February 5, 2014 - 6:33am
The Smoke and Mirrors Behind Wheat Belly and Grain Brain
This is worth a read. I have long been dismayed by the villianization of wheat and other gluten grains as people stuff their faces with deadly animal products instead.
http://www.forksoverknives.com/the-smoke-and-mirrors-behind-wheat-belly-and-grain-brain/
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The article was an interesting read, but in my opinion, the author is just as guilty of demonizing meat and dairy products. I believe rather firmly that there is no demon food on the Earth. Of course, I'm not talking about the garbage created by huge corporations that they try to pass off as food. I'm simply saying that all things should be taken in moderation - especially moderation! And, food choices are an individual matter. Different people have different nutritional needs. I need to eat meat regularly in order to have the strength and energy I need. I happen to like butter and cheese. I also eat fruits and vegetables. And I love good homemade bread!
I'm an omnivore, but I can tell a difference when I haven't had a certain category of food for a while. My belly may be full, but I feel like I need something else. I need a balance to be content, not at every meal, but in general. My definition of "healthy food" is to keep it close to the way it was created. So, sugary sodas aren't healthy, but fresh squeezed lemonade may be, in moderation. Store-bought "sandwich loaves" are not healthy, but real bread, made with real ingredients, can be.
I think there is an even more dangerous trend in some people. They equate a low weight with being healthy. We used to call that an eating disorder, but not any more. So, the grocery store shelves are full of fat-free cream (what? how?) and low-calorie bread. I just posted a couple months ago on here about my brother who eats 40-calories-per-slice bread. If you do the math, it is impossible, but yet they make it and sell it to people like him all day long. The stuff isn't real food, but it's considered healthy because it helps you lose weight. If that was all I had to eat, I can't say I wouldn't choose to starve.
While I agree that moderation is preferable to over indulgence, I would suggest that there is a large body of evidence that indicates the consumption of animal protein in any quantity does humans more harm than good. Even grass fed, organic and wild versions, while certainly better than factory farmed animal flesh would be better avoided than consumed.
I highly recommend reading the book The China Study by T. Colin Campbell. He presents massive amounts of peer-reviewed scientific data on the benefits of a whole-foods plant-based diet devoid of animal proteins and fats.
Not to mention a plant-based diet goes a long way toward avoiding the uneccesary brutality and suffering involved in the slaughter of animals for food.
At least once a week I find myself defending wheat, but only to those who have heard of the idea behind Dr. Davis' book. Those who believe it and have changed their diet have also gone deaf.
http://blog.cholesterol-and-health.com/2011/10/wheat-belly-toll-of-hubris-on-human.html
This is a fabulous article that looks at Dr. Davis' theory and science, and slowly disassembles it. The writer is non-threatening and informative. Evidently the book is written so as to produce anxiousness while not really proving anything. Puts me in the mind of a kid with his first bike equipped with a horn.
I think that it is Seth Rogen who did the best job of covering the issue of gluten-free diets. Took him only a minute and half a dozen f-bombs (you've been warned).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1BubC_8Ejc