Today I have chosen to pass on some great infomation on Grains
One of the first things i discuss with clients when working for weight loss/energy/health is usually Grains, these days most grains are packaged, processed & highly refined, combined with sugar & rancid vegetable oils that do nothing more than stop your stomach from rumbling with hunger & slowing your whole digestive system down that we all try so hard to elevate with exercise & regular meals.
We only started farming grains a flash in the pan of evolution ago & it is pretty safe to say that we have not developed the capacity to digest grains properly yet, you just need to look at the fact that 40-60% of people have Gluten intolerances these days.
Grains : Far better for “food manufactures” & “Grain farmers” than they are for you ..!!!!
Hopefully the following will help you to understand a little better why.
GRAINS
The story of grains goes part & parcel with the story of bread, neither of which the human Machinery is designed to function optimally on. While I’m sure this is a surprise to some of you, significant amounts of scientific evidence suggests that for most of human evolution, until about 10,000 years ago, the primary staple in the diets of most civilizations was animal meat.
Generally, consumption of fruits, vegetables, nuts & seeds was seasonal & supplementary. Most of the animals we preferred to eat, such as deer, were herbivores. These animals served to condense nutrition in their meats, one pound of meat containing the nutritional equivalent of several pounds of vegetables. Such a dense nutrient source provided a sustaining food source during the winter months, when there were minimal food storage methods other than the cold itself. Although many argue (mostly from an emotional bias) that we must have carbohydrates sources to function, biochemistry reveals that we have the capacity to convert some fat molecules (glycerol) into carbohydrates.
While there are many controversial theories as to why we began farming, most agree that farming practices, or nurturing the growth of specific plant species & domesticating animals, began no more than 20,000 years ago & more likely as recently as 10,000 years ago. Since then, there’s been a progressive increase in the amount of grains consumed-especially highly refined grains. Yet this time period is but a flash in the scope of human evolution, during which our digestive machinery was formed.
The process of sprouting (soaking) grains changes the composition of the grains in numerous ways to make it more beneficial as a food. Sprouting increases the content of vitamins, such as Vitamin C, B2, B5, B6 & Carotene increases dramatically – sometimes eight-fold.
Even more important, especially considering how many people suffer from indigestion is that phytic acid, a mineral blocker, is broken down in the sprouting/soaking process. Present in the bran of all grains & the coating of nuts & seeds, phytic acid inhibits the absorption of calcium, magnesium, iron, copper & zinc. These inhibitors can neutralize our own digestive enzymes, resulting in digestive disorders.
Complex sugars responsible for intestinal gas are also broken down during sprouting & a portion of the starch in grain is transformed into sugar. In addition, sprouting inactivates aflatoxins, which are toxins produced by fungus & are potent carcinogens found in grains.
For individuals who are not gluten intolerant, whole-grain cereals & breads are nutritious & provide fibre, which aids in detoxification. But processed wheat & white flour (which is just bleached wheat flour) is nutritionally deficient. Levels of zinc, chromium, manganese, iron & vitamin E are all reduced in processed flour compared to whole grains.
After 130 years of consuming highly processed grains in the form of breads, pastries & cereals, chronic disease is rampant among most industrialized nations. The greatest prevalence of rheumatic disease is in England, which is has the greatest consumption of white flour, white sugar per capita, while the U.S runs a strong second.
CHEK points on Grains
- Testing yourself for gluten intolerance. Exclude grains except corn, rice, buckwheat & millet for two weeks. If you feel a noticeable improvement in how you feel, you are probably gluten intolerant & should avoid all gluten-containing grains.
- Minimize consumption of commercially processed grains & grain-based products.
- Choose organic whole or sprouted grain products.
(Info from the Bible) – How to eat, move & be healthy. by Paul Chek.
Note: if you do suffer any form of arthritis try a Grain free diet for 6 weeks & see if it improves, there has been plenty of studies done linking the two together as amino acid sequences in grains proteins are very similar to synovial fluid (joint lubrication) causing a auto-immune reaction
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