Humans eat grains till the cow’s come home
Join the dots. No wonder we have record obesity and diabetes numbers. In fact, in NZ we’re world class and ranked at number three.
Under the right set of conditions, this carnage can be easily remedied. Today, I will tell you why grains are such a major issue in this equation, how you can easily turn around any weight or diabetes issues, and how this could also work on a national scale.
So, what food are grains? Common examples are wheat, corn, rice, millet, barley, oats and buckwheat. And these are ranked in pretty much the order of the problems that they cause. Now in the case of the farmers feeding grain to their stock, some of these grains above will be included in the various grain product mixes. And in many cases, the lambs, heifers or pigs will be destined for a fairly short life span before they are slaughtered.
In the case of humans of course our life spans go on for many decades. If you are a human who consumes large quantities of wheat, rice and corn, you will very likely suffer from a range of conditions including heart attack, stroke, high blood pressure, kidney failure, and require amputations. And unfortunately will be likely to die prematurely.
Let me explain
In a currency that we all understand – teaspoons of sugar. Using Harvard’s Glycaemic Load (GL) principle, we should have a daily total glucose load equivalent of between 10-13 teaspoons of sugar (tsp).
It would seem quite reasonable to have a days food to include for breakfast a bowl of cornflakes, slice of white toast bread, banana for morning tea, lunch 5 x sushi rolls, and dinner a steak, 150 grams of mashed potatoes and a small bread roll. This would amount to a staggering total of about 23 tsp of sugar. The starchy potatoes account for up to 4 tsp and is the only food that does not contain grains. And remember this does not include any beer, wine, fruit juice or any other drink other than water which would to the total number of tsp of sugar. More about this later.
To fully understand the repercussions of these carbohydrate excesses you need to know three things. The first is that you need carbohydrate for energy, and that any excess is stored as fat. The second is that if you continue do this, the mechanism for clearing the glucose out of your bloodstream fails and you will have too much glucose in your blood.
The third, is the inevitable result of years of having too much glucose in the blood, is layers of plaque become deposited in your blood vessels. This narrows the blood vessels and causes conditions like high blood-pressure, heart attack, stroke, kidney failure, type 2 diabetes and amputations.
Having the right attitude
I remember visiting Inga Tuigamala about 15 years ago to tell him about some of the work we had been doing, and I was with former All Black, Robin Brooke who had recently shed about 20 kilos. Inga told us that he found it really hard to lose weight and keep it off, and we could immediately tell that he was not ready to make a few permanent food and lifestyle changes.
It was with real sadness that I read of his death last week at age 52. Inga will never get to see his family achieve the many future milestones of life like grand children, graduations, sporting successes and so much more.
It is simply too high a price to pay, and recent history tells us that too many other Pacific Islanders will meet the same fate by following similar lifestyles.
In our experience, sometimes people have a defining moment where they say that enough is enough. A few years ago, I remember meeting with Lorenzo Pakuria as part of a programme we were running at their workplace Norske Skog in Kawerau.
At the time, he showed no interest in what was on offer. A year later I received an email from him telling me that he had lost 60 kilos and was back diving and playing squash. His defining moment had come when, one day at the beach his mokos wanted him to play beach flags. At 160 kilos, more like beached whale he thought, and this was Lorenzo’s defining moment.
After a number of really active years playing sport, diving and having great fun with his family, sadly Lorenzo passed away with cancer. He had seized his moment, made a few food and lifestyle changes and made the very best of his remaining years.
Taking all this seriously
Now let’s get back to this crucial glucose (tsp of sugar) equation. How can I convince you to take this seriously.
What about if you knew that gangrene produces a foul smelling brown pus, is excruciatingly painful and is the by product of having too much glucose in the blood over long intervals. Painful nerve pain in those same lower legs is a precursor to this and the end result of course, is amputation.
You will of course be a type 2 diabetic once your blood-sugar levels are completely out of control and be thirsty and tired all the time. And your kidneys are likely to fail and many hours a week need to be spent hooked up to a dialysis machine. Have a listen to what Fred had to say.
The first part is to learn a few simple concepts, and the second is to take personal responsibility to implement some of these, in your own way, into your own life.
OK this is how it works...
You already know the first three things and because they are the key to this whole thing, I will repeat them again now.
To fully understand the repercussions of these carbohydrate excesses you need to know three things. The first is that you need carbohydrate for energy, and that any excess is stored as fat. The second is that if you continue do this, the mechanism for clearing the glucose out of your bloodstream fails and you will have too much glucose in your blood.
The third, is the inevitable result of years of having too much glucose in the blood, is layers of plaque become deposited in your blood vessels. This narrows the blood vessels and causes conditions like high blood-pressure, heart attack, stroke, kidney failure, type 2 diabetes and amputations.
The fourth, is that protein and fat do not make glucose and so any time you food like eat meat, fish, seafood, dairy products, nuts and seeds you will not be producing glucose and those tsp of sugar.
The fifth is that it is carbohydrate and not sugar you should be mainly concentrating on as this is where the hidden tsp of sugar can be found in large quantities. Here are two examples:
- In a 6 inch sub there is one tsp of sugar, and the white wheaten flour adds another four and a half tsp. A 200 gram scone may not even have any sugar in it, and the white flour will produce a staggering 9 tsp of sugar. More than half your daily allowance in one hit!
- Many cereals like cornflakes, Coco-pops and Rice Bubbles are the same with their 75-80% carbs producing up to 5 tsp with a normal serving size.
Of course you still need to be aware of the added sugar in other food and drinks like muffins, fizzy and energy drinks. And many more.
The reason I concentrate on these three grains, wheat, corn and rice is because they are the key ingredients of daily staples like bread and cereals. And so we eat heaps of them.
What to do?
- Change to a slow digesting cereal like rolled oats or natural muesli.
- Change from white bread products to heavy grain breads, rolls and buns.
- Eat small portions of any foods which contain high levels of white flour like muffins, scones, cakes and slices.
- Eat small portions of rice.
Consider this
-
- Change the cornflakes to rolled oats
- Change the white bread for grain bread
- Choose an apple instead of a banana
- Change the 5 x sushi rolls for 2 sushi rolls & a piece of grilled chicken
- Change the mashed potato & bread roll for a small kumara, with some broccoli and beans
And guess what – your tsp of sugar drop to about 6, almost a quarter of what they were.
The
key take home message here, is that it only takes
a few key food and drink
changes to turn things around.
The results are often life-changing
Tackling this huge problem nationally
Sir John Kirwan and Mike King have done some fantastic work around helping kiwis with depression and mental health issues. One of the key cornerstones is to get talking about it. Talk to your friends and family – open up.
It is the same with all this obesity and diabetes. We are too big, and we are getting used to being too big and it is become normalised. Well its not alright, seeing friends and family die prematurely from painful, debilitating health problems.
It would be great if we can get other famous and respected icons like JK to speak up, start the conversation and look for solutions. Michael Jones and Bryan Williams are names that come to mind.
And focus on high need people like our Polynesian population. They have a big advantage with their natural muscularity which means that they burn energy more quickly than their average European counterparts. I have seen some remarkable weight loss stories occur by making just a few simple food and lifestyle changes.
Being the third most obese nation in the developed world
doesn’t really sit right... does it?
Leigh Elder
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