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The Risks of Consuming Typical Grains

Content reviewed by Donna Gates
Written by Body Ecology on May 17th, 2023

risks of consuming typical grains

Most of the mainstream focus with carbs has been on how they affect your weight. However, there are more reasons than weight for deciding which carbs to include in your diet.

The fact is, just like the controversy over “good” and “bad” fats, we see that certain carbs are labeled as good or bad. In fact, like fats, it’s the type and quantity of carbs that matters the most. The 80/20 rule means that only 20% of the food on your plate will be a complex carb. And eating them with fermented vegetables or a probiotic liquid, like Cocobiotic, ensures that your digest them well.

cocobiotic 750 ml

Cocobiotic provides the friendly microflora that help you digest gluten, along with a significant dose of a diversity of beneficial bacteria and yeast . These are the key to a healthier gut that leads to a hardier immune system.

Carbohydrates are made up of sugars, both simple and complex. Refined sugars digest immediately (and therefore the term, “sugar high”.) Because digestion of refined sugars is so immediate (and there are no balancing minerals) your blood almost immediately becomes too acidic.

That burst of energy that feels so great is soon followed by a “sugar low.” Your energy slides downhill and can even bottom out completely. Roller coaster rides like this affect your mood, brain and behavior. Your power to think and focus, your emotions, your willpower and your ability to accomplish are all affected. Cravings to feel good again lead you right back to the sugar. But Is it worth it?

Five Reasons Not To Eat Grains or Flour Products, and—Depending on Your Condition—not Even Whole Grains

1. With their sticky, glue-like consistency, they literally “gum up” your intestines. Refined grains and flour-based foods, (including cereal and pasta) mix with your saliva and become  gummy and hard to digest. (Remember that paper mache artwork we created in school when we were young? That was water and flour)  As for your microbiome that depend on you to feed them foods that help them grow, these foods lead to dysbiosis and feed the pathogenic bacteria, parasites and yeast.

Flour products are mucus-forming and are basically “glue-like” in your intestines.

2. They are a poor source of fiber. Since most of the beneficial fiber has been removed from flour products—cookies, pastry, pasta and today’s modern breads—they move slowly through your digestive system.

They are poor source of Fiber.

3. Without the fiber and their gummy texture they are also constipating and dehydrating.

They are constipating and dehydrating. 

4. Popular flour products made with wheat, barley, rye, and spelt contain gluten. Today, 1 out of every 100 Americans has Celiac Disease (with only 17% being diagnosed) and the prevalence of gluten sensitivity may be even higher1.

They contain gluten. 

5. If your goal is to alkalize your body these should be avoided. They are acid-forming.

80% of your meal should be alkaline foods and only 20% acid forming. 

(Research from Rice University even shows that 70 percent of all people have Candida, a systemic fungal infection, in their bodies.2). The Body Ecology Diet is an antifungal diet, so these grains are strictly avoided if you have a yeast, mold  or fungal infection.

The Body Ecology Diet is totally gluten-free, and can work for most anyone since it has 2 stages for those conquering their fungal infection and establishing a healthier inner ecosystem. Stage One is more stick and should be followed for approximately three months – or when your symptoms disappear. Stage two can then become an ideal diet for those looking to keep a balanced inner ecosystem, strengthen their immune system and protect against disease. It is perfect for anyone with gluten intolerance or Celiac, including the millions of children with autism.

Oh and we usually forget to mention this, but the Body Ecology Diet is great for eliminating bloating and excess weight.

It All Starts With Your Inner Ecosystem

Just as the Earth has ecosystems that regulate survival and balance, our bodies have an inner ecosystem. Our inner ecosystem must contain literally pounds of commensal and beneficial microbes if we want to thrive, not just survive.

A healthy human intestinal ecosystem works to protect us by digesting our foods, strengthening our immune systems, making neurotransmitters and guarding us from parasites and other pathogens in our foods. They literally make vitamins (Bs and K) right down inside us, and they do so much more.

Unfortunately, many people take medications and lead overly-stressful lifestyles. They eat high- sugar, processed, and fried foods. They take in the wrong kind of fats and oils and their animal proteins are overcooked.

Most people live with “gut dysbiosis” that makes us intolerant to even the healthier complex carbohydrates (AKA unrefined whole grains).

With deficient amounts of digestive enzymes they still try to digest all of these foods, yet most don’t yet understand the role of the inner ecosystem and have not made any effort to establish or maintain one. Most people live with “gut dysbiosis” that makes us intolerant to most grains.

PLEASE NOTE:   If you want to learn more about nutritional genomics and why it matters to you, check this out.   Discover the connection between your genes, gut, brain and the food you eat and how it affects your health and wellbeing.   Cut through the confusion on the most popular diets by eating a smart diet that’s right for you!  

Healthy Carbs, The Body Ecology Way

As you move into stage 2 of The Diet consider adding WHOLE grains or complex carbs like rice and oatmeal back into your diet.  But they must be digested! At  Body Ecology we strongly recommend that you take at least one (or more) digestive enzyme with every grain-based meal. 

Eat a spoonful or two of Cultured Veggies with a grain-based meal to help you digest the grains. Beside providing fiber—these grains are loved by the beneficial microflora and are especially important for helping maintain beneficial yeast in your microbiome. ( in stage 2 the pathogenic yeast are well under control)  

How you prepare the grains is very important as well…

Preparing Grains

Grains have phytic acid in them (as do nuts, beans and other seeds) that makes them difficult to digest. It’s best to always soak any grains or grain-like seeds for a minimum of 8 hours. Twenty four hours is even better.  Fortunately today you can buy sprouted rice and sprouted oatmeal from a few companies (Or order on Amazon).  Since most people have weak digestive systems, eating grains without soaking them could cause symptoms of digestive upset. Improper digestion leads to a toxic body.

Trouble Digesting Grains?

As mentioned above, poor digestion of grains and gluten intolerance is common when your inner ecosystem lacks the “grain-loving” microflora to digest them. Understanding the value of fermented foods, we created a a powerful group of probiotic liquids  that would help solve this problem.

Cocobiotic is a wonderful probiotic liquid that contains an unmatched diversity of beneficial microbes to keep seeding your gut.  Drinking a 3 ounce shot of this organic, non-GMO, dairy-free probiotic per day will help promote digestion. Strengthening the gut with good bacteria is the key to easily digesting grains. 

Note: (Take our Probiotic Liquids in 3-ounce doses like a supplement, not like a beverage. Of course, it won’t hurt you to take more than 3 ounces per meal but we are being mindful of your pocketbook) 

NOTE: We hear constant reports that people take them at the first sign of a stomach ache. And some folks even pop a bottle into their suitcase to prevent “tummy troubles” that might spoil their trip. 

USEFUL TIP: We often put a few spoonfuls of a fermented liquid like Cocobiotic or Innergybiotic into grains (and grain-like seeds) when we soak them. We let them soak longer than usual (36-48 hours). The microflora in the soaking water softens the grains even more. You’ll find your grains and grain-like seeds even easier to digest this way. You might want to try this if your digestion is very sensitive or if you are introducing the grain-like seeds to your baby.

We also combine probiotics with sparkling mineral water and BE Sweet for a healthy alternative to soda. It is very popular with our children, especially the children with autism.

After about ten days on this probiotic liquid, you may also find yourself tolerating all grains better than ever before… even those grains containing gluten. We personally find one must be on fermented beverages and cultured veggies to really benefit from eating grain foods for as long as they live.

Summary: When to Add Other Grains Back into Your Diet????

  1. Once the gut lining in your intestines has healed;
  2. Once your gut condition ( like SIBO, SIFO, IBS ) have been resolved; or
  3. Once any infections (viral, yeast) are well under control.

At this point you may want to start adding whole grains, properly prepared and combined with vegetables, into your diet: 

  1. They do provide fiber and help feed the microbiome (and especially the mycobiome)
  2. Research shows that the  thyroid needs complex carbohydrates. 
  3. Most people sleep much better with some complex carbs in your diet 
  4. Blood type A seems to need them more than blood type O does because they feel calmer on them. . 

Avoid flour products and gluten forever. Hopefully, you won’t even want them once you see how much better you look and feel without them.. 

Make sure to prepare all grains properly, as noted above, in order to aid your digestion. And include fermented foods and drinks to help digest the complex carbs and give the microbiome in your inner ecosystem the boost it needs to keep you living a longer, healthier, happier and more productive life. 

We also always include fermented foods, like cultured veggies, and a few ounces of our probiotic liquids to provide friendly flora and to help digest all the natural sugars in that meal. You won’t find a more well-thought-out or complete way of eating than The Body Ecology Diet.

NOTE: Grains combine beautifully with vegetables — ideally not animal foods. This makes them both easier to digest.

NOTE: Today’s wheat is nothing like the ancient wheat of long ago. No one seems to do well on it. If it seems impossible to cut wheat and flour products out of your life (yes even gluten free bread and cookies) try a short-term experiment. Go ten days without it and see how you feel. Then add it in and decide if it’s right for you.

References

  1. Gluten.org.  The Gluten Free Diet Facts and Myths.
  2. EurekAlert.  Biologists ID Defense Mechanism of Leading Fungal Pathogen.
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