What a dramatic title, I know my kids are rolling their eyes, but it’s true. At this point in the information age, I think many actually believe that grains do cause disease, and definitely weight gain. It’s just that………the thought of No More Grains is so Sad.
Let me help you get over that. No one’s more addicted and in love with grains than I was, and I’m free. You can be too.
It’s like getting off drugs and alcohol; you’ll feel SO GOOD without it. You’ll be free from bloat, brain fog, headaches, bad periods, high blood pressure, resistant weight loss, sore joints, and the list goes on and on and on.
If you’re carrying extra weight, you’ll be free from that too.
Grains, both gluten-free and gluten-loaded, are a veritable boat load of problems. If your doctor’s telling you ( like ours does ) that whole grains are “good”, ignore that. Main Stream dogma has created a U.S. that’s 70% overweight, 70% on medications, and a population literally riddled with cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancer. Add to that, our kids are on more medications for behavior and health issues than we could have ever imagined.
Every single paradigm that’s been pushed on us for the past several decades needs to be identified, examined, and stopped. One of those paradigms is that Grains Are Good For Us, and we need carbohydrates for energy and health.
Pure lies.
Grains make most of us Fat; and if they don’t make us fat ( they didn’t make me fat ) they make us Bloated ( I had the stomach of a 7 month pregnant woman every afternoon for years ), or sick. Grains are digested in the gut to simple sugars, either Glucose or Fructose. ( White sugar and honey are also digested to Glucose or Fructose, hence, a carb is a carb is a carb. ) Glucose goes through the intestine wall and into the blood stream, then it’s known as “Blood Sugar”.
Americans, and much of the World, have notoriously high blood sugar. ( China has the most diabetics, India’s next, and we’re 3rd.)) Insulin is the hormone sent out to lower blood sugar.
Read this: High blood sugar wrecks havoc on our arteries, our nerves, our brain, our hormones, our skin, and our weight. Excess blood sugar is converted to triglycerides /fat and stored, mostly in our torso region. High insulin is also incredibly damaging, leading to inflammation all over the entire body.
High Insulin causes the body to hold on to salt, high insulin inhibits the body from absorbing magnesium, high insulin damages artery walls; high insulin causes Diabetes, high insulin is highly correlated with several cancers; high insulin causes high cortisol – which is damaging in it’s own right; high insulin upsets our sex hormone production and balance.
I could go on and on, but that’s a little surface scratch of the damage high blood sugar and high insulin cause in us, and our children.
To add insult to injury, grains contain “anti-nutrients”.
“Gluten’s” a notorious term; there’s constant debate about whether it’s okay for us if we’re “not-sensitive”, or is it bad for everyone. It’s bad for everyone, honest.
Glutens are proteins found in grains that are nearly impossible to digest. Wheat alone, “is capable of producing no less than 23,788 different proteins” Proteins from grains wreck havoc that proteins from animals don’t even come close to causing.
No matter what Main Stream says, NO HUMAN ON EARTH HAS THE DIGESTIVE ENZYMES TO BREAK DOWN GLUTEN PROTEINS. No Human. What this means is that eventually… gluten is going to get you. Your body might be able to repair the damage gluten does for years, decades even, but not forever.
70% of reactions to Gluten don’t even happen in the gut, so if you don’t experience bloat, pain, gas, but instead have joint issues, skin issues, headaches/migraines, trouble focusing, or Moms: behavior problems, there’s a good chance it’s a gluten sensitivity or allergy; possibly even full celiac. ( GET TESTED FOR CELIAC AND GLUTEN ANTI-BODIES IF YOU’RE SYMPTOMATIC. )
One last fact about the proteins in grains: many of them are OPIOD in nature. This means their structure is compatible with opiod receptors in our brain. THIS IS WHY THE THOUGHT OF BREAKING UP WITH GRAINS IS SO HARD, THEY’RE LITERALLY AN ADDICTIVE PLEASURE.
How do you quit? Make a plan! You’ll need to shop, cook, and pack. Moms, I hear you already: “My kids/husband will ONLY eat pasta/bread/pizza/chicken nuggets.” I know. We lived that way for yeaaarrrs. We’re American, and that’s the crap we eat. When I put a cold turkey moratorium on Grains, there was an honest to God uprising in my house. Teenagers and husbands are a tough mix to battle, but it’s a battle you need to win.
What to do initially: start replacing the wheat flour products with gluten-free products. (Weaning is always easier than cold turkey. Trust me, you won’t be able to just change your household with the blink of an eye. If only… ) Simultaneously focus on replacing the breads and desserts with grain-free flour recipes. (There’s a learning curve, but it’s worth it). There’s hardly a store in the world not selling almond or coconut flour, but if you live some place that doesn’t carry it, order them on line. I promise you, after the initial upheaval, practice/persistence/patience will prevail.
If you’re intimidated by the thought of the time it takes to make Real Whole Food for yourself and your family, as opposed to throwing pasta in water or chicken nuggets on a pan, GET OVER IT. Honestly! We’ve been brainwashed since birth that Fake Food/Crappy Food is “Okay”. It’s not. Ever. Work on changing your thoughts from “ugh, too much time”, to the sequence of steps you need to take to make a meal.
Don’t focus on the Problem, Focus on the Solution.
Some of my favorite recipes? Coconut milk bread, everyone loves this. Pizza crust from Zen Belly. And if you’re looking for sweets ( and anything else), the options are literally endless:
http://www.rocksolidnutritionandwellness.com/food/what-am-i-eating-today/
Finally, with Thanksgiving in a few days, here’s a post from last year (2013) on our Thanksgiving food and recipes; 100% totally grain free and delicious:
http://www.rocksolidnutritionandwellness.com/thanksgiving-recap-and-choose-your-attitude/
Resources:
http://www.greenmedinfo.com/page/opening-pandoras-bread-box-critical-role-wheat-lectin-human-disease
http://www.greenmedinfo.com/page/dark-side-wheat-new-perspectives-celiac-disease-wheat-intolerance-sayer-ji
http://authoritynutrition.com/6-shocking-reasons-why-gluten-is-bad/
