In an article I prepared in response to a reader question, Lose Weight with Raw Foods, I identified my two top choices for substances to stop eating for slimming and general good health. Those two substances are: processed or refined wheat and processed or refined sugar.
Wheat is Not the Staff of Life Anymore
Perhaps at one time, when produced in the area in which you lived and processed with a stone grinder, wheat sustained life. Now, for most individuals, it fosters illness.
Wheat is found in numerous products. It’s ubiquitous. Since I educate myself by being a label reader, I’ve been astounded to find that wheat is in so many foods. I eat essentially no wheat, by choice, so this really got my attention.
When asked, I’ve often suggested that an overweight person stop eating wheat. In every case the person followed my suggestion, the results were phenomenal. I’ve also suggested to people with a variety of other conditions that they eliminate wheat. And when they’ve done so, they’ve also experienced profound results for the specific condition as well as other conditions they had come to accept as "normal."
I suggest 100% elimination of wheat to truly test your tolerance or intolerance. Whether you’re overweight or have aches and pains and other physical complaints, likely you’ll find symptoms and discomforts will dissipate with the elimination of wheat. This is not an easy task. However, if you abstain 100%, you’re likely to experience at least minimal or moderate positive results in as little as three days.
Wheat comes processed with other substances, most of which are tasty, addictive, and debilitating. Food manufacturers typically use salt, sugar, wheat, dairy, and msg in their products, all of which are known to be addictive. Add to that the fact that the products are cooked so they arrive in an unnatural package, free from the enzymes that help you to digest the foods properly.
Refined Sugar is not Sweet for Your Body or Emotional Well Being
When talking about sugar, I like to be as clear as possible that I mean "refined sugar" or "processed sugar." I understand that the worst of all the refined sugars is high fructose corn syrup — the cheapest and most used. The names chosen by the food industry are extensive. To educate yourself, I suggest you do a Google Search for Names of Sugar.
Many of the sugar substitutes are as devastating to the person wishing to lost weight or get healthy because they make the body hungry for the very foods that add excess weight to the body. Again I recommend a trip to Google for a Search for Sugar Substitutes and Weight Gain.
Natural Substitutes for Processed Sugar
Natural sugar is found in fruits and other plant foods. If you’re both overweight and diabetic, you need to be careful of these as well. And don’t be fooled simply because a sugar is derived from a plant food; it matters how the sugar is extracted. If heat above 118 degrees is applied, it’s not longer raw and natural. U. S. labeling laws allow the indiscriminate use of the word "natural," so that it has no real meaning on the shelves.
Here are some sweeteners that are generally good for your health. Moderation and other dynamics need to be taken into consideration. Look for organic items that are raw for greatest health.
With minimal commentary, they are: stevia (which is sold as a supplement rather than a sweetener), dates, dried fruit, mesquite pod meal, carob, Xylitol, yacon syrup, honey (usually not either raw or vegan). If you have problems with sugar, not all these are appropriate.
Glycemic Index
According to the Home of the Glycemic Index, "The glycemic index (GI) is a ranking of carbohydrates on a scale from 0 to 100 according to the extent to which they raise blood sugar levels after eating. Foods with a high GI are those which are rapidly digested and absorbed and result in marked fluctuations in blood sugar levels. Low-GI foods, by virtue of their slow digestion and absorption, produce gradual rises in blood sugar and insulin levels, and have proven benefits for health."
I believe that the Glycemic Index is a somewhat helpful indicator, especially for anyone who is overweight or has some blood sugar condition. It’s probably more helpful to think of it as a GENERAL indicator or comparison than an ABSOLUTE indicator.
At the above web site, you can search the GI Database for your favorite foods or types of foods.
This site is definitely not geared to the raw foodist! I just checked out "lettuce" and it gave me seven results, none of which was lettuce alone, but in combinations of foods for typical American meals.
I did, however, have a slightly better set of results searching for "carrot." With twelve results, one was actually "Carrots, raw"!
So, use it if it’s helpful, but take it with a grain of … sugar.
Substitutes for Wheat
Unfortunately, many of the new processed foods that are promoted as "gluten-free" or "wheat-free" are rarely good for those who want to be free of gluten or wheat. While they may be lacking gluten or wheat, they’re often filled with other highly processed grains, like corn and/or rice, in forms that take you off the charts on the glycemic Index.
I just searched for "gluten-free" to find that one of the twenty-seven returns has a GI of 102. This is quite revealing, since the scale when originally calibrated was based on 1-100. Now, certain foods are beyond what was once considered to be the highest on the chart.
As far as I’m concerned, grains have no place in a raw food diet. Since they need to be cooked to be palatable, they’re not raw. You get to choose whether or not to eat wheat or other grains. Typically, the most difficult food for most raw foodists to give up is bread. For those who have severe negative reactions, it’s self-evident to abstain.
An Overarching Choice
As I mentioned in Lose Weight with Raw Foods, I advocate selecting one rule or principle to follow that makes all the daily choices easier. The focus of that article is using raw foods for their slimming effect because I was responding to a reader’s specific question.
However, the principle is the same for any set of choices, especially when you want to make a change in a habit, such as increasing the amount of raw food in your diet.
thank you! i am reminded and inspired…
It’s a pleasure to see you here, Mzzlee, so glad you are reminded and inspired!
Joyfully,
Joy
I got the link from your twit. Thanks you very much for all that you are doing.
I reached a dreadful weight in December that brought me to a point of sying to my doctor, for the first time, “I’m scared to death”. Despite the blessing of having healthy blood pressure and blood sugar and cholesterol, I knew I had to make some major changes. Exercise is key for me now, but on Jan 10 I almost completely quit any refined flour and sugar, focusing on healthy proteins, and fresh veggies, great salads, fresh fruit, nuts, and lots of water. I’m averaging 1200 calories a day, but loving all of them with no guilt at all…no refined foods, and I feel better than I have felt in a long time.I’ve lost my first 30 pounds with no sense of deprivation at all! I miss bread and buttery baked potaotes sometimes, but not often. A little nibble of an artisan bread once in a while is good. People ask me if I am having sweet cravings and the answer is almost never!…a navel orange or wonderful blueberries or melon is a great treat! The added benefit is the clear reduction of inflamation. At 56, this a great thing!!
My Chiropractor suggested a similar plan to the Healing Diet 2 years ago and I could not embrace it then. Now, I can only encourage others to listen to Dr Axe and try whole, healthy, non processed foods. Your life is at stake and you’ll feel SO much better!
Congratulations!
Thanks so much for your testimonial. So many people experience the same or similar results. It’s so true that the cravings disappear when these kinds of food leave your body.
All different kinds of “diet plans” abound. The key is to find a healthy eating program that works for you as a lifestyle. It sounds as if you have.
Joyfully,
Joy
I am just starting out on this raw food journey and reading your web site has given me some info that has helped me. I got started 4 weeks ago because my kitchen got torn out for renovation and the only other choice was to eat out every meal…and that wasn’t an option, really. But the more I’ve eaten this way, the more I like it…aside from constant hunger pains. So are you saying people shouldn’t eat raw wheat sprouts as well as cooked wheat or do you differentiate the two at all? I am an active person and I need carbs. Maybe that’s why I am always so hungry? Or maybe it’s the protien I am missing? I have started eating sprouted wheat bread in order to fill that void. I am in no way an expert so I am trying to understand why wheat is so bad? And are you saying all grains are bad or just wheat? If I shouldn’t have wheat, what grains would you suggest are better for me?
Tiffany
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Hi Tiffany,
First of all, congratulations on starting to eat more raw foods. There are many benefits to kitchen renovation!
I want to restate my own purpose for writing this blog. I want to help you and other readers to make your own choices, and to make them joyously. I don’t tell people what they “should” or “shouldn’t” do. And I’ve never said that wheat is bad. That’s not my style.
Grains have very little nutritional value, which is the reason I suggest that people avoid or minimize them. If people are having problems that are or might be caused by grains, the benefits of eliminating them from the diet will become self-evident.
Except for eating the sprouts of grains (which then are no longer grains), they are rarely palatable raw, so if someone wants to eat mainly raw foods, it’s not a wise choice.
Grains tend to make people hungry. That’s primarily because there is little nutrition in them. The more nutrition-dense the food, the less you need and the less hungry you will be. I name several other substances in this article that are also lacking in nutrition, and devitalize the body.
I suggest you re-read this article carefully. You don’t have to accept anything I say, but the one most important idea is this: test it for yourself. If you stop eating wheat and other grains for 21 days, you will know whether or not this type of food has a negative impact on you. It really doesn’t matter how it impacts anyone else or why.
Joyfully,
Joy
P.S. You asked me an “Ask Joy” question asking about these same concerns a few hours before you made this comment. I was planning to prepare a full article for you, but perhaps this will suffice.
I just reread the article and your comment. Still a little confused on the grains/sprouts. I’m not trying to be nit picky or get you to say something you don’t know for sure or want to but I am just trying to gain as much knowledge as possible so I can make an informed deciion. It is possible to eat raw wheat sprouts and the sprouting process opens up more nutrients so I’m uncertain whether or not you’re categorizing the raw wheat sprouts as sprouts (therefore desireable) or as grains (therefore undesireable). If I were to eliminate wheat 100% (as I am possibly thinking about doing to see if it helps get rid of my chronic hives I’ve been dealing with for two years) would the sprouts be considered wheat or no? If I try it and the hives stay then at least I know that that’s not my problem and go on to the next experiment.
Thanks for putting time in to help answer my questions. You can leave this part (the wheat part) out of your article if you want since we’re talking about this here but I am still concerned about the hunger question. That would be really helpful if you could do an article…if you want to include the wheat in there to, I certainly won’t stop you.
There’s just so much information to digest that it’s great to have someone knowledgeable out there to help out!
Thank you so much.
Tiff
Tiffany,
You ask about “sprouted grains,” but from your previous message, it appears that you really want to know about “sprouted grain bread.” If you are purchasing a packaged bread, the label will tell you more, but you will also need to look at what is NOT said. Typically the sprouted grains used are still more grain than sprout, and often cooked.
The most common sprout of wheat is wheat grass, though I doubt that’s what you’re referring to. Most people who have sensitivity to wheat or gluten don’t have sensitivity to wheat grass or wheat grass juice.
Because grains really have very few nutrients, they CAUSE hunger. So it appears you are feeding your hunger with the very item that will cause you to have that hunger. I call this “processed carbohydrate hunger” which can also be classified as addiction.
No one needs refined carbohydrates. We all need nutrients – nutrients the body can assimilate.
If you have or suspect you have a sensitivity to wheat and other grains, the best approach is to give them up, so you can know for yourself what your body feels like without them.
One of the reasons I’ve written this article you’ve commented on is to encourage people to do test it for themselves.
You might also find some help in the article “When You Eat, Do You Think ‘Food’ or ‘Nutrients’?”
Choosing is powerful. I hope this helps.
All the best,
Joy
There’s so much food for thought on your blog. Your post you referred me to makes me think that maybe I don’t know enough about food and what is giving me the nutrients I need and what’s not. I did well is health when they talked about what foods to eat and what to not but you’re talking amino acids, pH balance, emzymes, etc. and I am lost. This isn’t stuff they teach you about. So of all the books you like, what’s the best one to start with? I have decided I need to educate myself better because before I started reading up on all this I thought this I thought I was making faily good food choices.
Tiff
Hi Tiff,
Yes, you are meeting what most people have to come to peace with … what is generally considered “healthy” is not. And most people come into this an exploration of raw foods when they have a compromised health condition or LOL are booted out of their kitchen.
As far as a first book is concerned, look at the books in the right navigation bar and just see which one you are most drawn to. You can read reviews at Amazon.com.
If I were choosing one for you, I would probably choose either “Eating for Beauty” by David Wolfe or “Rawsome” by Brigitte Mars. The one by David is the only book I’ve ever read that I finished and then started reading again from the beginning. Brigitte’s book is the one I usually recommend to people who are just starting on a raw food eating style. She has wonderful recipes and does an excellent job of pulling everything together.
Thanks for reading my blog. There’s good information here, and so much more available. You’re right, it’s a lot to digest. Don’t overwhelm yourself … read a little each day.
Make it an enjoyable journey.
Joyfully,
Joy
HI Joy,
I haven’t touched base in a while but have been making some gradual changes. I’ve been drinking green smoothies for breakfast for a few weeks and am gradually getting to the point where I’m not so hungry through the morning. I love them and I love going out in the garden (now that it’s springtime in the northeast) and picking greens from the “weeds”. I’m travelling for a few weeks starting Tuesday so won’t try to keep up with all of this till I get back, but then I’m intrigued to try to cut out the wheat and/or sugars. It feels overwhelming to look at it all at once. But adding the green smoothies was a helpful step and I think that I may be ready to make some additional small changes. I like your suggestion of seeing it always as choices. Otherwise I start to feel deprived and immediately want what is not the best choice. Thanks for all the work you put into educating others.
Hi Becky,
Thanks so much for stopping by and commenting. Yes, one step at a time is awesome. And when you return, you might just want to start with getting back on your green smoothies. And then when you’re ready, just cut out either sugar or wheat. Just one. Both are in so many different food items that it’s a true commitment.
One choice at a time,
Joyfully,
Joy
Hi Joy, I’m back again and want to let you know how thankful I am for the seeds you’ve planted that are showing up now in the way I feel. You and I have commented back and forth for over a year, ever since I first encountered you on Twitter. Little by little I’ve made changes to my diet. First it was the flax seeds added to my morning cereal. Then it was a few goji berries. I’m still looking for cacao beans here, but will have to order them online, I think. Then I began drinking the green smoothies a couple of months ago. I’ve pretty much eliminated coffee. And many foods that I used to be unable to resist or keep to a minimum (like one cookie rather than 3 or 4), I’m now managing without feeling any deprivation. It’s quite remarkable. I’m slowly losing weight and with the yoga and tai chi I’m doing, I’m feeling increased energy and strenght. My back pain that had been plaguing me for over a year and a half and had caused me to give up rowing is finally subsiding. I won’t go back to rowing, though, except once in a great while for a gentle row on the river. I’ve ordered a sprouter and some seeds. My husband is gradually coming over to this new change. And the best part – he’s offered to get me a K-tec blender for my birthday next week! We’re both really excited to experiment with healthier and delicious recipes with it! Your posts have been so helpful. Thank you, thank you!