Grain Brain - are we eating too much sugar and carbs?
- Thread starter SueENG
- Start date
Yes we do....by far....over the years I have been on a diet to cut out all sugar including grains...ie 'paleo diet' in order to focus on restimulating mitrochondrian function etc it is very difficult to buy any appropriate food anywhere ....other than preparing it for yourself.... We are heading for a meltdown....
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2014/02/19/cancer-preventable-disease.aspx
In my opinion there is a dangerous spate of books and websites which don't really stand up to much scientific scrutiny advising low-carb, paleo, etc. They are simply not held up by the majority of evidence, and rely on cherry-picked results. While it is true that sugar and refined carbs are bad, it doesn't follow that whole grains are bad (unless of course you specifically have a gluten or wheat intolerance or allergy), or that fat and animal protein are good. The argument put by paelo diet and the like poses a false choice between low sugar and low fat - but the scientific consensus points to the healthiest diets being low sugar AND low fat. Maximising intake of vegetables, fruit, pulses, nuts and seeds, and eating fish, lean meats and whole grains in moderation is a sensible and balanced plan. Animal fats, oils and spreads and refined carbohydrates and sugars should be avoided as far as possible.
Just my opinion based on my own reading, and my parents' successful use of plant based low-fat, no-sugar whole foods diet to overcome serious health problems. I would use quality peer-reviewed publications such as the BMJ etc. to check nutrition information.
As I've said on another thread, despite my own health-nut tendencies, I tend to think people past a certain age and/or with dementia have the right to 'unhealthy' foods as treats, as long as it doesn't worsen conditions they have such as diabetes or mood swings. And for people experiencing unwanted weight loss, of course they should eat higher calorie foods than the rest of us.
Just my opinion based on my own reading, and my parents' successful use of plant based low-fat, no-sugar whole foods diet to overcome serious health problems. I would use quality peer-reviewed publications such as the BMJ etc. to check nutrition information.
As I've said on another thread, despite my own health-nut tendencies, I tend to think people past a certain age and/or with dementia have the right to 'unhealthy' foods as treats, as long as it doesn't worsen conditions they have such as diabetes or mood swings. And for people experiencing unwanted weight loss, of course they should eat higher calorie foods than the rest of us.
I absolutely agree with your comments on age/dementia and unhealthy food. However I would just like to add a comment about many thousands of sufferers of ME, chronic fatigue and fibromyagia are resorting to such paleo and autoimmune principles because mainstream medicine has let them down so very badly as their gut is in a permanent state of dysbiosis and fermentation with underlying issues with sugar and carb addictions. The ' credible' BMJ has not moved forward in its stance to ME and it seems that nothing has changed – a lack of any credible analysis is compounded by same-old dogma which has characterised the BMJ editorials for some time. Also who does the research...so much evidence does not get through the barricades....is it funded by the big pharma?...So what are patients supposed to do? I understood the the thread was about Grain Brain sugar and carbs...so I put my opinion forward too. Thanks for reading
Sorrel 89 I do understand why people have such a lack of trust of the medical establishment, especially with the conditions you mention, which have been largely ignored by the establishment. I have lots of friends and family members with these conditions and have suffered myself from ME. Cutting out dairy helped in my case, my mum had to cut out both dairy and gluten (she does have gluten-free whole grains like buckwheat). I also agree that anyone who has a gluten or wheat intolerance (and many will have an intolerance without realising it) will obviously benefit from cutting out these grains, and we would all benefit from cutting out refined carbs. I'm just worried that some of the same people advocating these kinds of diets, like Mercola and the Weston A Price Foundation, also give dangerous, unproven advice on fat and cholesterol. The important thing is to be skeptical about all sources - both establishment and alternative - and not to throw the baby out with the bathwater. For people cutting out grains, you don't need to compensate by increasing your meat, egg and dairy consumption - these would ideally be kept moderate. Instead, you could try to increase low-GI complex carbs which also contain protein - like beans, lentils, chickpeas, sweet potatoes, butternut squash etc.
