Day 13 ? To Grain or Not To Grain?

UNDERSTANDING WHETHER GRAINS ARE RIGHT FOR YOU

Grains and “gluten free” are a hot topic these days. Many of us, myself included, don’t always make the connection between eating grains and digestive issues until we consciously or accidentally eliminate them from our diet. I didn’t realize it myself until I did a 12 Day Detox and noticed how much better I felt without grains.

My stomach bulge went down, elimination improved, I felt more energized and the pain I’d been experiencing in my stomach went away.

As with any particular food or food group, it takes experimentation and patience to find out which work best with your body. The same applies to grains because?we all metabolize grains differently.

Some people can thrive on grains, while others feel inflamed, depleted and drained.

When it comes to clean eating, the best way to achieve the maximum benefit and to boost weight loss is to avoid grains, but this is not mandatory. If you want to add one grain per day, you will still have weight loss results. If you do decide to add grains, please be sure to be using portion control when consuming them — about one cup cooked or the size of a tennis ball is an appropriate serving size.

Here are a few more tips:

1. They must be REAL, 100% grains. This means nothing refined, such as pasta, crackers, cakes, pretzels, bread or chips.
2. Choose only gluten-free grains. Gluten is known as a gut irritant and makes tiny lacerations in the intestinal wall. The partially undigested food particles (gluten) leak into the system and cause inflammation, which can lead to a host of problems including weight gain, joint pain, muscle aches, headaches, acne and psoriasis.

When functioning normally, inflammation is our body’s response to healing. We have a modern day dilemma where our bodies easily become inflamed due to diet and lifestyle. Over time this can lead to serious health problems. One thing to note is any pain that exists in the body can be a sign of inflammation.

If you choose to include grains, please be sure to choose from one of these low glycemic and gluten-free carbohydrate options whenever possible: brown rice, quinoa, buckwheat, millet, and amaranth.

Treat your body like it belongs to someone you love!

Questions? Comments? Please feel free to leave them below. I’m always happy to answer.

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