For the Love of Grains

[Guest guest]

In light of the discussion about weight loss and grains, I'd like to

share part of Dr. McDougall's January newsletter. I lost a lot of

weight by going vegan, and it's the fatty food like cheese and ice

cream that put it on in the first place. I didn't diet, so never

experienced " dieting hunger pangs " -- and diets are

counter-productive. I ate/eat a lot of whole grains, and believe in a

high-complex carbohydrate way of eating for health. It drives me crazy

when I see people succumb to the " low carb craze " -- because I think

it's unhealthy!

 

The McDougall newsletter is free, and I encourage folks to sign up for it:

 

http://www.drmcdougall.com/misc/2008nl/jan/grains.htm

 

Excerpts:

 

For the Love of Grains

 

Cereal grains are currently the most important nutritional component

of the human diet—and for thousands of years grains have been

recognized as staples—necessary foods—and extolled as " the staff of

life. " In Roman times Ceres was the goddess of agriculture.1 The

gifts offered to Ceres at festivals were referred to as cerealia.

Since the most important gifts offered were wheat and barley, these

grains naturally became known as cerealia or cereal. The value of

grains is reflected by common sayings such as: " The greatest thing

since sliced bread, " signifying the absolute best, " bread and

circuses " refers to keeping people happy, " cash " is called bread or

dough, and " breaking bread " speaks of a sense of sharing.

 

It may surprise you to learn that after this long association of

grains with goodness that this staple food is now under attack. I hear:

 

1) Don't eat rice and other grains because they turn to sugar, which

will make you fat. Even the tiniest bite of a grain will trigger your

body to crave more and you will become obese. After all, grains are

used for fattening livestock, and they will do the same to you.

 

2) If you don't soak your grains before cooking, they will " steal "

nutrients from your body—this is due to phytic acid and other

anti-nutrients in the grains.

 

3) Millions of people are intolerant to the protein in grains, causing

problems from arthritis to cancer, for most people, not just those few

with celiac disease.

 

4) Grains harbor toxic fungi that can cause cancer.

 

5) Grains have drug-like substances in them that create addiction. If

you eat them, you will become hooked on grains.

 

Separating the wheat from the chaff—fact from fiction—begins by

knowing that cereal grains provide an abundance of our most important

nutrient: starch—70% to 83% of the calories found in grains are in the

form of this clean burning carbohydrate fuel.

 

People Are Obligate Starch-Eaters

 

For the past 35 years I have been teaching a " starch-based diet " as

the fundamental means to health and healing. This is different from a

" vegan diet, " which could be at its worst, colas and potato chips; and

different from a " plant-food-based diet, " which could focus on

low-calorie broccoli and apples, or high-calorie nuts and avocados.

Most people—lay and professional—fail to grasp this simple lifesaving

premise: people are starch-eaters. And they suffer horribly from this

unawareness.

 

The most important support for my conclusion that we are starch-eaters

is based on an observation that you can easily validate for yourself:

All large populations of trim, healthy people, throughout written

human history, have obtained the bulk of their calories from starch.

Examples of thriving people include, Japanese and Chinese in Asia

eating sweet potatoes, buckwheat, and/or rice, Incas in South America

eating potatoes, Mayans and Aztecs in Central America eating corn, and

Egyptians in the Middle East eating wheat.

 

There have been small communities of people living at the extremes of

the environment, such as the traditional Eskimos of Greenland, who

have lived on a diet low in starches (high in meat). Over the past

century there has been an escalating trend in Western societies of

people abandoning starchy plant-foods for low-carbohydrate meat and

dairy foods. A worldwide epidemic of obesity, heart disease,

diabetes, and cancer has followed this dietary change. Thus, there

are no exceptions—all large populations of healthy, trim people have

lived on starch-based diets. We are obliged to eat starch, and

failure to eat this way, means failure to thrive—both as individuals

and as civilizations.

 

DNA Science Proves Starch-Based Diet for People

 

Through genetic testing scientists have proven that we are obligate

starch-eaters.2 Examination of the number of copies of the gene for

the production of amylase, an enzyme in our saliva that digests

starch, has found an average of 6 copies in humans (range of 2 to 15

copies), compared to only 2 copies of this gene in great apes. This

amplified number of gene copies allowed early humans to thrive on

starchy foods that " lesser " primates ignored. The diets of great

apes, like those of chimpanzees, our closest relative, are nearly pure

vegetarian in composition; consisting largely of fruits, and in the

dry seasons when fruit is scarce, they eat tree seeds, flowers, soft

pith, and bark; with termites and small mammals making a very small

contribution all year long. Chimpanzees eat very little starch.

 

Human and chimp DNA is roughly 99% identical, but that 1% difference,

which includes genes to digest much more starch, proved crucial for

the evolution of humanity's earliest ancestors. More salivary,

starch-digesting, amylase produced by more copies of the gene opened

up a reliable supply of sugar for our early ancestors, which allowed

their sugar-fueled brains to develop. Twenty percent of our daily food

intake is used to energize our brains; and brain tissues

preferentially burn sugar for fuel. The theory that the addition of

meat or fish to our ancestor's' diet was the critical factor for the

development of our ancestors' brains is obviously incorrect based on

our physiology and genetics.3-5 Furthermore, since most early humans

ate meat only sporadically, meat alone could not have supplied the

extraordinary amount of energy needed for the brain to grow from

monkey-size to human-size (three times difference).3-5

 

Apparent Imperfections of Grains

 

No single food is always perfect for every person: Beans may be a

little too high in protein, especially for people with inadequate

kidneys, white potatoes are classified as nightshades that can contain

a toxin called solanine, winter squashes may be too low in calories

for athletes, corn may cause food allergies in sensitive people, and

wheat has gluten which causes celiac disease in a few people.

Recently, several writers, who by no coincidence also recommend diets

high in meat, fish and/or dairy products, have misled the public by

stretching the truth—overstating the importance of the imperfections

and minimizing the benefits of grains.6-8 Some of their claims are:

 

Grains Will Make You Fat—Not So!

 

Really: Obesity is unknown among more than 3 billion people who

currently live on grain-based diets and the billions more who have

done so in the past. Grains are low in calories, low in fat, and high

in appetite-satisfying carbohydrates. While overfeeding with grains

can easily fatten food-animals, like cows and pigs; the human body

only reluctantly converts carbohydrates, like those found in grains,

into body fat.9

 

Grains Rob You of Nutrients—Not Important

 

Really: Grains are loaded with minerals; therefore, the more grains

you eat the more minerals you consume. Phytic acid, also plentiful in

grains, is considered an anti-nutrient because of its ability to bind

with minerals, such as zinc and calcium, and prevent their absorption.

Two often-cited examples of zinc deficiency are among people living in

small communities in rural Iran and Australia (Aborigines).10-11

Multiple nutritional factors, not just phytic acid, were involved in

both examples. Consumption of large amounts of unleavened bread seemed

central to the development of zinc deficiency. Once the bread is

leavened, then the activity of phytic acid is reduced, and zinc

becomes readily available.12 Soaking, germination, boiling, cooking,

and fermentation all inactivate phytic acid and free up minerals for

absorption. In real-life situations, for otherwise healthy people,

the consumption of grains in recommended amounts has had no adverse

effect on mineral status.13

 

Phytic acid actually has many beneficial health effects—you won't want

it out of your diet. It acts as a powerful antioxidant and has been

shown to reduce blood sugar, insulin, cholesterol and triglycerides.14

Phytic acid is linked to a reduction in heart disease, diabetes,

obesity, and other chronic diseases in people.13,14

 

Grains Cause Human Disease—Some Do

 

Really: Some people (at most 1% of people) are intolerant of a

protein, called gluten, found in some grains. High concentrations of

gluten are found in wheat, barley, and rye (but not in rice, corn,

oats, sorghum, and millet). (See my September 2005 newsletter

article.) The condition, called celiac disease, can result in

malnutrition, autoimmune diseases and cancer.

 

Grains are slightly acidic; therefore, theoretically, they may cause

loss of minerals, including calcium, from the body. (The relative

acid load of grains is about +1, compared to the very high acid loads

of cheese +10, fish +9.3, chicken +7 and red meat +6.3).15 Limited

research shows grains do not increase calcium loss,16 and

grain-consuming populations, such as the Japanese and Chinese, have

very low rates of osteoporosis.17,18

 

Food allergies to wheat and corn do occur in less than 1% of people,

but allergies to rice are very uncommon;19 this is one reason rice is

an accepted food in elimination diets designed to test and treat food

allergies.

 

Fungi on Grains Will Poison You—So Don't Eat Spoiled Food

 

Really: Aflatoxins are naturally occurring toxins that are produced by

many species of Aspergillus, a fungus. The toxin-producing fungi grow

as the grains spoil in storage. Aflatoxins are toxic and carcinogenic.

High-levels of aflatoxin exposure can produce acute tissue necrosis,

cirrhosis, and carcinoma of the liver. This potential and serious

problem should cause us to avoid spoiled grains. Boiling and

pressure-cooking reduce the activity of this toxin.20, 21

 

You Will Become Addicted to Grains—Yes!

 

Really: Just like you have become addicted to water and the oxygen in

air. The human body is designed to enjoy and become satiated by

carbohydrate—both simple and complex sugars (starches)—not surprising

since this substance is our intended fuel. Consider the tips of our

tongues have sweet-tasting taste buds. We are designed to seek and

enjoy this flavor. There are no similar sensors on our tongues for fat

or protein. (A cat has taste buds for protein.) Once consumed,

carbohydrate causes changes in bodily hormones and brain chemistry,

resulting in satisfaction of the appetite—our reward for eating

correctly. Failure to eat sufficient carbohydrate, when people

consume beef, chicken, fish and cheese, all containing almost no

carbohydrate, leaves them wanting sugars, which may cause some people

to conclude that they are addicted to carbohydrate.

 

Top Nutrition in Grains

 

Grains are derived from the seeds of grasses. They contain all the

energy (starch), protein, and minerals needed to germinate a seedling,

therefore they are inherently nutritious. Grains contain no

cholesterol, are low in fat, and are high in dietary fiber. Although

grains are low in fat they are well supplied with the few kinds of fat

(linolenic and linoleic acid) that are essential for our health. The

ingredients in single grains easily meet our nutritional needs, except

for vitamins A and C. Thus, people cannot live on grains alone; they

must also include a fruit and/or a green or yellow vegetable to supply

these two essential vitamins. (In contrast, vegetables, like potatoes

and sweet potatoes supply all necessary nutrients and can serve as

sole sources of food. Qualified exceptions to this statement of

completeness are vitamins B12 and D – see my September and November

2007 McDougall Newsletters.)

 

Can I Eat Flour Products, Like in Bread?

 

Although cereal grains at the farm gate are very nutritious, the

processing and refining steps that follow usually turn them into

packaged products that are now stripped of their nutrients (fiber,

vitamins, and minerals) and loaded with salt, oils, sugars, dairy-

derivitives, and chemicals. Whereas, whole grains reduce the risk of

heart disease, diabetes, cancer and obesity, that box of sugar puffs

in your pantry may be doing just the opposite. In general, the more

original and unadulterated the grain, the better for you.

 

I am often asked if there is any harm in using a home-bread-machine

to make bread—after all, nothing is added or removed in the

processing. For most people whole grain breads are an excellent

choice, but it is not the same as eating whole grains. Beating the

whole grain more than 1000 times with the whirling steel blade of the

bread machine converts the kernel into a powder, known as flour. The

intact cell wall of the kernel has been destroyed and now the

digestive enzymes (amylase) easily digest the inner nutrients. In

addition, the flour has a much larger surface area to volume ratio

than did the whole grain, making digestion and absorption much more

rapid. For you this physical change may translate into easier weight

gain, and higher blood levels of glucose, triglycerides, and

cholesterol. The amount of insulin released by the pancreas into the

blood is also increased as grains are processed from whole grains to

cracked grains to coarse flour to fine flour.23 More insulin can mean

more weight gain, and maybe, more risk of diabetes and heart disease.

However, compared to animal-foods, free-oils, and plant-parts

processed beyond recognition, whole wheat bread is definitely health food.

 

Can I Eat White Rice?

 

If you must. As a young doctor, I began my practice in Hawaii.

Ancestors of many of my patients had recently emigrated from

countries, like Japan, China, and the Philippines, where rice was

their staple food. That is white rice. In these cultures, eating

brown, whole grain, rice was a social disgrace; because it was

cheaper, brown rice was consumed by the lower class, financially

poorer, people. Thus, a social prejudice existed: refined people eat

refined rice. I could not overcome this irrational bias, so I

sanctioned eating the McDougall diet with white rice—and my patients

still became healthier, lost weight, and stopped their medications.

Why? Because white rice replaced their meat, cheese, and ice cream.

One of the most successful diet therapies ever used to treat sick

people has been the Kempner Diet from Duke University. The founder,

Walter Kempner, MD, fed his patients mostly white rice and fruits.

This treatment quickly and effectively reversed hypertension, type-2

diabetes, diabetic eye damage, arthritis, heart failure (cardiomegaly

and EKG changes), kidney disease, and obesity.24

 

Think Simple. Think Starch.

 

The two most important dietary messages I want you to learn are:

 

1) Health and personal appearance change dramatically by simply

changing the composition of the foods consumed. When cheeseburgers,

pork chops, chicken wings, and cheese are the daily fare, then people

are fat and sick. Filling the dinner plate with whole grains,

legumes, tubers, green and yellow vegetables, and fruit results in

robust health. Don't complicate matters by focusing on secondary

issues, like heredity, exercise, stress, etc.

 

2) Starches, not green and yellow vegetables and fruits, must make up

the bulk of the meals for satisfaction and proper nutrition. Grains

are an excellent source of starch.