All this time we thought whole wheat foods were uber healthy, but new studies are proving to the contrary. It turns out those “healthy” whole grains can actually lead to weight gain.
Here are some tips to on going low carb via the new book Wheat Belly Total Health by William Davis, MD.
- Choose uncured and unprocessed meats without sodium nitrite.
Processed meats such as sausage, pepperoni, bacon, and salami often contain the color-fixing chemical solution known as nitrite. When cooked, sodium nitrite reacts with the amino acids in meat to yield nitrosamines that, in every animal experimental model, have been linked to gastrointestinal cancers and, in several human epidemiological studies, have been associated with greater cancer incidence. Look for meats that are processed naturally and do not contain sodium nitrite. - When it comes to dairy, always choose organic.
Many commercial dairies milk pregnant cows during pregnancy, so products made from this milk often contain increased levels of estrogen. To avoid this problem, as well as exposure to bovine growth hormone, choose milk, sour cream, cheese, yogurt, and butter from organic producers that practice a more limited milking period. - Choose organic vegetables and fruits.
If they’re available and your budget permits, make organic your first choose. This is especially important when the exterior of the food is consumed, as with blueberries and broccoli, for example. With bananas, avocados, and other foods where the exterior is not consumed, it’s not as important, though pesticides and herbicides can still penetrate to the interior so it can’t hurt to go all organic. If you cannot choose organic, rinse your fruits and veggies thoroughly in warm water to minimize residues of pesticides and herbicides such as perchlorates, which can block thyroid function. - Avoid soft drinks and carbonated beverages.
The acid effects of carbonation erode bone health because carbonic acid is neutralized by extracting calcium salts from bones. Instead of sipping on a soda, drink water (with lemon, lime, cucumber, kiwi, mint leaves, or orange), teas (black, green, or white), infusions (teas brewed from other leaves, herbs, flowers, and fruits), unsweetened almond milk, unsweetened coconut milk, coconut water, hemp milk, and coffee instead. - Avoid hydrogenated fats.
Hydrogenated fats, or trans fats, that fill processed foods contribute to heart disease, hypertension, and diabetes. The worst culprit is margarine because it is made with vegetable oils hydrogenated to yield a solid stick or tub form. Many processed foods, such as cookies and sandwich spreads, contain hydrogenated oils and should be avoided for their trans fat content as well as their grains and sugars. - Minimize exposure to high-temperature cooking.
When cooking in temperatures that exceed 450 degrees Fahrenheit, reactions called glycation or lipoxidation will occur between carbohydrates or proteins with the fats in foods. These contribute to hypertension, formation of cataracts, arthritis, heart disease, and cancer. These reactions develop with deep frying (but not sautéing), broiling, and any other form of cooking that involves charring the food’s surface.
