Interesting article about healthy eating by Dr. Mercola

[Raineyrocks]

Reduce Grains and Sugar to Lose Weight and Improve Health

For several million years, humans existed on a diet of animals and vegetation. It was only with the advent of agriculture a mere 10,000 years ago - a fraction of a second in evolutionary time - that humans began ingesting large amounts of sugar and starch in the form of grains (and potatoes) into their diets. Indeed, 99.99% of our genes were formed before the advent of agriculture; in biological terms, our bodies are still those of hunter-gatherers.

While the human shift to agriculture produced indisputable gains for man - modern civilization is based on this epoch - societies where the transition from a primarily meat/vegetation diet to one high in cereals show a reduced lifespan and stature, increases in infant mortality and infectious disease, and higher nutritional deficiencies.

Contemporary humans have not suddenly evolved mechanisms to incorporate the high carbohydrates from starch- and sugar-rich foods into their diet. In short, we are consuming far too much bread, cereal, pasta, corn (a grain, not a vegetable), rice, potatoes and Little Debbie snack cakes, with very grave consequences to our health. Making matters worse, most of these carbohydrates we consume come in the form of processed food.

That 65% of Americans are overweight, and 27% clinically obese, in a nation addicted to sesame seed buns for that hamburger, with a side of French fries and a Coke, is no coincidence. It is not the fat in the foods we eat but, far more, the excess carbohydrates from our starch- and sugar-loaded diet that is making people fat and unhealthy, and leading to epidemic levels of a host of diseases such as diabetes.

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If you are experiencing any of the following symptoms, chances are very good that the excess carbohydrates in your body are, in part or whole, to blame:

Excess weight
Fatigue and frequent sleepiness
Depression
Brain fogginess
Bloating
Low blood sugar
High blood pressure
High triglycerides
We all need a certain amount of carbohydrates, of course, but, through our addiction to grains, potatoes, sweets and other starchy and sugary foods, we are consuming far too many. The body's storage capacity for carbohydrates is quite limited, though, so here's what happens to all the excess: they are converted, via insulin, into fat and stored in the adipose, or fatty, tissue.

Any meal or snack high in carbohydrates generates a rapid rise in blood glucose. To adjust for this rise, the pancreas secretes the hormone insulin into the bloodstream, which lowers the glucose. Insulin is, though, essentially a storage hormone, evolved over those millions of years of humans prior to the agricultural age, to store the excess calories from carbohydrates in the form of fat in case of famine.

Insulin, stimulated by the excess carbohydrates in our overabundant consumption of grains, starches and sweets, is responsible for all those bulging stomachs and fat rolls in thighs and chins.

Even worse, high insulin levels suppress two other important hormones - glucagons and growth hormones - that are responsible for burning fat and sugar and promoting muscle development, respectively. So insulin from excess carbohydrates promotes fat, and then wards off the body's ability to lose that fat.

Excess weight and obesity lead to heart disease and a wide variety of other diseases. But the ill effect of grains and sugars does not end there. They suppress the immune system, contributing to allergies, and they are responsible for a host of digestive disorders. They contribute to depression, and their excess consumption is, in fact, associated with many of the chronic diseases in our nation, such as cancer and diabetes.

I encourage you to delve into this subject in greater detail by clicking on the links below, or by using our powerful search tool above.

Subscribe to my free e-newsletter for ongoing detail on reducing grains and sweets, and for a comprehensive dietary plan geared toward fighting illness, preventing disease, increasing energy and optimizing your weight, check out my new book.

The bottom line is this: Americans need to reduce their intake of grains, including corn-based foods, and all sweets and potatoes, dramatically.

Related Articles:

The Paleolithic Diet and its Modern Implications

Low Grain and Carbohydrate Diets Treat Hypoglycemia, Heart Disease, Diabetes Cancer and Nearly All Chronic Diseases

Lower Your Grains & Lower Your Insulin Levels!

Grass Fed Cattle Benefits Animals and People

The Cancer/Sugar Connection

78 Ways Sugar Can Ruin Your Health

[Raineyrocks]

Stevia is a natural herb 1000 x sweeter than sugar.  Once you use it ---you'll never use anything else.  A couple ounces will last two adults a year.  It passes the tastes great in coffee test.  Minor acquired taste. 

Yuppers, I love Stevia! But I still like sugar too.

[Kat Kanning]

I like that Dr. Mercola's site.  Thanks for the article, rainey!

[Raineyrocks]

I like that Dr. Mercola's site.  Thanks for the article, rainey!

Your welcome!   I bought his book about dangerous grains and it was so boring, I like his website better.  It's food for thought though (get it? food for thought, hee, hee).

[Raineyrocks]

Kat,

I actually went on a gluten-free diet about 3 years ago and I felt so good.  I'm not sure if Mercola goes into the gluten free thing, I think he focuses more on grains, sugar, salt, ect. 
I was eating bread but it was sprouted bread, ($4 a loaf), so I wasn't eating it everyday, with preserves and natural peanut butter.  I would take along a sandwich wherever I went and then I didn't get hungry and go for the "crap".  I was a vegetarian too so it made it harder but now I'm eating beef again so I think I will go back to doing that.  I stopped after our car accident because I was on alot of pain pills and just didn't care anymore.
I've been looking into food combining too, have you ever heard of that?  Alot of people say it's bogus but I think it would be good because it automatically reduces grains and increases vegetables.  Oh well, the way I'm going on your probraly thinking, gosh all I did is say thanks for the post now Rainey writes all this, sorry.

[Kat Kanning]

I put my daughter on a gluten free diet for a while, and it seemed to help her quite a bit.  She hated being on it, though.  Yes, I've heard about food combining.  Have you read the Fit for Life books?  That's where I first heard about it.  Not mixing meat with starches really seems to help Russell.  Right now we're all on a raw food diet.  I'm thinking Kira has Candida from all the antibiotics I've given her   Russell's been battling asthma since he moved to NH.  Since we're only eating only raw fruits and veggies, we're not eating grains much.  I do make some sprouted grains sometimes, though.

[cathleeninnh]

I finally successfully sprouted this week. My last effort was a dismal failure. I guess I can grow something after all. They were mung beans and I threw them on a spinach and red onion salad the other night. It was good.

I saw mention of maintaining some sort of acid/alkaline balance. Anybody know anything about that nutritionally?

Cathleen

What kind of problem was Kira having that made you try gluten free?

[Raineyrocks]

I put my daughter on a gluten free diet for a while, and it seemed to help her quite a bit.  She hated being on it, though.  Yes, I've heard about food combining.  Have you read the Fit for Life books?  That's where I first heard about it.  Not mixing meat with starches really seems to help Russell.  Right now we're all on a raw food diet.  I'm thinking Kira has Candida from all the antibiotics I've given her   Russell's been battling asthma since he moved to NH.  Since we're only eating only raw fruits and veggies, we're not eating grains much.  I do make some sprouted grains sometimes, though.

Wow, that is so neat!  I tried the raw food diet and bought alot of books, (might even have some I don't use if you want them), anyways I felt amazing and more in tune with sounds and feelings (not to be too personal but it really spiced things up with Rick and I too).
The thing I didn't like was everytime I would make a recipe and I'm sure you know it takes days to make a recipe when your sprouting, they would come out gross so I gave up.  That is something I'd love to go back to but a more simplified approach, it's expensive though.  Do you only buy organic fruits and veggies?  When my son comes back there will be 6 of us and I have a $150 a week grocery budget.
I know I'm the only one interested in doing the raw foods so I'd have to shop for them and me so I figured the food combining would be affordable.  
I have read Fit for Life but I don't like fruit that much and I tried it for 2 days but that's the one where they say to only eat fruit until noon, right?
Have you heard of Alissa Cohen?  She has a great website and book too, also I think www.living-foods.com is another good one with lots of recipes.  I loved to eat organic walnuts with honey drizzled over them, but I also at sprouted bread (Ezekial) which they say isn't raw but I didn't care it filled me up.  I would put cucumbers, avacodo and tomatoes on the bread with sea salt, nummy!
I've been wheezing too since moving here, why?
Oh well if your interested in some books let me know, I sold some on Amazon already and want to keep a couple because I really feel I'd like to go raw when I can.
Do you make recipes or just keep it simple?

[Kat Kanning]

I finally successfully sprouted this week. My last effort was a dismal failure. I guess I can grow something after all. They were mung beans and I threw them on a spinach and red onion salad the other night. It was good.

I saw mention of maintaining some sort of acid/alkaline balance. Anybody know anything about that nutritionally?

Cathleen

What kind of problem was Kira having that made you try gluten free?

The only thing I know about acid/alkaline balance is that eating meat/grains makes your body too acid, which supposedly leads to disease.  Fruits/veggies makes the body more alkaline.

Kira's always had some sort of brain fog.  It used to be a lot worse.  I thought maybe she'd had problems from mercury in the vaccines.  The gluten/milk free diet was recommended for that.  She keeps having skin/fungus types of problems, though, so I started wondering if it's candida, which supposedly causes some kind of brain fog and recurrent fungal problems.

[Kat Kanning]

Wow, that is so neat!  I tried the raw food diet and bought alot of books, (might even have some I don't use if you want them), anyways I felt amazing and more in tune with sounds and feelings (not to be too personal but it really spiced things up with Rick and I too).
The thing I didn't like was everytime I would make a recipe and I'm sure you know it takes days to make a recipe when your sprouting, they would come out gross so I gave up.  That is something I'd love to go back to but a more simplified approach, it's expensive though.  Do you only buy organic fruits and veggies?  When my son comes back there will be 6 of us and I have a $150 a week grocery budget.
I know I'm the only one interested in doing the raw foods so I'd have to shop for them and me so I figured the food combining would be affordable. 
I have read Fit for Life but I don't like fruit that much and I tried it for 2 days but that's the one where they say to only eat fruit until noon, right?
Have you heard of Alissa Cohen?  She has a great website and book too, also I think www.living-foods.com is another good one with lots of recipes.  I loved to eat organic walnuts with honey drizzled over them, but I also at sprouted bread (Ezekial) which they say isn't raw but I didn't care it filled me up.  I would put cucumbers, avacodo and tomatoes on the bread with sea salt, nummy!
I've been wheezing too since moving here, why?
Oh well if your interested in some books let me know, I sold some on Amazon already and want to keep a couple because I really feel I'd like to go raw when I can.
Do you make recipes or just keep it simple?

Let's see...for quite a while I had been keeping it simple.  I've been making more recipes since the whole famly is doing it.  I don't want Kira to feel like I'm torturing her.  They both love little raw almond/raisin/date/cinnamon cookies I've been making for them.  I just made raw "potato" salad from Alissa's book (she lives in NH, BTW) - it's made with jicama instead of potato and it turned out really yummy.  I love that Ezekiel bread too   They sell it at every grocery store in Keene - I had to go to a health food store in TX to get it.  I buy organic some of the time.  I think it tastes better.  It seems like my sense of smell and taste has improved since I've been doing this.

What books do you have? 

[Raineyrocks]

I'm looking forward to the farmer's market in the spring.  I think organic tastes better too, but it's so expensive. We grew a huge organic garden in maryland and it was so nice.
I thought Alissa moved from Florida to California.
I'll look through my books as soon as I get dressed and get little Ricky off to a birthday party and let you know.  I had 3 from David Wolfe but they sold on Amazon a long time ago.  I could guess right now but I want to be sure so I'll look first.
I think it makes it so much easier if the whole family is raw but no one will do it. Do you think food combining and gluten free is almost as good as raw?  That one I could sneak in on everyone and they wouldn't even know except when they wanted to make a sandwich, then again they are going eat whatever they want at parties and stuff, so I wonder if it's even worth the effort.

[cathleeninnh]

My common sense tells me that balance is important and avoiding chemical unknowns. I don't buy all those books because they seem so extreme. Usually it is an all or nothing approach. I liked Alan's book that talked about balance and some natural ways to bring your body back into chemical balance when there is illness. I'm not so sure of the high herbal dosages suggested. Are herbals going through real clinical trials?

I am very happy with my clean living and easy healthy living lifestyle.

Cathleen

[dawn]

I love this book too:
Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0967089735/bookstorenow57-20

[Raineyrocks]

I love this book too:
Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0967089735/bookstorenow57-20

Thanks Dawn, that book looks pretty good. I put it on my wish list for now until I can get it!  I have really been looking into food combining so I have a couple books coming on that but the book you mention seems like it would be a way to cook for the whole family.