Should I Try a Grain-Free Diet?

Are you thinking about taking the next step and adopting a grain-free lifestyle, and wondering what that would look like? Don’t be daunted! There is now a mountain of evidence showing that going grain-free can be the answer to many of the health problems women face (1). The truth is, gluten-free might not be enough; if you are cutting gluten out for overall health gains, you aren’t doing yourself any favors by using, say, rice flour instead of wheat flour. A cookie is still a cookie.

WHAT ABOUT GRAINS IS SO BAD?

Phytates, lectins, and nutrient density.

We’ve been told that whole grains are good for us.? It’s a complex issue, because we’ve all heard of studies claiming that whole grains are healthy. The problem with a lot of these studies is that they compare diets of whole grains to diets of refined grains (2). Of course the whole grains will be healthier in this situation, because a whole food will always be healthier than a flour made from just the starchy part of the seed.

Why do some people decide to eliminate these grains from their diet? Because they want to lose weight, improve energy levels, get relief from stiff joints and foggy brains, find the root cause of their tummy troubles, get better sleep, find out why they have been plagued with skin problems, or any of a hundred other reasons. What do grains have to do with any of these seemingly unrelated health issues? A lot.

So What Am I Going to Eat?

Now that the grains are gone, what will you replace them with? The bottom of the familiar food pyramid has pictures of bread, rice, cereal, crackers and pasta.. Unfortunately, they break down into glucose. Literally, sugar. Make no room for theses kinds of foods on your plate crowd out the simple carbs by eating clean proteins, healthy fats and complex carbohydrates with some starchy veggies. If you fill your plate with these foods, there’s no room for rice, or bread, or pasta. You won’t want a piece of cake when you’re done with your meal because you are full of good stuff.

If you enjoy cooking, you have limitless options for eating filling, nourishing and delicious grain-free meals and treats!

(1) Nutrition and healthy eating

(2) What foods are in the Grains Group?

by Sally Pickle