For the past decade, gluten has been the scapegoat for a wide range of chronic health issues. And I’ll be honest—I’ve been riding that gluten-free freight train myself, collecting insights from big names in the functional health space like Dr. Axe and Dr. Mark Hyman, and experimenting with a gluten-free lifestyle to manage my own health. But recently, I stumbled on an interview that turned my thinking on its head.

What If It's Not the Gluten… But the Flour?

Susan Becker, a food scientist and biochemist, shared her take on The Real Alex Clark Show, and her message was surprisingly simple: gluten isn’t the villain—dead flour is. She explained that today’s store-bought flour (and all the “franken breads” made with it) is stripped of the bran and germ—two vital components of the wheat berry that carry essential nutrients and oils critical for gut health.

According to Susan, this stripping process has created flour that’s devoid of life and nutritional value. So it’s no surprise that our microbiomes are suffering. And when our gut health declines, it opens the door to chronic disease.

A Look Back: When Commercial Milling Changed Everything

Historically, it was normal for families to own a small mill and grind their own flour at home—fresh, whole, and full of nutrients. But with the industrialization of food, flour milling became commercialized in the late 1800s and early 1900s.

In the 1940s, public health officials began noticing serious nutrition-related diseases like beriberi and pellagra. That’s when the government mandated the enrichment of white flour—adding back just a few synthetic nutrients to replace the dozens that had been stripped out. Only four key vitamins (niacin, thiamine, riboflavin, and iron) were added back in—hardly a fair trade.

So What’s the Difference Between Store-Bought and Home-Milled Flour?

Here’s where it gets interesting. Even whole wheat flour at the store is a far cry from truly fresh, home-milled flour. Once milled, the natural oils in wheat quickly oxidize and go rancid, which is why store-bought whole wheat flour is usually heat-treated or processed in ways that kill the very nutrients it claims to contain.

Home-milled flour, on the other hand, contains all three parts of the wheat berry—bran, germ, and endosperm—and when used fresh, delivers real nourishment to the body.

Why Are So Many Still Getting Sick on Gluten-Free Diets?

After watching Sue’s videos, I started questioning everything. I figured I was going gluten-free anyway, so why bother taking sides? But then she made another point: Going gluten-free may actually harm the microbiome. By removing natural prebiotics found in whole grains, we risk developing even more food sensitivities and making our diets increasingly restrictive.

This hit home. Was I solving one problem only to create another?

The Bread Dilemma: Is It Really the Enemy?

My husband joked the other day about a comedian who said, “Gluten is what’s holding civilization together.” We laughed, but the truth behind the humor struck a chord. Bread has been a staple food for thousands of years—how could something so basic suddenly be to blame for so much disease?

The more I thought about it, the more it made sense: it's not the gluten—it's what we’ve done to it. We’ve taken a simple, nourishing food and turned it into an empty-calorie filler, devoid of nutrients and capable of wrecking our blood sugar and digestion.

So Where Do We Go From Here?

For me, this blog is about asking better questions—and not being afraid to challenge the mainstream narrative. I haven’t made any sweeping declarations yet, but I’m deeply curious. Could switching to fresh, home-milled flour be the turning point in how we think about bread and health?

Thousands of people Sue Becker has worked with have seen remarkable health improvements—not from giving up bread, but from going back to basics. And maybe, just maybe, that’s where the real answer lies.

Are We Wrong About Gluten Being Public Enemy No. 1?