Tag Archive for Dr. Perlmutter

Want to Lose Weight and Get Healthy? Eliminate Grains.

breadsDoes anything cause more anxiety in the food world than Carbohydrates?   Ask people to give up or cut back on bread, pasta, crackers, and chips, and you’ll often see fear in their eyes.  I’ve had 100 moms say to me, “what else do you feed your kids?”.  Grain based foods are cheap, plentiful, easily prepared and quickly served.  What’s faster than cereal for breakfast or pasta for dinner?  Has anything been pushed on us harder than grain based foods?  Have we ever seen a commercial of a group of guys bonding over steaks while watching football?  Or a harried mother shooing her kids to the school bus while passing them a turkey sausage?  ( I think the meat industry needs to hire me!) We’ve been subjected to a barrage of hypnotic grain pushing advertising for our entire lives, and it’s worked.

You all, grains are killing us. Please, please, keep reading.  If you need to lose weight, get rid of headaches, anxiety, ADD, or depression, if you need to reverse Diabetes or Heart Disease,  if you suffer from bad periods, bad skin, Man Boobs, low testosterone, sore and swollen joints, you can improve/fix all these conditions by eliminating grains – completely – from your life.

Here’s a quick rundown on what happens when we eat grains (from Oatmeal to Barley, to Wheat, to Spelt, Whichever and All) :  in your gut the grains are broken down to Glucose/Sugar, which leaches through your intestine wall right into the blood stream.  Now we’ll call it Blood Sugar. ( SPOILER:  whole wheat flour breaks down even quicker than white flour!! ) Your body needs to keep your Blood Sugar between 80 and 100.  Everything over 100 MUST BE DELT WITH IMMEDIATELY.  The pancreas releases the hormone Insulin, which grabs the excess BS and tries to remove it from the blood stream.  There are only 3 options: (1) some of the muscle cells will need a molecule of glucose (2) the emergency liver store might need some (3) ALL THE REST GET REMADE INTO TRIGLYCERIDES.  Then the liver makes LDL to transport those triglycerides thru your bloodstream and into the fat tissue in your abdominal area.

Other problems with grains and high blood sugar?  (1) Glycation, which is when the sticky blood sugar inappropriately attaches to, and damages, the cells on the back of your eyes, extremity nerve endings, liver cells, kidney cells, or forms into brain plaques. (2) Gluten proteins in grains.   Humans don’t have the enzymes to break down Glutens; the damage these proteins wreck is EXTENSIVE.  (3)  The hormone Insulin:  damaging and caustic. It goes through the arteries like a ball of barbed wire. Plus, the pancreas takes a hit when it has to pump out excessive amounts, like it would if you eat carbs all day long.

If you’ve been struggling with Weight or Health, and you’ve tried everything but eliminating grains, what do you have to lose by going grain free for a month? Really, what do you have to lose? Try it. One month. It’s the start of a whole New Year.  You could be totally different in 12 months if you want.

Want some inspiration, and further education?  Listen to these podcasts from a Cardiologist and a Neurologist:

Dr William Davis, aka, The Wheat Belly Doc, on LivinLaVidaLowCarb

Dr. Davis Cholesterol Clarity

Dr. Perlmutter from Grain Brain

Your health, your weight, your moods, your energy levels, they’re in your hands.  You are not deficient in a drug.  You didn’t break because your body can’t make enough Metformin, Lipator, or Advil.  All drugs come with side-effects. All of them.  Your body is made mostly of Water, then Protein and Fat, then vitamins and minerals. Feed your body what it needs to remake and repair itself.  Carbs make nothing in your body; they’re just an energy source, and even a top athlete doesn’t need much to run well.  We can get all the carbs we need in Real Whole Foods, like vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, and dairy if you tolerate it.  Add your proteins and good fats, and you’re on the right track to health and healthy weight.  You can do this! Make this your year!