Roly Poly

What is it about flour, i.e., the starch, bran, and germ of seeds of grass plants, such as modern Triticum species of wheat, that makes them extravagantly fattening? The weight gain effect of modern wheat is so powerful that I call it the perfect obesogen, a food that is perfectly crafted to cause obesity. As a society, we have conducted a massive and inadvertent experiment. Based on the flawed logic that emerged from “white flour is bad, whole grains are good” epidemiological observations (or what I would label “white flour is bad, whole grains are less bad” observations), the American diet, thanks to the pronouncements of the U.S. Dietary Guidelines for Americans, has become a grain-based diet. We have grain-based breakfast cereals, toast, and bagels for breakfast; sandwiches or wraps for lunch; pasta and rolls for dinner; pretzels and cookies for snacks. The result: Obesity and type 2 diabetes on a scale never before seen on this planet. Not just a situation that is incrementally worse, but the worst ever. We now need larger wheelchairs, larger airline seats, dress sizes that were previously unimaginable. And let’s be absolutely clear: In the language of agribusiness, modern wheat is NOT “genetically modified,” i.e., gene-splicing techniques were not used to introduced genetic changes. No, modern wheat is the product of methods that pre-date genetic modification (GM). But earlier methods were not more benign; it included methods ...
Source: Wheat Belly Blog - Category: Cardiology Authors: Tags: Wheat Belly Lifestyle blood sugar edema gluten grains Inflammation insulin opiates Weight Loss Source Type: blogs