Grain on the Brain Part 2 – Eating healthy
When did all the grain blaming start? Several years ago a small study produced a link of increased blood sugar to Alzheimer’s Disease. It indicated that diabetic patients had an increased risk for dementia. So follow this – Increased carbs release more natural sugers during digestion which increase blood glucose demanding increase in insulin which can (if sustained) can lead to diabetes so THEREFORE by avoiding carbs, particularly those found in complex carbohydrates (grains) you can decrease your blood sugar and protect your brain. It was a small study but it set off a landslide of bashing of ALL carbs, including the healthy ones. In reality you would be much better off cutting the carbonated, high sugar soda out of your diet, protecting your brain and your bones. More about that later. BUT ITS NOT THE GRAIN. Read on.
Its not the grain ! There is a lesson to be learned from Japan. Prior to 1970 the main staple in the Japanese diet was rice, a complex carbohydrate food. However, diabetes was exceedingly rare (less than 4% of the population). In the 1970’s meat started displacing rice intake. In the 80’s and 90’s fat intake climbed and intake of carbs (grain) plummeted. By 1990 the rise in people in Japan with Type 2 Diabetes was dramatic. The increase of fatty foods and the decrease in grain had produced an epidemic. From these studies we see grain and healthy carbs apparently are getting a bad rap.
The American diet has shifted as well. In the early 1900’s Americans consumed about 120 lbs of meat a year (per person). By 2004 that had risen to 200 lbs of meat per year per person. Cheese consumption in 1910 – 4 lbs. per person per year. Change that to 34 lbs per person in 2004. Incredible..! AND OUR GRAIN INTAKE HAS DECLINED to far below the 1910 level. Our diet is now primarily based on animal products – meat, cheese and other high fat dairy products. This, aided by an increase in fried foods (grease), fat and sugar ,have been major contributors to our current obesity, diabetes cardiovascular and Alzheimer’s, epidemics.
But aren’t carbs fattening? Per gram carbs contain 1/2 the calories of a fat gram. Carbohydrate – 4 calories per gram. Fat- 9 calories per gram. While our bodies have been made to burn carbohydrates, as part of our survival mechanism we are designed to hold on to fats. The butter on your toast, the cream cheese on your bagel, the meat sauce on your pasta , and the the shortening in your cookies are the bigger culprits.
So why do low carbohydrate diets cause weight loss? Because you are omitting foods (as well a quantity of food) and lowering your caloric intake as well as your intake of fats in addition to the carbohydrates.
Carbohydrates are not the only culprit in raising blood sugar. A steady diet of fatty foods also causes an increase. It’s just by a slightly different mechanism than the sharp spike in blood sugar we see with the carbohydrate intake in sweets or soda pop. Chicken wings, cheeseburgers and chips , to name a few, cause an accumulation of fat inside muscle tissue and liver cells. This disrupts the insulin signaling mechanism needed to keep insulin production and sugar intake in sync. This leads to something called insulin resistance found in diabetes. For many diabetics a low fat, plant based diet is found to cause weight loss, blood sugar control without the severe limits on carbs or calories previously thought necessary.
A diet high in fatty foods, especially those high in saturated or trans fats, has also been linked to an increase in Alzheimer’s disease. Not enough studies have been done to be conclusive enough to report on this more extensively here, but as a caution if you already have a genetic risk for Alzheimer’s, consideration of diet changes might be wise. Replacing fatty foods with beans, grains, vegetables and fruit, and decreasing intake of meat, especially those high in fat, cheese, and other animal products can produce weight loss, decreased need for certain medications, improvement of depression, and better control of blood sugar.
What’s the answer? Its not all or nothing. Simple changes can produce dramatic results. Scientists are saying its not even so much a change in our activity level or reduction in exercise (though an increase in both will help!) as it is the increase in our caloric intake that has led to the weight problem in this country. We have super-sized ourselves into XL clothing. I asked you to compare plate sizes from yesteryear to today in my last blog. What did you discover? Our plates have grown by almost 2 inches in diameter. What does that tell us about the amount of food we are consuming ? Even then, I hear you saying, someone could always go back for seconds and increase the amount of food consumed even with smaller plates. Yes, in our house, we could always go back for second helpings however, dinner stretched over 30 minutes usually, and by then your hunger satiation mechanisms had kicked in. You were no longer hungry (or you were in too big a hurry to get back outside and play to hang around and eat more.) . Psychologically we want to see a full plate. Go ahead and fill it up but fill it up with fresh fruits and vegetables, pasta with fresh tomatoes, spinach, garlic and olive oil instead of a mound of pasta with red meat sauce or an 8oz steaks with a 1/2 lb. baked potato. Its everything we were taught in another lifetime about a healthy diet and the food pyramid. Lots of fruits and vegetables, raw, steamed, baked, broiled. Grains like rice, bulgar wheat, corn meal (polenta), low fat meat ( 4 oz is a serving size not 8-12 oz.) ,dairy products in moderation and at the very top of the pyramid, fats in the form of oils, butter, salad dressings (and full fat dairy). We can have it all. Keep it fresh and simple. Make sugary and high fat foods an occasional treat instead of part of your daily diet.
Drink water. Lots of water. It doesn’t have to be expensive, or bottled or “natural spring” water. It fills you up. It flushes toxins from your system. It helps curb cravings. Our bodies need it. Did you know that frequently when we think we are hungry we really are dehydrated and in need of fluid/water? Try drinking a glass of water the next time you get an urge to eat between meals.
That being said eating small frequent amounts of food is better than fasting for 6-8 hours then eating a big meal. It keeps blood sugar levels even and hunger at bay.
ALWAYS eat breakfast. Your body needs fuel to function efficiently. Taking your body to work or school without food is like trying to drive your car to work without gasoline. Try a whole grain cereal (hot or cold) whole grain toast with peanut butter and some fruit. If you are short on time in the mornings cut up an apple the night before, add some peanut butter or some cheddar cheese slices and make it portable. Oatmeal can be prepared (add some dried fruit or nuts) the night before in the crockpot and be ready when you get up. Easy and nutritious. No excuses.
Start your mid-day and evening meal with liquid. A glass of water or a bowl of soup (hot or cold). This helps to fill you up with fewer calories.
Eliminating soda pop from our diets, without making any other changes to our diet or activity, has been shown to lead to the loss of several pounds over a year’s time. This was an amazing fact to me when I read it, however I suspect it’s NOT just due to cutting out the sodas but to soda’s no longer triggering our desire for more sugary junk food as well. And yes, sugar addiction is real ( a topic for another day.).
Don’t keep food you know you can’t resist in the house. Some of you may have read my blog a month or so ago about cookies. I love cookies and if I were the kind of person who could eat one cookie and be satisfied that would be wonderful. I’m not. If there are cookies in the house I will eat them – ALL. It is better for me not to have them in the house. You are right – I have very little will power when it comes to cookies AND I KNOW that. If I could order “will power” on line I would max out my credit card on it but I can’t so I know better than to buy a box of cookies. Do I eat cookies? Of course I do but I’ve learned its better to buy one really good cookie at a bakery and savor it than to feel guilty for eating a whole box of mediocre ginger snaps and feel miserable (and not satisfied).
If you can’t decrease your intake or change your eating habits (and you can if you REALLY want to but maybe you don’t want to) then increase your activity. Find a friend and walk. Spring really is going to come along someday in the not too distant future. Get out in the evenings and walk, ride a bike (you can do it- you haven’t forgotten – really.) There has to be something good about daylight savings time – so enjoy the longer light in the evening. Find a pick-up game of basketball, join an adult baseball or volleyball team. Form a team at work.
Take up a a new sport. I learned to play tennis when I was 40+ thanks to my son’s pleading to take lessons. I had never been athletic. I’m still not but I can hit a tennis ball and enjoy it. Try golf. Go to a driving range and learn how to hit a golf ball. That is my next goal. There are even indoor driving ranges so winter can’t be an excuse.
Take dance lessons – another thing I learned late in life. According to my dance instructor if you can walk you can learn to dance. It’s fun and burns calories like crazy. (It’s also is great activity to help re-engage as a couple – see my blog on
“Partner, Lover, Companion”). Not into fox trot or waltz? Try swing or salsa dancing. If you really want to burn some calories in a short time join a Zumba class. You don’t need a partner. Anyone can learn to follow along and it is a great workout. Go online to find a nearby Zumba class. For those of you just starting out try a Zumba Gold class.
We need to take care of ourselves and use our common sense. We don’t need $29 dollar books that tell us to eliminate all the things that make our diets enjoyable, to lose weight. I would love to share other things that have worked for you on my site. Please send me your thoughts and ideas. If you just need encouragement let me know that too. I’ll be the first to encourage you. I’ll ask you to do the same on days when I want another cookie !
We’ve been grousing about the winter. Let’s prepare for Spring. Try something new. A new food, a new recipe, a new activity. Skip the books. Re-acquaint yourself with good fresh food. Find a farmer’s market this spring. Haul your son’s old bike out of the garage. Make a new friend. And if all else fails, go shovel out the driveway and enjoy a cup of cocoa.
Think about it.