THE EFFECTS OF WHEAT AND OTHER GRAINS ON YOUR HEALTH – Part II

THE EFFECTS OF WHEAT AND OTHER GRAINS ON YOUR HEALTH – Part II

Today we will consider how we are affected by the lack of balance in Omega-3 & Omega-6 ratio’s, carbohydrate content of grain, and how grain increases the rise of cortisol.

With a diet high in grains, you end up with very little Omega-3 fats and a large ratio of Omega-6’s. That out of balance ratio of Omega 3:6’s, which should be no more than 1:4, is usually 1:20-50 in the American diet. Decreased Omega-3’s and increased Omega-6‘s, lead to inflammation – just another reason to avoid conventional meats. Grass-fed meats are high in Omega-3, because grass is 60% Omega 3.

The carbohydrate content of grain is also extremely high – wheat, rice and corn are all very high-glycemic. Fun fact… there is a carb-based substance in wheat called amylopectin. It is actually more dangerous for diabetics than sugar – it’s that high-glycemic.

What has been called “grainbesity” has to do with so many grains being highly processed and highly glycemic. They trigger blood sugar that alters hormones. If the grain creates an inflammatory response, it will shift those hormones to try and combat the inflammation, which is also going to drive up blood sugar.

And every time cortisol (your stress hormone) increases to fight inflammation, it tells the liver to dump sugar into your blood stream, so that you just have to make more insulin to compensate for that sugar. Then insulin stores your food as fat. It puts you into a vicious hormonal cycle.

Here is another side effect of eating gluten for those with a gluten sensitivity. It causes something called the gluten muscle-wasting cycle, because when the chronic inflammation kicks in that we spoke of earlier, it activates cortisol. Besides raising insulin, cortisol also destroys muscle tissue. It breaks it down because it is a catabolic steroid. Just like when people are given corticosteroids or prednisone, they gain a lot of central weight in the middle, retain water and their muscles start to deteriorate.

This is why people who are under chronic stress, even if not food related, gain weight. Cortisol is produced under stress and it eats into their muscles, slowing their metabolic rate. They can eat the same amount of food, but because their muscle is diminished, they don’t burn fat the same. In fact, it leads to fat storage.

This is important to understand. If you’ve led a lifetime of eating poorly, which is the typical American diet. You can be laying the foundation for the development of disease and weight gain for many years. That’s why most adults don’t show signs of disease until the 3^rd or 4^th decade for women and the 5^th decade for men.

Ezekiel Bread is an option to consider. Ezekiel Bread states that the sprouting of the six different items creates a complete protein close to that found in milk and eggs. The best grains are sprouted grains. If you have an issue with gluten, this still will not be a good choice ever. If you don’t, Ezekiel Bread is better, because the six grains and legumes contained in it are in sprouted form. Sprouted grains release enzymes which break down proteins and carbohydrates. This process makes sprouted grain a low-glycemic food that is easier to digest.

Look, once again, there is no silver bullet. There is no alternative to eating real, whole foods to lose weight and prevent disease. Quick weight loss by restricting calories and eating low-calorie prepackaged food with poor ingredients, will never create health.