), and various other people named "James Knochel".

Establishing a Substack:

To fix this, I am launching a new domain on a website hosted by Substack: JamesKnochel.com. The posts on this website won’t focus strictly on Cayce, but they will all be guided by the principles I've learned from his readings.

My first post will cover the concept of "Dissident Medicine." I plan to break down the common criticisms leveled against alternative medicine and share my theories on how conventional medicine lost its way. If you want to follow along with these broader topics, please visit JamesKnochel.com and put your email in the subscription box!

GroundingCoin.com & Inventory Updates

My second new website is GroundingCoin.com. I picked up my latest batch of 1.5” coins earlier this summer. Some of you prefer the smaller 1” version, so those are also available. I’ve decided to price the 1.5” coins the same whether you want them with or without a hole. The version with the hole is more work for me, but I think it makes the coins significantly easier to keep track of, so I don’t want people ordering the hole-free version just to save $1.

An open question for my readers: If you own both versions (with and without the hole) and notice any difference in their overall effect, please hit reply and let me know!

All the best,
James Knochel
https://JamesKnochel.com/