PERFECT BALANCE ON BREAD (Probably the worst food in the world!). Perhaps the one nutritional change I would advise everyone to at least try once in your life for a month is to see how your body reacts to not eating bread anymore. Bread has become such an ingrained part in our life that the idea of not eating bread is still to most people quite bizarre. It has been known for a long time that white bread and refined grains in general aren’t particularly nutritious leading to the famous line The Whiter the bread the quicker youre dead! Thus Doctors, Nutritionists and dietitians all around the world have encouraged us to eat whole grains instead. However grains, especially gluten grains like wheat, have been under intense scrutiny in recent years. Many respected health professionals now claim that bread and other sources of gluten grains are unnecessary at best and potentially harmful. Even whole grain bread usually isn’t made out of actual “whole” grains. They are grains that have been pulverized into very fine flour. Even though this process reserves the nutrients (which are limited anyway), it causes these products to be digested rapidly. The starches in bread get broken down quickly in the digestive tract and enter the bloodstream as glucose. This causes a rapid spike in blood sugar and insulin levels. So, if you follow this page you will know how much importance I give to blood sugar regulation, especially with fat loss. Have a guess at which food would spike your blood sugar faster, A Snickers Bar Vs Whole Grains? Or Even Hagen Dasz Vanilla Ice Cream Vs Whole Wheat Bread? Whole wheat bread is a resounding winner in the blood spiking stakes (ref 1)!! When blood sugar goes up rapidly, it tends to go down just as quickly. When blood sugar goes down, we become hungry. This is the blood sugar roller coaster that is familiar to people on high carb diets. Soon after eating, they become hungry again, which calls for another high-carb snack. Elevated blood sugars can also cause glycation at the cellular level when the blood sugars react with proteins in the body. This is one of the components of ageing (ref 2) In Fact, Studies on carb restricted diets (which eliminate/reduce starches and sugars) suggest that individuals who are diabetic or need to lose weight should avoid ALL grains (Refs 3, 4 and 5). So FAR bread is not looking like so much of a healthy food, even the wholegrain breads and I have yet to mention the dreaded G word Gluten. Wheat contains a large amount of a protein called gluten. This protein has glue-like properties (hence the name gluten) responsible for dough’s viscoelastic properties, which is why those horrendous Gluten Free breads never quite replicate the same texture. The Evidence grows and grows that a much larger proportion of people have sensitivity to Gluten (Refs 6,7 and 8). The key word there is sensitivity and not an allergy or intolerance which I will discuss in a future article. On a personal note, I do not know one European Caucasian who would not benefit from eliminating Gluten from their diet. When we eat bread that contains gluten (wheat, spelt, rye and barley), the immune system in our digestive tract “attacks” the gluten proteins (ref 9) Controlled trials in people without celiac disease show that gluten damages the wall of the digestive tract, causing pain, bloating, stool inconsistency and tiredness (refs 10,11) I learnt from Charles Poliquin that one of the worse problems with Gluten is that it cause inflammation in the brain! Is their research on this? Well I couldnt find anything directly related to inflammation BUT gluten sensitivity is also associated with some cases of schizophrenia (refs 12, 13) and cerebellar ataxia (refs 14, 15) – both serious disorders of the brain. So where are we so far, bread can inflame the brain leading to brain disorders. It spikes your blood sugar quicker than most candy bars thus leading to metabolic syndrome, diabetes and fatness. Gluten Breads can also cause an immune response in the digestive tract of susceptible individuals. This can cause digestive issues, pain, bloating, tiredness and other symptoms. Wonderful stuff eh ... and not finished yet! Most commercial types of bread contain sugar or high fructose corn syrup, just like other processed foods. I wont reference this but HFCS and sugar and not the healthiest foods in the world. What I wish to highlight is that most grains also include the “anti nutrient” phytic acid. Phytic acid is a molecule that strongly binds essential minerals like calcium, iron and zinc, preventing them from being absorbed (ref 16). I find the Phytic Acid amazing, its present in nuts also and is the reason why I advise people to soak nuts or grains, which inhibits this inhibiting response. I feel Phytic acid is the grain fighting back, a defense mechanism. Eat me and I will mess your gut up is essential what the grain is saying. Can I balance Bread? Well to be honest I would struggle too. People will talk of nutritents, especially fibre. There is NO nutrient in bread that you can’t get from other foods in even greater amounts. Even whole wheat bread isn’t as nutritious as you may think. Not only is it low in nutrients compared to other real foods, it literally reduces the absorption of nutrients from other foods. Comparing the nutrient and fibre intake of eating Wholegrains with Vegetables is like comparing Barcelona Football team to my beloved Southgate Olympic (Who are not quite as good!). Put Simply m!ost breads aren’t very nutritious and the proteins in them aren’t of much use. A damaged intestinal lining along with phytic acid reduces availability of nutrients. Wheat may also exacerbate vitamin d deficiency! (ref 17) I thought I would sneak that one in to wake anyone up who made it this far! Vit D deficiency is associated with Cancer, Diabetes and erm.. death (ref 18,19 and 20). Im not finished yet. I see Heart Healthy Wholewheat cereals promoted everywhere. Well check this study out. In one study, 36 men were randomized into two groups. They were instructed to eat either whole oat cereal or whole wheat cereal (Ref 21). After 12 weeks, the researchers measured blood lipid levels in both groups. The oat cereal decreased LDL cholesterol and small, dense LDL. Basically, whole oats significantly improved the blood lipid profile. However, the whole wheat cereal increased total LDL cholesterol by 8% and small, dense LDL by a whopping 60%. Small, dense LDL is the type of cholesterol that is strongly associated with heart disease (ref 22). What this means is that whole wheat significantly harms blood lipids and may drastically raise your risk of heart disease. Yes, that slice of “heart-healthy” whole wheat bread/Cereal may be killing you. Ian Botham, you lied to me. Comaring Whole Wheat Grains with processed bread is like comparing non filter ciggerettes with filtered ciggerettes. It may be slightly better for you but it is the lesser of two evils indeed. Perfect Balance Take - Ive posted research to show how bread can make you fatter, increase your risk of diabetes and heart diseases. How bread destroys your gut and creates immune responses on every intake. How it can inflame your brain and decrease brain function. How bread can lower your Vitamin D which basically increases your chances of death, and how it negatively affects your cholesterol. Not my words but all researched. Bear all this in mind then have a look at the FOOD PYRAMID (ref 23). This advises ALL of us to eat 6-11 servings of grains each day! Ive not even mentioned how addictive bread can be, which by the way when broken down can bind to opiate receptors, producing a high, thus getting people off bread sometimes starts world war 3. Bread may taste nice, but is it worth the risk based on this evidence, thats your choice. Perfect Balance
Posted on: Sun, 30 Nov 2014 13:20:32 +0000