How to avoid grains or eat them and still lose fat….Today's post:  Thursday, 2-22-2018

Yesterday someone shared a post on Facebook that I saw with a New York Times article with this headline:

"People who cut back on added sugar, refined grains and processed foods lost weight without worrying about calories or portion size"

I shared this with this comment:

"Adding whole grains and MSG and hydrogenated oils to that list is even more effective."

Today I got this reply:  "I had mixed results completely eliminating grain from my diet. I started doing much better/had better blood sugar regulation when I reintroduced whole grain to my diet. Curious what you're reading that says whole grain is as bad as refined grains.'

I replied:   "Hybrid whole wheat, IF you can find it, still is quite harmful. Starchy organic vegetables like yams and quinoa do make sense for trim people who burn a lot of calories as you were doing when I spoke to you last. Beans and lentils may work for you though they don't for some people. Lack of fiber and enough carbohydrates can be problematic sometimes; but you can get those without grains. My post last Thursday, 2-15, also lists foods with resistant starch that work for this too."

Then I added:  "Also, some people do OK eating foods made of organic whole grain rye and barley. Some people don't do as well with those."

(Hybrid wheat causes harmful in some people or just fattening problems and boosted inflammation in most people who eat it even if they aren’t aware of the cause or they don’t feel the big inflammation boost. 

And almost all breads, rolls, baked goods, packaged snacks, and packaged desserts that contain hybrid wheat are all or are 80 to 95 % refined hybrid wheat flour.  That’s true even if they are labeled (inaccurately) as whole wheat or are brown in color or have sesame seeds or wheat berries on the crust for a crunchy taste.)

Trim, younger people who mostly avoid the worst foods and eat well and are very active like the young man who commented WILL feel better and even have more stable blood sugar if they get some carbohydrates in moderation.

Mike Matthews also notes that some carbohydrates in moderation along with enough protein is necessary to build and add muscle.  The way to avoid fat gain by doing this he notes is to do this just enough to get that effect but not more AND to not do it all the time or when you are trying to lose fat.

It’s also true that a high protein very low carb diet can have too little fiber for good health

Next we’ll simply quote from last week’s post on ways to get this effect that work but do not use grains.

Then we will end with ways some people can eat grains and bread that don’t cause the problems that refined grain and whole hybrid wheat cause.

II. We posted this last week:

“You can keep off fat best if you eat a variety of foods you like or at least are used to eating AND you avoid getting excessively hungry.

Note:  All these methods work best or work at all if you no longer eat or drink excess sugar or high fructose corn syrup or artificial sweeteners or any hybrid wheat or much of any grain. 

This includes foods and drinks and “food-like substances” made of these things.

Since these things cause rebound and excessive hunger, eliminating them is half the battle.

But you can do much more after that:

1.  Resistant starch and health OK oils can keep you from getting too hungry and are proven to help people keep off the fat they have lost if you eat them in moderation and in controlled amounts. 

Got an email recently suggesting plantain sliced into discs and sautéed lightly in extra virgin olive oil as an effective way to do this.

The resistant starch in the plantain and the health OK oil in the extra virgin olive oil is likely to be one effective way to do this. They both turn off hunger quite well!

Adding some garlic or onions to the plantain slices or organic spices you like can make this an enjoyable addition.

Resistant starch, just like the fiber in green and nonstarchy vegetables, is filling and very low glycemic.

Resistant starch and the fiber in nonstarchy vegetables and health OK fats and oils help you enjoy your food and feel full enough to be less hungry.

Resistant starch also feeds the kinds of bacteria that tend to prevent you from gaining back fat you have lost.

Bananas, yams, sweet potatoes, and beans and lentils also do this because they are high in resistant starch.

I like peeled and shredded boiled or steamed yams with a bit of Kerrygold butter and cinnamon.

Lentils may have too many lectins for some people.  But cooked, they have resistant starch and abundant nutrition and are very low glycemic. I eat just a little every day.

Lightly sautéed organic potato slices or diced small potatoes that are then chilled overnight are high in resistant starch and far lower glycemic than they would be if not chilled overnight.

2.  Raw tree nuts you aren’t allergic to and avocados have health benefits so great people who eat them regularly get a positive boost to their health as great as if they quit smoking!

And, if they avoid the things that fatten listed above, people who eat these foods get to eat more calories and be less fat!  This is a proven effect by actual tests!

(Cashew nuts are one exception for most people as they are quite high in lectins.)

These foods are very filling and are ZERO glycemic or very nearly so.  They taste good enough and are filling enough one way they do this is to make it MUCH easier to do without the harmful and fattening foods and ingredient listed first.

But that more calories result even suggests that people who eat raw tree nuts they aren’t allergic to and who eat avocados, are able to burn more calories too!”

Added this week:

Resistant starch foods and starchy organic vegetables give you some carbohydrates but release them slowly which does lead to stable and healthy blood sugar levels.

Eating them with a health OK oil or fat boosts this effect.

In fact, raw tree nuts for those not allergic have so much health OK oils, protein, and fiber they are ZERO glycemic.

Some people don’t feel as well or lose fat if they eat nuts because of the lectins in tree nuts.

Cashew nuts are quite high in lectins. I discovered a relative reacts quite badly to cashews because of this high lectin content; but is fine with walnuts and almonds and pecans.

I believe if most people who aren’t allergic eat tree nuts other than cashews in moderation, this can do for them what whole grains would have in keeping their blood sugar levels low and stable.

3.  Beans and lentils are high in both kinds of fiber AND resistant starch.  They have lectins but when thoroughly cooked in water that is then discarded and then cooked in water a second time, this lessens this effect.

And, lentils both have fewer lections and more protein and are lower glycemic than other beans.

Except for people allergic to them this use of beans and lentils also can substitute for whole grains.

The wonderful other news is that beans and lentils are very inexpensive and high in protein.  This too is a good way to replace wheat and other grains.

III. Ways some people can eat grains and bread that don’t cause the problems that refined grain and whole hybrid wheat cause:

If you otherwise eat a low inflammation lifestyle with zero grains and are not highly reactive to gluten, organic whole grain rye and organic barley and breads made from them can be a way to eat grains and bread on some days and in moderation.

And, it also helps to use a health OK fat or oil with them such as Kerrygold Irish butter from grass fed cows or extra virgin olive oil.  (In the United States, California extra virgin olive oil is fresher and has fewer other oils added to it than most imported extra virgin olive oils.)

Sliced Dubliner Kerrygold Irish cheddar cheese from grass fed cows also works.

These health OK oils reduce the glycemic effects of the grain.

That’s most important for whole grain rye or refined barley.  Less refined barley is actually low glycemic!

Refined grain buckwheat flour is gluten free or nearly so, so this can be combined with almond flour or eaten in moderation to make bread that can be less fattening or harmful to eat.

Lastly, wheat that is an original, NOT hybridized wheat, does contain gluten but the early far less stiff and harmful kind in smaller amounts.  And sprouted such wheat is lower glycemic also.

 

In addition, it can be blended with other spouted grains and seeds to make a very low glycemic bread.

If you want a more “regular” bread for sandwiches some days a company called “Food for Life” makes such a bread with biblical names for the source of the mixture used.  Whole Foods carries it.

Of their bread our local Whole Foods carries, my wife likes their Ezekiel 4:9® Sesame Sprouted Whole Grain Bread best.

But she also likes Genesis 1:29® Sprouted Whole Grain and Seed Bread too.

Last but far from least, when she was testing her blood  sugar several times a day, she found that any hybrid wheat based bread or other food caused huge jumps in her blood sugar.

But these Food for Life biblical breads hardly increased her blood sugar at all.

Conclusion:

You can get the overly hyped but sometimes real benefits of whole grains without using them at all.

And, if you eat the best kinds and limit how often and you eat them with health OK fats or oils many people can still eat some grains and still lose fat they keep off.