Toast Diagnosed: Wheat/Gluten

The past year, gluten free diets have become all the rage. Countless civilians claim that going gluten free has helped them to lose weight and feel better overall. Well… OFCOURSE their claims are true. A gluten free diet will keep you from eating processed and refined foods. So naturally, there are skeptics who only call going gluten free "a fad." Unfortunately, it is not a fad. The carbohydrate staple is actually a guilty enemy.

Shocking evidence of wheat’s deceitfulness:

ü The wheat plant has been so genetically modified that it can no longer survive in the wild without human support.

ü Wheat products (yes those so called healthy whole wheat products) raise your blood sugar higher then a snickers bar.

ü Wheat products are also highly refined. They are not “whole grains” because part of the seed is removed during refinement.

ü Wheat is an appetite stimulant because of the increase in blood sugar when you eat wheat

ü This increase in blood sugar will raise insulin levels, which in turn will form more fat in your body, particularly in the belly area (also known as visceral fat)

ü The increase in blood sugar which increases insulin may put you at risk of diabetes, heart disease, acne, aging, weight gain, and addiction

ü Wheat actually acts like opiates in the brain. It crosses the blood/brain barrier and stimulates the “reward system” response in the brain so you crave it.

ü Wheat is also an anti-nutrient so it will inhibit the absorption of other nutrients in the body.

ü Wheat is also heavily sprayed with blood curling chemicals.

ü Wheat causes inflammation because the body attacks it thinking it is a foreign invader trying to cause harm to you. And it is!!!!

It is really simple to avoid wheat nowadays. Most labels indicate if the food is wheat/gluten free. Just because a food is gluten free does not mean it is wheat free so again, read the labels. Delicious substitutes are listed below.

Another warning is that you have to be careful with “gluten free” products. Most are made with insulin raising ingredients like tapioca starch, corn starch, and rice starch. A lot also have added sugars…ew.

Nourishing Alternatives:

· Bread Bread Bread:

o Brown rice bread (toast the bread before hand to make it more delicious since it can be a little bland by itself)

o Millet bread

o Sprouted breads

o Homemade oat bread

· Pasta

o Spaghetti squash (it’s a vegetable, that when baked and forked, turns to spaghetti!)

o Zucchini, cucumber, carrot… etc noodles (the possibilities are endless, use a spiralizer to turn any vegetable into a flat belly noodle)

o Quinoa noodles

o Soba noodles

o Miracle noodles (this is a brand I find at my local super market, you can get online but they really are a miracle. 15 calories per serving? YES PLEASE.)

· Other whole grains to try:

o Quinoa

o Millet

o Brown rice

o Buckwheat (not wheat, despite name…tricky tricky)

· Baking substitutes- try these amazing flours instead:

o Almond flour

o Quinoa flour

o Oat flour

o Coconut flour

· I like to wrap my food:

o Lettuce wraps, collard greens, kale wraps

o Butter lettuce wraps (YUM)

o Brown rice wraps

o Seaweed wraps

I will not lie to you, going gluten free has been one of the hardest things I have had to do. But whenever wheat/gluten sneaks into my diet (well more like intentionally sneaks in…i like den burgers), I am reminded as to why I eliminated it in the first place. And I have learnt to love brown rice bread better than normal bread. You can check my “Deliciously clean recipes” tab for a healthy pizza made from brown rice tortilla. It is possible to live gluten free. I do not think its necessary for our diet, whether you choose to eat it or not, but I do think it makes a difference.

I recommend checking out “Wheat Belly” by Dr. William Davis for more information about why wheat is evil.