Over the last couple months, I have asked many of my clients to eliminate wheat from their diet for one month to see if they noticed a difference in how they felt. My clients who have complied and completely removed wheat from their diet have experienced the following benefits:
• Weight-loss (up to 7 lbs. in two weeks)
• Less bloating in the midsection
• Less gas and indigestion
• More consistent energy
• Clearer thinking
But I thought whole wheat was healthy!
Eating whole wheat food is like putting a filter on a cigarette. It’s better for you, but you’re still ingesting the harmful ingredients.
Wheat has been consumed for centuries with seemingly no problems. But wheat has undergone some changes in the last 50 years or so. Due to a rapidly growing population, scientists have developed a means of modifying the wheat seed to produce more crop per acre. It’s called dwarf wheat, and it contains an altered form of protein called gliadin. Modern gliadin is an opiate just like morphine and heroin, however, without the pain relief. Instead gliadin causes addictive eating behaviour, food obsessions, and it has been noted to increase calorie intake of 440 calories per day (or 13,200 calories per month). Modern wheat also contains nine times more gluten than the traditional wheat our ancestors consumed. This is what makes it so hard to digest, and it causes massive amounts of stress and inflammation in your body—which is the root of all disease.
How will removing wheat help me lost weight?
Modern wheat contains amylopectin A, a unique form of carbohydrate that is responsible for raising blood sugar higher than table sugar or a snickers bar!
When our blood sugar rises our pancreas releases insulin to drop the blood sugar back down. Insulin controls blood sugar in two ways:
1) Drives it into cells to be used as energy, if energy is required
2) Stores it as fat as an energy reserve
Since wheat raises blood sugar so rapidly, insulin is inclined to store the excess sugar in the form of fat around your midsection. Combine that fact with the extra calories that the addictive properties of wheat possess and you have yourself a recipe for fat gain.
Removing wheat from your diet will help you stabilize your blood sugar, reduce the amount of daily calorie consumption, and therefore limit the opportunity for your body to store fat, and give it a chance to burn the excess fuel.
But I don’t have Celiac Disease, I can handle wheat.
You don’t need to have celiac disease to be sensitive to wheat. We are all affected by it, some more than others. Pay attention to how you feel next time you eat wheat. Be aware of bloating, fatigue, and mental fogginess, or any other symptoms that may arise.
Trust me on this one, I grew up on cereal for breakfast, sandwiches for lunch, and pasta for dinner, so I thought I had absolutely no problems with wheat. Awhile after the gluten-free hype began I decided to try going gluten-free, this included removing wheat from my diet completely. I instantly noticed I felt less bloated and less tired after meals. I soon realized that the bloating I felt in my stomach was also inhibiting my ability to properly activate my abdominals, and that this was contributing to my lower back pain that I was experiencing at a young age. This was serious stuff! I began doing my research and soon realized what has taken place. I followed up with local farmers and they confirmed that they are using dwarf wheat.
Ok I’m convinced, what do I need to do?
Take note of the foods you currently eat that contain wheat. This may include, breakfast cereal, sandwiches, pasta, baked goods, crackers, etc. You may notice that a lot of the foods you are accustomed to eating contain wheat. It’s not imperative that you remove them all at once. That would be ideal, but gradual change is often the most sustainable. Make one change at a time if need be. Here are some examples:
• Replace wheat pasta with rice pasta
• Replace wheat crackers with rice crackers or ‘Nut-Thins’
• Replace breakfast cereal with an omelette
• Replace sandwiches with salads
It may be intimidating at first, but it can be easily done with some preparation and determination. Once all wheat has been removed from your diet continue to be wheat-free for the following four weeks and be mindful of how you feel after meals and on a daily basis.
Improvements may include:
• Less bloating
• Improved mental clarity
• Less cravings for carbohydrates
• Fat loss – especially around midsection
• More consistent energy throughout the day
Now go to your kitchen and get rid of all the wheat! It will only tempt you if you have it in the house. Make a list of the changes you are going to make and stick to it! If you have questions and need my support please contact me at Eric@grandpt.com