Grains - choices, how to prepare for health
Types of grains
Types of grains
True grains are the seeds of grasses:
• Wheat. Various species include Durum,
Semolina/CousCous (purified from Durum), Spelt, Bulgar, Triticale (a wheat hybrid),
Kamut, Einkorn and Emmer (two of the earliest cultivated forms)
Wheat - "Ain't what it used
to be"
•Rye
•Barley
•Oats
•Rice
•Millet
•Corn (Maize)
•Sorgum
•Teff - superlative
calcium content (1 cooked cup has 123mg)
•Wild Rice - aquatic seed mostly in freshwater lakes
of Canada and the Great Lakes area; nutty flavor
•Others
Pseudo grains are the seeds of broadleaf
plants , including:
•Amaranth - high amino acid content, contains
lysine; combines well with other grains'
•Quinoa - complete protein (with the 8 essential
amino acids); fluffy, slightly crunchy, slight nutty flavor
•Buckwheat
•Chia
Even UN refined
grains contain negligible amounts of vitamins A, C, D or B12.
Maize/corn
is the only grain that contains beta-carotene (vitamin A's metabolic precursor);
Refined (Processed)
and high temperature-milled grains are undesireable.
These
include:
devitalized foods such as pastries, cake, cookies, crackers,
white bread, pasta, cereal, noodles,pretzels, tacos, waffles, pancakes, muffins;
grains extruded/pressed to make crunchy breakfast cereals;
Grains - How to prepare
the healthy way
- Refined grains lack minerals
(since the parts
containing the fiber and ~80% of the nutrients have been removed) high
Grains of any
Most all consumed grains turn rapidly into
glucose, causing blood sugar spikes.
Fiber
in whole grains slows down the conversion, but the end product is still sugar;
Quinoa - is on the low end of the
glycemic index (GI) and won't cause blood sugar spikes; good choice for diabetics;
Barley - cooked
pearl barley has the lowest GI of all
the grains (~25). Pearl barley is a great substitute for white rice ;
A "NO-GRAIN" diet is the way to go if you want to
lose weight. Use coconut or almond flour
as grain substitutes
Regular grain consumption leads to
INSULIN resistance and "FAT STORAGE".
Ongoing daily blood glucose spikes increases pancreatic
INSULIN production for the purpose of taking
the glucose out of the blood and into cells.
After repeated bombardment from INSULIN , the
cells protect themselves from INSULIN by down-regulating
their INSULIN receptors. The result is that
INSULIN's message can no longer be "heard"effectively,
and blood sugar increases or is stored as fat, with all the consequential health
problems of metabolic syndrome, including type 2 diabetes, CVD, and obesity.
- Typical symptoms can include:
• Fatigue, sleepiness,
depression, brain fog
• Hypoglycemia
- i.e low blood sugar
• Increased trigycerides,
blood pressure
• Weight gain -due
to increased fat storage
Whole grains contain "anti-nutrients" which need
to be dealt with
"--- antinutrients in whole grains include enzyme inhibitors
which can inhibit digestion and put stress on the pancreas; irritating tannins;
complex sugars which the body cannot break down; and gluten and related hard-to-digest
proteins which may cause allergies, digestive disorders and even mental illness ."
"Proper preparation of grains is a kind and gentle process
that imitates the process that occurs in nature. It involves soaking for a period
in warm, acidulated water in the preparation of porridge, or long, slow sour dough
fermentation in the making of bread. Such processes neutralize phytic acid and enzyme
inhibitors."
- Sally Fallon, Weston A. Price Foundation
Wheat germ contains the particularly harmful wheat germ agglutinin
(WGA) lectin
See details here: Wheat - "Ain't
what it used to be"
Some people are insensitive to specific grain components
called prolamins (Eg. gliadin in gluten)
Some people are intolerant to certain amino acid
sequences in wheat, barley, rye and possibly oats .
Prolamins are proteins containing amino acid sequences
(E.g. Pro-Ser-Gln-Gln and Gln-Gln-Gln-Pro ) which can
provoke an inflammatory reaction that is damaging to intestinal tissue that is sometimes
diagnosed as Celiac Disease in those with severe intolerance. E.g. In those overly
sensitive to gliadin in gluten, the immune system creates antibodies to attack gliadin.
The real problem occurs as water-soluble gluten dissolves, since it can then bind
to body cells, and during the immune system's "fight"with the gliadin,
those cells and surrounding tissue also get "hurt".
- Prolamins include:
• Gliadin (a component of gluten wheat, rye and barley
• Hordein - in barley
• Secalin - in rye
• Avenin - in oats
- The grains with the highest amount of inflammation-provoking
amino acid sequences in prolamins. Include
Wheat, Barley, Oats, Rye, Semolina, Bulgar, Durum, Kamut, Spelt, Triticale .
- Some grains, even though they contain gluten, do not have significant
amounts of prolamins (such as gliadin). These are usually tolerated by those with
Celiac Disease. These include Rice, Corn, Buckwheat , Millet,Sorghum, Teff,
Quinoa, Amaranth and possibly Einkorn wheat.
- Gluten-containing grains are hard for us to digest and absorb.
These should be appropriately prepared for consumption. Sprouting and overnight-soaking
do not have much effect on gluten levels - only sourdough bread made traditionally
using 3-day fermentation (souring) will be gluten-free . Be aware that many
sourdough breads sold are not gluten-free because they are not traditional sourdough
breads - the real thing will list a sourdough starter instead of yeast in their
ingredient list.
Phytate / Phytic Acid
"--- Phytic acid, for example, is an organic acid in
which phosphorus is bound. It is mostly found in the bran or outer hull of seeds.
Untreated phytic acid can combine with calcium, magnesium, copper, iron and especially
zinc in the intestinal tract and block their absorption ."
- Sally Fallon Weston A. Price Foundation
Phytic Acid / Phytate
-"Malabsorption Agent"
