Sunday 2 June 2013

Grain Free and Fabulous

Special Guest Post from Melissa Windsor, JQ Fitness

Just recently, I finished a nutrition challenge with my church entitled Fit Fat 40 – where they challenged each participant to drop all sugars and all grains completely out of their diet for 40 days.  I’m not going to lie to you – its incredibly difficult and frustrating at times, especially when everyone around you is eating delicious looking pastries, cakes, muffins, wraps, sandwiches, burgers, and basically anything starchy and delicious and you want to eat one, and you want to eat it NOW!

However, despite the fact that those 40 days were indeed a challenge, I, along with many of the other participants, soon realized that the pain you may feel for the short time that you are eliminating all grains and sugars (specifically grains as this is what our challenge will focus on) is far outweighed by the benefits that can be experienced if you are able to stick with it and tough it out! Since the beginning of the challenge I’ve noted a few key differences in the way that my body feels and looks, and I know that the other participants noticed many of the same things.  Back to my story in a minute though…

Lets take a look at some of the science behind why ditching those grains may be one of the best things you could do! I think that Jenny from The Nourished Kitchen phrases it the best, she identifies some great reasons to give up those grains!

If you can get it from grain, you can get it elsewhere:
“One of the big reasons that grains are touted as heroes is their nutrient profile which boasts dietary fiber and B vitamins – each grain is different and different grains offer different nutrient profiles.  Yet, one thing remains constant if you can find the nutrient in grain, you can find the nutrient in better quantities of other foods” (Against the Grain). Jenny goes on to describe how some veggies and meats measure up to their whole grain and whole-wheat partners.  In fact, in some cases, especially that of dietary fiber, veggies beat out the competition each time! So make sure to add in tons of greens and veggies to fill your body with that nutritional goodness!

Grains aren’t good for your gut:
Your intestinal health is critical to your overall health. If you’re gut isn’t healthy, you can’t absorb the nutrients from the foods you eat, and if you can’t absorb nutrients from the foods that you eat, your body is malnourished and is more prone to disease. Grains are associated with a condition called “Leaky Gut,” I know it sounds terrible right? Basically what it means is that the tiny particles of grain that you eat are able to slip through the walls of your intestines, because the grain is so foreign to your immune system your body attacks it as if it were an invader! Because your body is so focused on destroying the invading grains it can’t effectively fight against true threats to your immune system like colds, or flu’s, or other pathogens. (Against the Grain). Who would have thought!?

You are probably Gluten Intolerant:
If you are Caucasian, there is a good chance that you are gluten intolerant to some degree.  Some research on Gluten and Celiac disease indicate that while on 1% of the general population suffers from celiac disease; they also estimate that 30%-40% of people of European descent are gluten intolerant to some degree.  That means that on a regular basis people who may not even know it are consuming a food that is making them sick (Against the Grain)! If you are participating in our challenge and notice a significant decrease in symptoms like bloating, gas, or fatigue, you could try cutting out grains for a few weeks and slowly introducing them back in to see how your body reacts to them. Once you clear your system of the offending grains you may notice these symptoms worsen when you add them back in. It’s a great way to discover hidden food intolerances you may not even have been aware of!

Grains cause inflammation:
Grains are super high in starch and as a result of this high starch content grains are inflammatory foods.  The more refined the grain, the more inflammatory it is. Chronic inflammation is linked to a number of degenerative, modern diseases including arthritis, allergies, asthma, cardiovascular disease, bone loss, emotional imbalance and even cancer (Against the Grain).  When I read this, I was so shocked. It really makes you think about how the food that we put into our mouths really affects our bodies long term. 

Grains aren’t good for you skin:
Grains have a very high carbohydrate content, and even though the carbohydrates in grain are complex they are still broken down into sugars.  These sugars force your body to produce more insulin, and elevated insulin levels create all kind of hormonal responses – including encouraging the glands in your skin to produce more oil (Against the Grain). Before you know it, you may feel like a pre-pubescent teenager all over again…

Eating grain makes you crave grain:
Like we said before, grains have an extremely high carbohydrate content.  Foods rich in carbohydrates give you quick energy, but unfortunately that energy wears off just as quickly as it came.  Since grains break down into sugar, they raise your blood sugar and when your blood sugar dips down again you crave more grains (Against the Grain). It’s a vicious cycle my friends! That’s why your trainers at iluvthis Bootcamp talk about maintaining your blood sugar throughout the day, so that you don’t have those intense cravings for all those delicious but oh-so-bad-for-you goodies…

These are all really great reasons to join in our grain free challenge, but just incase you weren’t quite convinced yet, I’m going to hit you with my favourite reasons for you to join in our challenge and DITCH those GRAINS!

Ditching Grains will help you regulate your Blood Sugar… Resulting in Fat Loss!

I know this doesn’t sound all that exciting in and of itself, but the effects of a lower blood sugar will make all of you super excited.  So much of the most common foods in our grocery stores are honestly just garbage.  These processed foods that are bursting with calories and yet devoid of any real nutritional value are starving our bodies and sending our blood sugar on a roller coaster ride that will ultimately end up nowhere that we want to be.  Eating this processed junky food makes us fat and bloated and prevents our bodies from knowing what they really need and how to get it. 

Our bodies become desensitized to insulin and so needs to produce oodles more than we actually need! When you have super high insulin levels your body is unable to burn fat. By maintaining a stable blood sugar through eating lean proteins, omega 3’s, veggies and all that healthy goodness, we are reprogramming our bodies so that rather than simply telling our bodies to store all this sugar into fat, muscle and liver cells by producing insulin, we are alternatively enabling our bodies to produce another hormone called glucagon that goes back to these same cells and turns all of that stored sugar (stored as fat) into energy for our bodies to use! If you are trying to loose weight this is great news for you, because as you begin to re-sensitize your body each of these processes will begin to work in the way that they are intended to work, your insulin levels will stabilize, you will produce more glucagon – and you will drop those extra pounds!

Let me tell you Bootcampers, readers, and anyone else who may happen upon this post, my 40 days without sugar and grains was hard. It was most definitely a challenge. But it was so incredibly worth it.  At the end of my 40 days (which ended just last week!) I had lost 15 pounds and over 2% body fat. I feel great, my skin is has cleared up, I’m not bloated, I have more energy, the list goes on!

So I hope all of this has convinced you to join in our nutrition challenge, and push your body that much harder! It will be so worth it when you finally see those results!

If I can do it, you can do it too!
Trust me!

Have a great week Bootcampers, and good luck DITCHING those GRAINS!



Sources:

Against the Grain: 10 Reasons to Give Up Grains, The Nourished Kitchen, http://nourishedkitchen.com/against-the-grain-10-reasons-to-give-up-grains

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