Don’t you just love the smell and the taste of freshly baked bread? Of course you do! But for many people the sight and smell of bread is just too much for them to handle and can be downright addicting.
So, what’s wrong with bread? I want you to consider this post a crash course in why modern wheat is a big problem for many people and then you decide if eating bread is really worth it.
Wheat has been a part of civilization for thousands of years and has contributed to the growth of many civilizations. But the "amber waves of grain" is a far cry from what it used to be. Standing 18 inches high and created to drastically increase more wheat per acre, modern wheat is a dwarf version of the shoulder high, nutritionally dense wheat your grandparents ate.
Ancient wheat like einkorn, spelt and emmer have long roots which allow the plant to extract great amounts of minerals from the soil. On the other hand modern wheat has a shorter root system which has led to a dilution of minerals like zinc, copper, iron, magnesium and selenium.
New technology in grain processing in the late 19th century made it possible to create massive amounts of refined wheat cheaply. This technology made it possible to separate the nutritious components-the bran and the germ away from the endosperm where most of the starchy carbs are contained. Bread and other carbohydrates are basically sugar molecules linked together that has been stripped of all their fiber and other nutrients, allowing it to enter your bloodstream quickly, spiking your blood sugar higher than a Snicker’s bar!
Aside from the physical reactions from eating bread, it also has an effect on your brain. Here’s what I’m talking about.
When you eat a warm slice of freshly baked bread, it pulls a lot of blood out of circulation and moves it to the digestive tract. This loss of blood dulls your mind and creates a food coma effect. And to back that statement up, the National Institute of Health Researchers found that bread stimulates the brain’s opiate receptors eliciting a sense of euphoria. And so the more you eat it, the more you want to eat it.
Another reason why bread is intoxicating is because the flavor texture and high sugar content make it difficult to stop eating once you’ve started. That’s why most people find the thought of giving up bread a daunting process and one they don’t want to experience.
I haven’t had bread in a very long time and I don’t miss it. When bread was a part of my life I felt bloated and could never get a flat stomach despite exercising 6 days a week.
So, why don’t you delete the wheat for one week and see how you feel. You may even lose a few pounds.
Did you sign up for the Biggest Loser contest? Better hurry, it starts Feb. 6.
