I am talking about a silent killer in this country. This killer stalks you in the morning. His accomplices Mr. Bread and Mr. Pasta will stalk you in the evening. Most people I talk to can NOT imagine a life without bread. When I say bread, that refers to cereal, pasta, chips, pretzels, muffins, donuts, and all the other grain products.
“But, I eat whole grains!”
This is a mistaken notion. People that are eating whole grains often feel as if they are doing the best they can for their body. Grains in general are the problem; whole grains, 7-grain, stone-ground or whatever you think is healthy. There is no chemical difference in your body.
The most critical problems with these grains are:
- Gluten
- Mostly omega 6 fatty acids
- The pH of grains is acidic
- High phytic acid content
- Traditional methods have been lost
Gluten—Many people are very sensitive to gluten. Many health problems can be related to gluten. The most common would be arthritic symptoms and gut problems. It is also difficult to digest.
Gluten Grains:
- Oats, Rye, Barley, Spelt, Especially wheat
Non-Gluten Grains:
- Buckwheat, Rice, Millet
Omega-6 fatty acids—These are fatty acids that promote inflammation. These are balanced by omega-3 fatty acids, which are often very deficient in the average American diet. Omega-3 fatty acids are anti-inflammatory. An acceptable ratio would be 4 omega-6 fatty acids to 1 omega-3 fatty acid (4:1). Since there is such an abundance of omega-6 fatty acids in grain, many Americans are between ranges of 10:1 and even 40:1. This is a huge imbalance.
How does this apply to REAL life?
Omega-6 fatty acids Compared To Omega-3
Oatmeal = 21:1 Broccoli = 1:3
White Bread = 21:1 Most Lettuces = 1:2
Whole Wheat = 27:1 Fish = 1:1 to 1:7
Potato chips = 60:1 Fruits = 1:1 to 2:1
To clearly decrease inflammation the majority of our diets should be vegetables, fruits, and fish. Grass fed beef can also be rich in omega-3 fatty acids.
To give you more incentive to decrease your grain consumption, we now know that hardening of the arteries and heart disease are considered chronic, smoldering inflammation that develops slowly until—Wham —A Heart Attack!
If 50% of all heart attack victims have NORMAL cholesterol, then why do the others have heart attacks? Chronic inflammation also promotes PAIN, cancer, inflammatory gut disease, and just about any chronic disease.
#1 Killer = Heart Disease
#2 Killer = Cancer
If you follow the ever so clever FOOD PYRAMID that asks you to eat 6-11 grains a day, you can expect to be like every other American; overweight and a shorter life expectancy than 23 other nations.
You can shift this balance back by avoiding the bread family. Taking Fish oil supplements and Flax oil supplements~ 1000mg a day.
One of our patients had an elevated cholesterol level for years and the Lipitor he was taking never lowered it to an acceptable level. After taking the Linum B6 (flax oil) from our office his numbers dropped about 90 points. That was all he did differently!
Acidic pH—creates a pain and inflammation just like the above omega-6 fatty acids.
Phytic Acid—is abundant in grains. Some have more than others but it is in all grains. Phytic acid blocks minerals from being absorbed in the guts, like calcium, magnesium, copper, iron, and especially ZINC. Please consider this if you did not do well on the zinc test. Whole rice and whole millet contain less phytic acid. What major health problem do many people get without enough calcium?
If I could recommend one thing to patients to both improve their lives and make their adjustments hold and work better, it would be to stop eating bread. To top it off, many breads and cereals have partially hydrogenated oil in them. If you do want to eat grains, care must be taken in preparation. They must be soaked and sprouted, and the vast majority of commercial preparations do not do this. By soaking them for as little as 7 hours you can neutralize most of the phytic acid and break down gluten into a more simpler, and absorbable component.
Breakfast cereal has no place in your house. Cereal is made at high temperatures and pressures called extrusion. Extrusion destroys many nutrients, causes oils to go rancid, and makes some proteins toxic. If you are going to eat bread or grains, please, have one serving a day and soak the grains
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