[OT] Should I stop eating Wheat ??

"Wheat" as we think of it.....those amber waves of grain, don't even exist anymore. The Frankenwheat of today is a dwarf plant that has 42 chromosomes.... the wheat of Biblical times only had 14. I read recently that if you threw a handful of today's 'wheat' seed into a field it would not grow because it depends upon the chemical fertilizers and insecticides used in the commercial fields. That was a shocker! The point Dr. Davis makes is that this new wheat, because of all the genetic tinkering via hybridization and crossbreeding, has gluten containing a form of gliadin that stimulates the appetite, and once the food industries figured this out, they started to add it to just about everything. It is very much like a drug.... attaching to the same receptors in the brain as morphine does. When you give it up, withdrawal ensues....

Bought some rye bread today...its not the same is it. Seems to be very light.

ozze_dollar wrote:Bought some rye bread today...its not the same is it. Seems to be very light.

Rye bread is mostly wheat with a little rye in it.

The only "whole" rye thing I found was Rye Krisp--and even THAT caused problems for me (sigh...I thought I could eat at least one grain...but no....). Oh well, the benefits of being off ALL grains definitely outweigh the downsides.

Weezy

If you've ever made rye bread, you have learned that rye flour won't rise. You have to mix it with wheat flour about 50:50 in order for it to be light enough to rise, and even then you have to really load it with sugar to get the yeast "in the mood." According to Dr. Davis, rye flour also has gluten in it. But perhaps it doesn't have the same gluten proteins that are found in "Frankenwheat." Davis says his patients have lost weight by doing nothing more than eliminating all grain products from their diet. With the grains gone, so go the carb cravings and the concentration of fat in the belly and especially the dreaded "man-boobs."

It's interesting to compare three of the leading movers in the low-carb world:

Gary Taubes had done an excellent job of showing from many sources how bad all carbs are for our health, and why they are bad,

Dr. Lustig agrees that carbs are all bad, and unnecessary to our diet, but he focuses on the evils of fructose in sugar and high-fructose corn syrup.

Dr. Davis agrees with the above, but he says wheat products are especially bad.

portiemom wrote:I have been following some of the other threads here on "good calories, bad calories," and I have come to the conclusion that I must begin getting off carbs, wheat etc. so if anyone can suggest a menu type program I would greatly appreciate it. I have lived on SUGAR and BREAD way TOO LONG. HELP

I found an easy way to do it. Just stop eating processed foods! Don't eat anything that comes in a box, bag, bottle, or can without justification. My exceptions are virgin olive oil, coconut oil, cottage and other cheeses, half and half, butter, canned and frozen vegetables, and canned wild salmon.

Without "dieting" my wife and I have each lost about 10 lbs in about a month eating whole foods.

Jay

Deepak Chopra recommends not eating anything that has a label. If it has a label, it's "dead" food.

There is often an adjustment period if you are reducing carbohydrate consumption. Reducing carbohydrates has a diuretic effect, and as you lose water you also lose sodium. So it's crucial to drink plenty of fluid AND allow youself some salt--sipping broth is ideal. People feel, weak, headachey, sort of like they have the flu for a few days. Stick with it, and you will feel awesome once that adjustment period passes.

As others have said, the key is to eat REAL food--meat, fish, eggs, whole milk dairy, and plenty of non-starchy veggies (usually those that grow above ground). The biggest MISTAKE people make is trying to stay low fat. When you drop the carbs you must replace those calories somewhere or you will be miserable. The replacement should be FAT and not protein. Fat makes you feel satieted so you're not constantly hungry, and it carries a lot of nutrients and vitamins. Good fats are coconut oil, olive oil, butter, ghee, and animal fats. It's OK to eat the chicken skin, to eat marbled meat, etc. Do NOT take out the egg yolk. Milk should be heavy cream or half and half, NOT skim or low fat.

and speaking of fats...

I was at my local meat market today and actually had time to look in the fridge section. Noticed some large chunks of what they said was butter (it was wrapped in butcher paper). The guy said it was from a farm not too far away that had an all-Jersey herd. the price was good so I thought I'd try it, being a butter fiend.

OH MY GAWD! It was SOOOOO good! It tasted like I remembered butter tasting when I was a child and we visited relatives who made their own butter. Unsalted, but doesn't need salt. Rich, and BUTTERY is the only way to describe it. Did a side by side comparison with our standard grocery store butter and there's no way I'm going back. This was even better than the super-expensive stuff I'd tried from Trader Joe's and Whole Foods.

So I made some kale chips and used new the butter on them with a little sea salt....a total taste treat.



Weezy

Thank you Jay, I appreciate your post and I was really concerned, I am day 2 of eating meat, eggs, cheese, and veggies, and I have been in the bathroom more in the past 2 days than I can ever remember. I am experiencing a headache but it is managable. Not being a big meat eater, or veggie eater this is going smoother than I thought it would. I have a difficult time with fat as I've spent 40 years avoiding it. I made the mistake of telling a friend that I ate some bacon, nitrate free, and they went off on me for the fat content. I'm not sure if I should be eating bacon, but as far as meat goes, it's easier to eat and egg with it. I appreciate any and all tips you can give me. I'm not a big salt eater, and so I will have to watch all this fluid I seem to be losing.
Also, Janknitz, I'm so appreciative of all your advice and welcome any help you can offer. Thanks

Portie,

You're going to have to get used to people getting on your case about fat. 40-50 years of anti-fat propaganda doesn't disappear overnight. You should know that there are plenty of evidence based studies that show that eating olive oil, coconut oil, and saturated fat from sources rich in Omega 3's (wild caught, cold water fish, pastured meat, dairy, and eggs) IS safe--it's dietary carbohydrates, NOT fats, that increase your bad cholesterol and lead to arterial damage. But the low fat myth prevails.

If you don't have "clean" (pasture raised) sources for animal fats, it's better to eat leaner cuts and supplement with coconut and olive oil. But otherwise, leaner cuts are not necessary. Bacon without nitrites is fine--"Bacon, the dieter's friend"--who would have thunk it???

Drink broth and use salt liberally--it will help you feel better faster. If you are dropping all the processed foods in your diet, that's a LOT of salt you won't be taking in, so it's OK to salt your foods to taste. You will find that your tolerance for salty tasting things decreases a little as you get those processed products out of your system, but a little bit of salt really helps things taste great.

portiemom wrote:Thank you Jay, I appreciate your post and I was really concerned...

I hear ya'. Eating fat again after 40 years is kind of scary. Purely anecdotal, but I remember my family eating lots of fat in the 50's and none of them had heart disease.

I am enjoying bacon and eggs, too. I found some uncured bacon at the grocery and it's delicious! On the subject of eggs, I've found a nice snack to be a hard boiled egg.

Roasts (chicken, beef, pork) have been my mainstay. I can cook one and then eat it for several days after. With the roast, I usually have fresh or frozen vegies (5 minutes in the micro) and a tossed salad, so meal prep has not been a problem. I eat some fruit, usually an orange, or an apple, and/or some berries, as well as melon, nearly every day. With the fruit, I will usually eat cheese to kind of "offset" the carbs and provide lasting satiety. A handfull of nuts from the shell also makes a nice snack. I have been avoiding most root (starchy) vegetables, but I figure most anything else goes (in moderation), as long as it is "whole".

I haven't suffered any adverse effects, maybe because I haven't tried to reduce my carbs to zero. Right now, it looks like I'm getting about 50% of my calories from fat and 25% equally from carbs and protein. My goal in starting this way of eating was to try and reduce my fasting blood sugar and triglycerides and, at the same time, lose a little weight.

I'm scheduled for a blood test in about a month. It'll be interesting to see the results.

Enjoy the ride.

Jay

portiemom wrote:I have been following some of the other threads here on "good calories, bad calories," and I have come to the conclusion that I must begin getting off carbs, wheat etc. so if anyone can suggest a menu type program I would greatly appreciate it. I have lived on SUGAR and BREAD way TOO LONG. HELP

It's hard to suggest a 'menu' because your idea of low/no-carbs will be different from other people's. My simple, easy formula for eating low-carb is - avoid all processed foods, learn to read all nutrition labels, avoiding anything with more than a handful of ingredients, chemicals I can't pronounce, or with more than 15g carbs per serving. Learn the carb content of fresh foods, eat organic where possible, avoid a lot of fruits, but if you must, stick with melons and berries.

Some of the foods you think will be good for you - aren't. Fruit juices are carb-bombs, have no fibre and are just glorified sugar. Milk is high in carbs (unless you use Hood Calorie Countdown or almond milk). Don't be afraid of fats - but stick with good fats - olive oil, real butter, real cream, avocado.

There's also a really good pasta (Dreamfields), that if cooked exactly as instructed, is very low in carbs and high in fibre.

Once you get the hang of the foods that are low-carb and good for you, the menu part is easy.

Cheers,
xena

Jay Aitchsee wrote:With the fruit, I will usually eat cheese to kind of "offset" the carbs and provide lasting satiety. A handfull of nuts from the shell also makes a nice snack.
...
My goal in starting this way of eating was to try and reduce my fasting blood sugar ...

Jay

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If you are trying to prevent blood sugar spikes while doing low carb, you should always eat some protein with fruit. 10-12 almonds with a pear or apple, for example. I'm not sure why it works, but that is what the nutritionist I've been seeing told me.

That's interesting Randy,

I haven't been monitoring my blood sugar after eating, but my fasting blood sugar has been creeping up to the 100+ mark and I just figured that reducing the refined carbs would be a good thing. As it turns out, purely by accident, I do usually have a few nuts with my cheese and fruit. The three just seem to go together.

Thanks,
Jay

Thanks xanablue, I appreciate your post. I've never been a food eater, I've been a sugarholic since about the age of 9, my father was a butcher, and watching him as a child was trumatic for me not to mention the pig's head that hung in the store window. The smell of animal blood is nauseating to me, then losing my mother at 11, sugar was the easiest thing to eat. Yes, I am addicted, but I am determined to get off carbs and sugar. I've never been a salt person, but I am putting some on my veggies, as I have been concerned about all the fluid I'm losing. I will heed your advice, and please feel free to share anytime you can, I need all the help I can get.