The Gluten Effect
In recent years there has been a growing awareness that grain or wheat products are not the best food for us to be consuming. Even though conventional wisdom from government guidelines & numerous experts recommend that a healthful diet should consist of 6-11 daily servings.
Big Mistake
All these guidelines also state that we should choose whole grains for more nutritional value & extra fibre. However, UCLA evolutionary biologist Jared Diamond suggests that these recommendations are the “worst mistake in the history of the human race”. For the reasons that refined grains/wheat drive excess insulin production, fat storage & heart disease. They are allergenic, immune-suppressing and inferior in nutritional value to plants & animals. In addition, whole grains are possibly worse due to their offensive pro-inflammatory, immune & digestive system disturbing agents.
What is Gluten
All this comes down to the compound called gluten. What is gluten? Gluten is a protein found in wheat and grain products. Gluten acts like glue and it gums up your internal functions causing inflammation. Inflammation is now recognised as the actual main cause of chronic diseases like cancer and heart disease. Gluten is also known to cause increased fatigue, joint pain, brain fog, irritability, depression, acne, eczema, lupus, migraines, chronic fatigue, Crohn’s disease, irritable bowl, autism, dermatitis, etc. Furthermore, it contributes to mal-absorption issues, which results in vitamin and mineral deficiencies.
We’ve been eating grains for a long time, how can this all of a sudden be the cause of all these problems, you ask? Well, what isn’t common knowledge is that in the 70’s wheat was genetically modified to contain more gluten and produce higher yields per harvest. The human species was never meant to absorb all this garbage gluten contained in these modified foods. The more we mess with our food the more we mess with our health!
Please don’t make the mistake of jumping on the gluten-free bandwagon and just eating gluten-free junk food, gluten-free cookies, gluten-free cereal and gluten-free bread, etc. You have to adopt a J.E.R.F. approach; Just Eat Real Food!
Is rice really that bad for us?
Life in Asia seems to go hand in hand with rice at meal times. Compared to pasta and bread, rice is a much better option! Rice has a low toxic load and the storage protein in rice is called glutelin, which doesn’t have anything to do with gluten. Therefore, rice is gluten free. However, rice has minimal nutritional value particularly white rice, as it has been stripped of almost all its minerals and fibre in the refining process. This means that the energy provided will be digested and released into the blood stream quickly. If there has been no energy demand or deficit this energy will be converted to fat and stored. I’m not saying never eat rice; I’m saying it’s a better option than pasta, there are optimal times to eat it and there are much better options available.
Some Body Expert Systems grain alternatives and great carbohydrate sources of choice are: Quinoa, Sweet Potato, Buckwheat, and Vegetables.
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