From a paleo-perspective, humans were not designed to eat grains. We cannot digest them unless they've been processed and refined in some way ... including threshing, drying, grinding and ultimately ... cooking. Creatures that ARE designed to eat grains usually have extra stomachs and/or longer colons (large intestines) with a high bacterial flora content, necessary for breaking down the cellulose fibers and deriving nutrients from them.

It's worth noting that even when cooked, the bran and the outer coating of whole grains contain a substance called phytate, which inhibits digestion and interferes with the absorption of important minerals such as calcium and iron. Wheat especially has a high phytate content, although refined white flour has much of this removed.

Doreen