Well hello dear reader, guess what? I am away on my own for the first time. Living in my own four walled niche, and setting my own agenda....
Sugar is
everywhere. Everything has sugar nowadays whether it is fructose, dextrose,
maltose, lactose, stevia, high fructose corn syrup, honey, mannitol, sorbitol,
brown sugar, cane sugar, or invert sugar. Sugar is a sneaky thing; our taste
buds love it, but its health damaging. As Jackie Warner author of This Is Why You Are Fat puts it “ Sugar
literally eats up the nutrients your body needs to stay healthy. This depresses
your immune system and that’s why sugar can make you sick.”
Our brain is
addicted to sugar. Sugar brings that momentary high and sudden drop in blood
sugar that leaves us lethargic and moody. Furthermore that blood sugar rise
leads to fat formation. And if that’s not scaring you, Jackie says, “Cancer
cells love sugar. Sugar makes tumors grow,” and the high rise in insulin
“stimulates cell growth.” Sugar also causes wrinkles, cravings, mental
confusion, sickness, and memory impairment.
But hold on a
second before you grab that sugar free candy bar. Most sugar free foods, or
diet foods are infested with artificial sugars like splenda. Zero calorie
miracle sugars that are also cancer forming. Oh and also that so called healthy
agave nectar! AVOID it please. Agave is just another highly processed form of sugar that will reck havoc on your health. (check out this great article for more on agave)
If you most
have sugar, stick to 5grams or less. Of course,with sugar its best to avoid it, and
stick to the most natural forms like:
·
Fruits,
Truvia, Stevia, Honey, Maple syrup
Sugar is everywhere. Everything has sugar nowadays whether it is fructose, dextrose, maltose, lactose, stevia, high fructose corn syrup, ...
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.
The past year, gluten free diets have become all the rage. Countless civilians claim that going gluten free has helped them t...
