The Risks of Consuming Typical Grains
& the Healthy Grains to Choose Instead
Most of the mainstream focus with carbs has been on
how they affect your weight. However, there are more reasons than weight for
deciding which carbs to include in your diet.
The fact is, just like the controversy over "good"
and "bad" fats, we see certain carbs as good or bad and
it's the type of carbs that matters
the most.
Low carb diets had been "in" for years until
recently, and so by now maybe you consider yourself an expert on why they
aren't good for you. Yet most people still consume a high carb diet, and
current market research is showing that the low-carb craze has passed.
Your morning bowl of cereal could be harming your
health! At Body Ecology we take a different slant on the carb issue, and I'd
like to share this with you. So lets quickly review what you probably already
know and then I'll explain some things I hope you will find fascinating, as I do.
Carbohydrates are made up of sugars, both simple and
complex. Refined sugars digest immediately (and therefore the term, "sugar
high".) Because digestion of refined sugars is so immediate (and there are
no balancing minerals) your blood almost immediately becomes too acidic.
That burst of energy that feels so great is soon
followed by a "sugar low" É your energy slides way downhill and can
even bottom out completely. Roller coaster rides like this affect your
behavior, your power to think and focus, your emotions and even your willpower
and ability to accomplish. Is it worth it? For me, it's not. My energy is too
precious and I try to protect and actually increase it each day.
Why Not To Eat High-Carb Grains, Grain-Based
Products AND Even Whole Grains
Grains, breads, flour products and pasta can actually
damage your digestive system and feed pathogenic bacteria and yeast.
Flour products are mucus-forming and are basically
"glue-like" in your intestines. Since most of the beneficial fiber
has been removed from flour products like cookies, donuts, pasta and today's
modern bread, they move slowly through your digestive system. With their
sticky, glue-like consistency, they literally "gum up" your
intestines.
These foods are also very dehydrating. Besides causing
constipation, they help you create a toxic environment that is attractive to
pathogenic microorganisms like yeast. Please note, I said, "help you
create," because it is you doing the choosing and the eating.
While sugar and flour are the most damaging to your
colon, even
the unrefined "whole" grains that we've been told are
"healthy" can wreak havoc on your health.
Whole grains like wheat, barley, rye, oatmeal, spelt
and rice are acid-forming. They have a lot of sugar in them. Pathogens (yeast,
viruses and parasites) find them to be very sweet foods and thrive on them. The
Body Ecology Diet is an antifungal diet, so these grains are strictly avoided
if you have a yeast or fungal infection (and it is believed that eight out of
ten Americans do have a fungal infection.)
But there's another problem with most grains. Wheat,
barley, rye, oats and spelt all contain gluten. (Rice is gluten free.). Today 1 out of every 133
Americans has a negative reaction to these gluten grains and are said to be
"gluten intolerant." Even worse is a condition called celiac sprue.
The Body Ecology Diet is
totally gluten-free.
It is perfect for anyone with gluten intolerance or Celiac including the
millions of children with autism.
Are millions of people in the US really gluten
intolerant or do they simply lack "grain loving" microflora that can
digest gluten foods? Are they lacking digestive enzymes to digest grains? Are
the grain-based foods they are eating the wrong foods? The Body Ecology Diet
helps answer these questions and solve these problems while still providing you
many fiber-rich foods.
It All Starts With Your Inner Ecosystem
Just as the Earth has ecosystems that regulate
survival and balance, our bodies have an inner ecosystem - and our inner
ecosystem must be healthy if we want to thrive, not just survive.
A healthy human intestinal ecosystem (inner ecosystem)
is made up of the friendly microorganisms (microflora) that reside in our
intestines and keep us healthy and strong. These microflora work to protect us
by digesting our foods, strengthening our immune systems, guarding us from
parasites and other pathogens in our foods. They literally make vitamins (Bs
and K) right down inside us, and they do so much more.
Unfortunately, many people take drugs and lead
overly-stressful lifestyles. They eat high- sugar foods and foods that are
processed and fried. They take in the wrong kind of fats and oils and the
animal proteins are overcooked.
With deficient amounts of digestive enzymes they still
try to digest all of these foods, yet most don't yet understand the role of the
inner ecosystem and have not made any effort to establish or maintain one. Most
people live with "gut dysbiosis" that makes us intolerant to most
grains.
Healthy Carbs É The Body Ecology Way
On the Body Ecology system of health and healing there
are four
grain-like seeds that are encouraged: millet, quinoa ( keen-wa), amaranth and buckwheat.
These seeds are very ancient foods used by man for
thousands of years. In fact, buckwheat (not related to wheat at all) and amaranth
are thought to have been cultivated about 6000 years ago.
Quinoa was revered by the Incas who are said to have
been the greatest agriculturists of all times. Millet is an ancient grain
brought to America by African slaves. They are amazing foods and are
gluten-free, high in protein and high in fiber. While these grains may not yet
be familiar to you, they are readily available in health food stores and some
supermarkets.
The grain-like seed amaranth is very palatable, easy
to cook, versatile and can be a healthy part of your diet.
Here is some more essential details on each:
Amaranth - contains B
vitamins, calcium, iron and Vitamin C. Amaranth may help lower cholesterol.
Buckwheat - rich in flavonoids like
rutin and a good source of magnesium, buckwheat is good for your cardiovascular
system. It's a valuable food for those with diabetes, as it can be helpful for
regulating blood sugar.
Millet - a good source of manganese,
phosphorus, and magnesium, millet is beneficial for your heart.
Quinoa - a good source of manganese,
magnesium, iron, copper, phosphorous, and riboflavin (B2). Quinoa may be
helpful if you have migraines, diabetes or atherosclerosis.
Millet, quinoa and amaranth are alkaline-forming, while buckwheat is
acid-forming. Acid-forming is not necessarily "bad." Please don't
think good or bad when it comes to acid and alkaline, think balance.
Ideally a Body Ecology meal might have about 20%
acid-forming foods like animal proteins or buckwheat combined with 80%
alkaline-forming foods like vegetables, ocean vegetables and cultured
vegetables. However, at times when you are too toxic and very acidic, meals
that are 100% alkaline-forming will work best for you.
Overall Benefits of Body Ecology Grains
These grain-like seeds are very nutrient-dense and act
as antioxidants. Besides being a significant
source of proteins and minerals they contain B vitamins. They help your body
make serotonin which makes you feel happier while providing a calming, soothing
effect on your nervous system.
This is one of the reasons we recommend a dinner meal
consisting of these grain-like seeds combined with a wide variety of
vegetables, ocean vegetables and cultured
vegetables. These foods are all easily digested and will help make
you feel sleepy at bedtime.
Did you know that eating grain-like seeds (and even
whole grains that are properly digested) can help balance your hormones? They
contain fiber to help sweep excess environmental estrogens (xeno-estrogens)
from your intestines so they can't be reabsorbed. One of the many roles of
beneficial microflora is to also help regulate hormones in the gut.
Preparing Grains
It is always recommended that you soak any grains or
grain-like seeds for a minimum of 8 hours. 24 hours is even better. Grains have
phytic acid in them (as do nuts, beans and other seeds) that makes them
difficult to break down in your digestive system. Since most people have weak
digestive systems, eating grains without
soaking them could cause symptoms of digestive upset. And as you are already
learning, improper digestion leads to a toxic body.
Trouble Digesting Grains?
As mentioned above, poor digestion of grains and
gluten intolerance is common when your inner ecosystem lacks the
"grain-loving" microflora to digest them. Understanding the value of
fermented foods, I found a product that would help solve this problemÉand it is now a staple
in my own kitchen.
BE Wholegrain
Liquid is a wonderful probiotic liquid (to be taken like a
supplement, not like a beverage that you drink in full) made with a variety of
whole grains that are fermented with friendly bacteria and the beneficial yeast
Sacchromyces Boulardii. Buckwheat, millet - and even wheat, oats and rice - are
fermented together to make this wonderful product.
In BE Wholegrain, the hard-to-digest protein structure
of the grains is broken down for you so you can receive the benefits of the
grains and the probiotics.
BE Wholegrain
Liquid provides the "grain loving" microflora that help
you digest gluten, plus it provides you with probiotics that are essential to a
healthy immune system.
IMPORTANT NOTE: I also often put a few
spoonfuls of a fermented liquid like BE Wholegrain into my grains (and
grain-like seeds) when I soak them. I let them soak longer than usual (36 - 48
hours). The microflora in the soaking water softens the grains even more.
You'll find your grains and grain-like seeds even easier to digest this way.
You might want to try this if your digestion is very sensitive or if you are
introducing the grain-like seeds to your baby.
Even though some of the ingredients in the BE
Wholegrain contain gluten prior to fermenting, fermentation breaks apart the gluten. Many people
find that they greatly benefit from the BE Wholegrain since the microflora have
altered the grains, restructuring the gluten protein to make it more
digestible.
After about ten days on this probiotic liquid you may
also find yourself tolerating all grains better than ever before...even those grains
containing gluten. I personally find one must be on fermented beverages and
cultured veggies to really benefit from eating grain foods for as long as they
live. Otherwise true grains should be avoided in your diet.
Besides being a great digestive aid, BE Wholegrain
Liquid is also rich in B vitamins and therefore has a calming effect on you. We
often combine it with sparkling mineral water and stevia for a healthy alternative to soda
pop. It is very popular with our children in our BEDROK group.
When to Add Other Grains Back into Your Diet
Once your inner ecosystem is healed, you may want to
start adding whole grains back into your diet.
I recommend avoiding wheat products for good, however.
Hopefully, you won't even want them. Today's wheat is nothing like the ancient
wheat of long ago. No one seems to do well on it. If this seems impossible
because you and your family are practically living off wheat-based foods right
now, try a short-term experiment. Go ten days without it and see how you feel.
Then add it in and decide if it's right for you.
Make sure to prepare all grains properly as note
above, in order to aid your digestion. And include fermented foods and drinks
to give your inner ecosystem the boost it needs to keep you in balance!
A FINAL NOTE: Are Vegetables Carbohydrates?
At Body Ecology we don't think vegetables should be in
the same category as grains or seeds. They need to be in their own separate
category simply called "vegetables."
We do define them as starchy or non-starchy, however.
We also label them as coming from the ocean or grown on land. Yes, vegetables
do contain some sugars, but they are alkaline-forming in the body and contain
lots of important vitamins and minerals.
Certain veggies like beets and sweet potatoes become
very sweet when baked. (They are not so sweet if eaten raw.) Since the Body
Ecology diet is an antifungal diet, we avoid the very sweet vegetables if they
are cooked until the inner ecosystem is well-established and the beneficial microflora
are thriving inside your intestines. The microflora then consume the sugar.
We also always include fermented foods, like cultured veggies, to
help digest all the natural sugars in that meal. You won't find a more
well-thought-out or complete way of eating than The Body Ecology
Diet.