Gluten is a collection of proteins found in:

• Wheat
• Wheat Cousins (Spelt & Kumut)
• Rye
• Triticale (a wheat-rye hybrid)
• Barley
• Oats
• An endless variety of processed foods

Of all these grains, wheat is the most challenging, largely because it contains the most gluten.

Food manufacturers, especially bakers, love gluten and have a high regard for the types of wheat that contain the most gluten, since it causes bread to rise and puff up magnificently.

What you may not realise, however, is that gluten can cause many people’s health to nose-dive – often in particularly dangerous ways.

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There are some health problems associated with refined grains.

Eating refined grains can result in the body producing adverse metabolic consequences very similar to what the body experiences when we consume refined sugar.

The majority of refined grain products provoke our glucose levels (blood sugar levels) to increase significantly causing the body to produce insulin to counteract the high glucose levels & return them to normal levels.

Sometimes, however, in the early stages of impaired glucose tolerance, the body will react to the increase of glucose levels by producing too much insulin, which results in the glucose levels dropping well below the normal level.

This condition is known as reactive hypoglycaemia.

This is a clear indication that the body is unable to cope with refined sugars & grains and is heading for more severe glucose tolerance problems in the future.

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Gluten grains may be the most problematic of the grains but a high intake of non-gluten grains has caused plenty of health problems around the world too.

An example of this is corn. Corn is a non-gluten grain but it’s interesting to note that it is particularly low in niacin (vitamin B3) and tryptophan, an amino acid the body can use to make niacin. As a result of a high intake of corn, pellagra (niacin deficiency disease) can develop.

Imbalances & nutrient deficiencies in refined grains

You may not be aware of it, but refined grains are nutrient-deprived foods.

The process of refining wheat involves the removal of the starchy endosperm away from the bran and germ, which also strips away the portions of vitamins & minerals essential for health.

The vitamins & minerals stripped away include:

• 60% of the calcium
• 85 % of the magnesium
• 77% of the potassium
• 78% of the zinc
• 68% of the copper
• 76% of the iron
• 86 % of the manganese
• 40% of the chromium
• 48 % of the molybdenum

Nutrients including chromium, magnesium & zinc are vital in assisting the body to properly use carbohydrates including grains for fuel.

Other nutrients including potassium & calcium are required to perform vital functions such as building & strengthening bones & relaxing muscles.

Unfortunately, eating plenty of white flour products doesn’t provide many of these nutrients. As a result of this it can lead, over time, to subtle pre-clinical nutrient deficiencies. The more refined grains & sugars we eat, the less balance we have of nutritious foods that provide the essential nutrients absent in refined foods.

Eating too many refined grains and sugars instead of nutritious foods leaves our body lacking the vital nutrients from nutritious foods. We are more likely to develop sub-optimal intakes, or worse, nutrient deficiencies, preventing our body from performing at its best.

Keep in mind that whole grains – which refined grains are derived from – also contain no vitamin B12 & none of the important antioxidants including vitamin A, vitamin C & beta carotene.

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Following on from last week’s article “What’s wrong with a high intake of grains?” we continue to explore the misconceptions of high intake of grains.

So, if a high intake of grains is not good for us, the question that pops to mind is;

Why do most of us believe they are actually good for us?

Why have grains become such a focal point of our day to day diet?

There are many pieces to the puzzle. We will begin with the obvious first:

• Advertising
• Social programming & pressures
• The availability of grains
• Promotions

Now looking in more depth:

Grains are everywhere in our society & are saturated through all cultures and in all places.

Grains have been embraced by society & have become the foundation for our meals.  This is why they can be seen through a range of shapes & forms in all food outlets including;

• Supermarkets
• Restaurants
• Café’s
• Food Courts

Essentially, all places that are licensed to sell food will have something  that contains grains.

Just for a moment, consider:

• You walk down the first aisle in the supermarket and you notice cereal or perhaps its muesli bars or maybe pizza bases.
• Every time you go to a restaurant the waiter brings complementary bread or rolls.
• You’re at home and you decide you make a super healthy ham and salad sandwich
• Or how about enjoying a refreshing ice cold beer at the football or other sporting event

Everywhere you go you are presented with the opportunity to consume grains & because of this growing availability of grains the majority of us will give in to temptation, eating them even when we don’t realise it or want to but through pure convenience if nothing else.

This grain domination has happened because society has been socialised to believe that grains are good for us. We have grown up with the notion that we need to have a balanced diet consisting of the four major good groups including:

• Fruits
• Vegetables
• Meat
• Grains

As a result of these beliefs few of us have had the opportunity to hear any negatives about grains, which has resulted in few questions challenging the idea that grains are a good for you.

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There is a common misconception that lots of grains are good for us. Unfortunately grain, like everything else, is good for us but only in moderation.

But why you say?

Grains are rich in carbohydrates as well as calories, which is why they are used to fatten up livestock & subsequently also fatten us up when we eat excessive amounts.

Grain is a great way to ‘bulk up’ & more importantly is high in nutrients, which keeps drawing us back to them.

An increasing amount of people are intolerant to common grains with millions of people developing allergic reactions & symptoms including:

• Malabsorption of nutrients
• Bloating
• Gas
• Aches & pains
• Other digestive problems

Further to these symptoms, high grain diets are also being linked to some modern day health problems. The latest studies have found problems relating to high grain diets can include:

• Bone diseases; such as osteoporosis
• Heart disease
• Type 2 diabetes
• Autoimmune diseases such as autoimmune thyroid disease
• In extreme cases, some cancers

So remember, eat in moderation and if you are experiencing any of the symptoms after eating common grains don’t be afraid to see your doctor for more information.

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If you’ve recently been diagnosed with an autoimmune disease such as gluten sensitivity, these are the basic treatments that are most likely to occur.

The first step doctors will take is to identify targeted nutritional needs.
All doctors will perform check-ups, using various methods but they’ll all achieve the end result of gaining a comprehensive understanding of your nutritional deficiencies.   

The Gluten Free Diet:

Many doctors will prescribe a gluten free diet to you even if you haven’t had a blood test confirming you have a gluten sensitivity, if you’ve been unsuccessful with other treatments. Doctors will usually keep you on a gluten free diet for at least three months, so they are able to see the results effectively.

The Casein Free Diet:

Doctors will often prescribe a casein free diet for patients suffering from gastrointestinal disorders like Irritable Bowel Disease (IBD) or Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS).

The Paleolithic Diet:

If a doctor puts a patient on a gluten free diet, they’ll also often put the patient on a Paleolithic diet as it will also help treat an autoimmune disease. The Paleolithic diet consists of replacing grains from the diet with fresh, natural foods. The foundations of this diet are that our ancestors had a diet that was close to a Paleolithic diet rather than the high carbohydrate, processed foods many people consume today.

Dietary Supplementation:

Most doctors will prescribe dietary supplements either orally or intravenously to you, in order to help you restore your health a lot faster.

Detoxification:

On top of prescribing dietary supplements to you, doctors will also usually prescribe you supplements that are specifically designed to help remove toxins from the body.

The treatments may sound difficult as you might see it as a severe change, but the results will far outweigh the food sacrifices you’ll make as you’ll feel healthy, happy and energetic.

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In my last two blogs I have written about the importance of establishing good eating habits in children and I will now finish this topic by writing about my own experiences with my child.

I recall a few experiences from my own son’s upbringing. Adam was a large, robust, placid and jovial child, with an almost insatiable appetite and curiosity – a real boy. At about nine months, he began to cry which was unusual for him. Previously, he had smiled, laughed and chuckled his way through life, even teething. After a couple of days we realised that he was hungry and that his mother’s breast milk could no longer keep up with his requirements. We began to introduce a variety of solid foods and within a month he had weaned himself.

One incident that particularly comes to mind is that of a fruit salad that I made on a Sunday afternoon during this period. The fruit salad contained passion fruit, banana, mango, pineapple, orange, pawpaw, kiwi fruit and water melon: things he had not previously tried. There was a fair amount of associated juice which we put in his bottle and handed to him. It was an interesting experience to watch the various pleasurable expressions flit across his face as he tried and decided he liked this new, tangy drink. He very quickly downed the whole bottle and very eloquently presented the bottle for an immediate refill. Even though he couldn’t yet speak there was no mistaking his meaning.

At 11 months he walked the length of a motel room in Sydney and very soon after that we had him sitting up in his high chair adjacent to the table and between us eating a small well sliced up version of whatever it was we were having: he slid naturally and painlessly into eating a wide variety of foods and it was OK because he was eating with Mum and Dad and eating what they were eating. He quickly accepted that that was the way it was.

We had to adjust our mealtimes a little to suit him and his bedtime routines: the warm bath, the toilet and story reading to have him asleep by 7.30 P.M.: “before they switched the dark on” as he termed it. A little later he was to take great pride in joining me for a “bubble beer”. I would have a beer and he would have a small ginger ale and later a small quantity of beer heavily diluted with lemonade. It was fun and he liked doing and sharing things with his Dad.

Sadly, many Dads are not there to share their meals with their kids and I feel that both the absent parents and the kids miss out on the bonding and other important aspects of this process. It also takes a lot of the pressure off the mother.

There are some children who are born sensitive, delicate and timid who may be picky eaters with a range of food intolerance issues but in the vast majority of cases such children are created by poor parenting and role models. Unfortunately, most people are poorly prepared and trained to assume the role of parents: one of the most important and influential roles in our lives.

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In my last blog I introduced the need to establish good eating habits in the young. This week I will continue to write about importance of this and methods parents should be using to feed their children.

Young children should be actively discouraged from eating just white bread, yoghourt, jelly, ice cream and the like with very little fruit and vegetables. A diet comprised of these processed, sugary foods does not allow their muscles to develop properly, causing them to be prone to deficiency issues and perhaps to premature gout and arthritic problems.

This is also the time to start gently and patiently teaching young children to use their cutlery and eating utensils properly. It is also important to make this whole eating process as enjoyable and leisurely as possible and to avoid bad experiences. Above all, young children should never be bribed with lollies to get them to eat and should never be given lollies, dessert or any other alternatives if they have declined to eat the main meal provided. It is a fundamental mistake to enable a child to consistently reject the food provided and teaches the child bad and demanding habits, which once established can be difficult to break.

It is better and kinder all round, to be firm and insistent than to let a tyrant child rule the roost. No child is going to starve itself and most quickly run out of puff when faced by a resolute parent. A slightly hungry child is more likely to eat what s/he is given and it is always better if the child knows the limits and boundaries.

Sometimes – even though it might seem unsightly and messy to us as adults – it may be important to let children touch, play with, smell and kiss their food as part of the process of getting used to it. However, allowing a child to spit or throw food and smear walls and furniture etc with food should never be tolerated as this is just plain bad and unacceptable behaviour.

In my next blog I will continue to write about the importance of establishing good eating habits in the young through my own personal experiences with my son.

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Very few adults and parents seem to recognise or appreciate the fact that young children need to be taught to eat properly. Similarly, parents and adults don’t seem to recognise that all too often the child’s food and dietary choices and eating habits reflect and replicate the poor choices and habits of their parents.

All children require regular routines and in particular, regular mealtimes. It is also necessary that the parents or person feeding a young child are not stressed and impatient at mealtimes as this communicates itself to the child and may upset the mealtime routine.

As early as possible, young children need to progress from pureed foods to tougher, more textured foods – these need to be introduced progressively – in order to develop their chewing and swallowing skills; as well as their facial, jaw and neck muscles. This is also critical because of the link between learning to chew etc. and the development of proper speech patterns, which are difficult without proper muscular development. Initially all foods will need to be finely sliced and cut up to enable the young child to manage.

Great care needs to taken in making sure the child does not have too much food in his/her mouth at a time and that the pieces of food are not too large and that they are well chewed prior to swallowing. Children should be actively discouraged from putting their fingers in their mouths when they are learning to eat. It is especially critical for the child to learn to avoid both swallowing improperly chewed food and eating too quickly.

As the child’s muscles strengthen and chewing ability increases the food particle sizes/portions should be progressively increased. These early lessons lay the foundations for the eating habits of a lifetime so if they are rushed and not gently inculcated the child may be placed at a severe disadvantage for the rest of its life. This may also make life very difficult, traumatic and frustrating for the parents, who may have to go back to and address all these fundamental eating issues. It is better to get the eating habits right the first time. It may also traumatise the child making him/her difficult to manage.

This is also the time to gently, patiently and persistently introduce children to small amounts of a wide a variety of foods (as wide as possible) to familiarise them with these foods. At the same time the parent or feeding guardian should be on the lookout for food intolerances and allergies, and should not impose or force foods that obviously upset a child. There is often a fine line and it may be difficult to decide between a genuine case and a try on.

In my next blog I will continue to write about teaching good eating habits in the young.

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I have long been concerned about the nutritional adequacy of the diets of most of our senior citizens whether resident in their own homes or in various forms of care. Very often, when left to their own devices many older people cannot be bothered to prepare proper meals and many of them fall into a toast and tea or coffee regime: they do what is easiest without recognising or realising the longer term consequences of this behaviour. They often become seriously under nourished. Many do not maintain an adequate intake of fluids,  particularly water, sometimes due to fear of incontinence or of inability to get to the toilet in time, even when they have dementia. Dehydration may cause brain shrinkage, headaches, memory loss and an inability to think clearly and logically. It can also cause serious kidney malfunction.

As we age, we often become less active physically and stress levels should diminish all of which reduces our energy intake requirements. A situation which, in combination with a declining digestive system, amplifies the requirement to maintain a nutritionally adequate and balanced diet. This also maintains the immune system, body warmth, energy levels, mental activity and the body’s natural healing and repair functions. Almost conversely, it becomes more critical that as the food quantity diminishes the need for appropriate fundamental quality and adequate nutritional balance increases. To avoid doing the elderly a grave disservice we need to better understand and provide for their nutritional needs taking into account the issues that also arise from their aging metabolisms.

I also believe that it is important for the elderly to remain as physically active as possible in order to maintain bone and muscular strength as well as their balance and blood circulation. Sadly, there are many older men in nursing homes, and elsewhere, who appear to be losing weight and muscle tone through being inadequately fed: quantity and quality wise. There are also increasing numbers of elderly women with open, ulcerated sores on their shins that will not heal: due often to the combined lack of an adequate diet and physical activity regime causing poor blood circulation. They all require quality sources of protein and vegetables in their diets not snacks, convenience foods, bread, cakes and biscuits etc.

The maintenance of good nutritional status in this group is critical. The elderly have the right to enjoy healthy, productive and fulfilling lives. Better nutrition will ensure greater independence for longer, better quality of life, higher immunity, lower mortality and less need to progress to higher, more expensive forms of care.

All human beings need to eat their body weight in quality food per month if they are to maintain body weight and good health. This requirement is inescapable. If there is insufficient food the outcome is loss of weight, malnutrition and a declining immune system leading to poorer quality of life, ill health and reduced life expectancy.

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