Some of us know that to stay fit and healthy, we need to “lay off the carbs.” We usually thinks of pies, pastries, pizzas, and donuts, but we consider whole grain sandwiches a nourishing well-balanced meal, right? How many restaurants automatically bring you a warm loaf of bread with your meal to satisfy your hunger until your order arrives?
The truth is, it is not just the carbs, and the highly processed types of flours, but the real culprit behind the problem is what’s in bread… wheat. This one ingredient is not only a problem for people with wheat or gluten sensitivities, but is a problem for everyone, as wheat can cause health problems due to the effect it has on blood sugar and your body’s inflammatory response.
What’s wrong with wheat?
According to Dr. William Davis, author of the book Wheat Belly: Lose the Wheat, Lose the Weight, and Find Your Path Back to Health, wheat has changed over the years, and may not be as fit for consumption as when we first started harvesting it.
Wheat actually makes us fat
How? Wheat contains a chemical called amylopectin A, which can convert to blood sugar even quicker than table sugar! Two slices of bread — no matter how “whole grain” it is — can cause a spike in blood sugar greater than that of eating a candy bar. When blood sugar spikes this quickly, it then drops rapidly also, making us feel hungry. We get cravings and eat more, and the cycle continues throughout the day. Essentially, foods that raise your blood sugar make you hungrier. Eliminate the bread, and your appetite will decrease. Eating less calories causes weight loss, and that’s just simple math.
Even if you exercise regularly, wheat can cause a risk of heart disease
When you add high carbohydrates to your diet, they form small particles called lipoproteins, or LDL, particles, that put you at risk for heart disease or stroke, due to an increase in atherosclerotic plaque. So, even if you still look fairly slender, over time, this can cause an increase in this damaging plaque, and also is what causes belly fat — or visceral fat — which are the precursor to diabetes and heart disease.
The wheat fields of today are not what they were when we first started farming
The seeds are actually fatter, as they have evolved over time for survival, and even if crops are not treated with genetically modified organisms (GMO’s), they are creating what Davis calls “Frankengrains,” and have not been tested for their safety.
But what about “whole wheat?” Isn’t that “low-glycemic?
All wheat contains gluten (which has a glue-like effect on our system), and can cause chronic inflammation and even degenerative conditions. The term “whole grain bread” is actually a myth, as the grains have to be broken down into flour to make bread.
Wheat can spur diabetes, especially in those individuals with a genetic predisposition to diabetes
Some of those fluffy loaves you see in stores have actually been injected with a genetically modified enzyme called transglutaminase, which can be toxic in some individuals. The fluffier the bread, the more likely it will contain GMO’s such as this one.
If you have ever felt bloated, sleepy, or too full from eating, even if you though you were reaching for something made with “whole grains,” or “natural wheat,” then you have experienced the beginnings of what is known as “wheat belly.” Over time, this can lead to an excess of abdominal fat, and a constant bloating and discomfort.
Wheat is a hidden ingredient in many foods
Soy sauce, salad dressings, soups, sauteed vegetables, and more. Cutting out bread is only part of it, and you have to become a real label-reader, or prepare your own foods to ensure there is no wheat in what you are eating. One of the quickest ways to lose the belly weight is to give up bread, and wheat altogether.
Lose the wheat, lose the weight.
