Let’s Talk About Bread
WARNING: YOU MAY NEVER EAT BREAD AGAIN AFTER READING THIS!
First, if you’re new to my nutrition and diet posts, know that I’m not here to offer you advice, or to persuade you to make any changes whatsoever. For that, you should see a doctor or other qualified professional. Nothing I write is my own original thought- I’m passing along information from experts, including doctors, nutritionists, dieticians and others.
It’s important to recognize that we have been thoroughly brainwashed into the “whole grain” and “dietary fiber” from bread myths. Most of the “health benefits” of bread come from SURVEYS, not studies, and all of the most often cited “studies” are INDUSTRY SPONSORED. There’s a new term called, “Health Washing”- brainwashing related to health. Google it. You’ll find some interesting reading.
So, let’s get into it. Ready? Read:
Bread is SUGAR. All carbohydrates are broken down by the body into sugars which increases blood sugar. High blood sugar is extremely toxic and dangerous to the body, so that is why the body reacts by producing insulin which is the hormone produced by the pancreas which lowers blood sugar. Lower blood sugar resulting from insulin stimulates appetite.
The body can run on fat or glucose. If it’s running on glucose, it CAN NOT RELEASE FAT, and will rather be in fat storage mode.
Your body would rather run on fat- ketones- but it can’t if you are consuming carbohydrates. Why?
1. First, it is impossible to lose weight in the presence of insulin. The introduction of ANY carbohydrate OR PROTEIN (a lot of people think Keto is a “high protein” diet- it isn’t. It’s high fat. I can get into why that’s healthy at another time. As long as there is a steady supply of glucose, your body will use it first, and the hormone insulin will tell the body to store any excess, and hang on to the fat already stored.
2. Second, simply lowering calories will cause your body to adjust and run on fewer calories. The technical term for this is a SLOWER METABOLISM.
This is why so many people are on a diet roller-coaster where they attempt to eat fewer calories and exercise — You may have heard, “eat less, move more” is the way to lose weight. This is why people on the “Eat Less, Move More” diet fail and often end up steadily gaining weight over the years.
What’s worse is the psychological warfare against people that are overweight due to this HORRIBLE ADVICE: they eat less, metabolism slows. They are still eating carbohydrates- especially “healthy whole grains” which stimulate insulin which tells their body to store and hang onto fat while stimulating appetite, and they are exercising which also stimulates appetite while having almost ZERO IMPACT ON WEIGHT LOSS.
They are told they are cheating. They are told there’s no way you can eat 1,000 calories, burn 1,000 calories and not lose weight because that’s a net-zero calorie — but this isn’t the way it works.
It’s NOT how many calories you consume, it’s what your body does with those calories.
There ARE exceptions- you can get your body to a state where it has burned off all the glucose, gone into starvation mode and begun to release and utilize fat, but most people aren’t going to do that level of workout — which is almost ALL cardio like distance running, swimming, or biking.
Why do people love bread so much? People primarily love bread because it is HIGHLY ADDICTIVE. First and foremost, GLUTEN. Gluten is a term used to describe various proteins found in grains, especially wheat which is used to make bread. One of the proteins is GLIADIN DERIVED OPIOID PEPTIDE which mimics morphine.
As you may be aware, we have a major problem with opioid addiction in this country. The main effect of opioids on the body is that they increase endorphins which create a feeling of well-being and can decrease sensitization to pain.
Exorphins are endorphins that can be triggered by food. When we consume certain things, they create an endorphin effect. And THIS is why you LOVE BREAD and can’t imagine giving it up. Bread is literally getting you high.
One of the things the endorphin effect can do is stimulate appetite- this is why restaurants serve bread. Whether they know WHY or not, I cannot say- but they do know that when bread is served prior to a meal, people are more likely to order more food.
The problem is that this endorphin effect from gluten also comes with some problems. You may be aware of the increase in Celiac disease, and gluten intolerance. These are things many people my age (50’s) never heard of until 10 or 15 years ago when the country began its whole grain binge.
Celiacs is symptomatic- which comes with diarrhea, bloating, and abdominal pain and there is also Non-Celiac Gluten Sensitivity or asymptomatic Celiac- causes mental problems like insomnia, fatigue, and brain fog, ADD depression, anxiety, and even autism, and schizophrenia. There is also inflammation and atrophy, permeability (leaky gut)- holes in your gut caused by omega 6 fatty acids which leads to proteins getting through which causes an immune reaction which can manifest as allergies, and autoimmune problems like Hashimoto’s (having to do with the thyroid), arthritis, eczema. Eventually, there are problems with malabsorption which leads to vitamin and mineral deficiencies.
One reason people that switch to a ketogenic diet feel so much better- more energetic, highly focused, with less inflammation- is not so much the elimination of all carbohydrates and the redution of sugar- but specifically, the elimination of bread.
REMEMBER: There are essential fats. There are essential proteins. But there are NO ESSENTIAL CARBOHYDRATES.
What about FIBER? You DO NEED FIBER, but your fiber should come mainly from cruciferous vegetables- cucumbers, celery, arugula, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, cabbage, kale, and squashes — THERE IS ZERO NEED TO GET FIBER FROM GRAINS. ZIP, ZERO, NADA.
FINAL THOUGHTS: If you aren’t aware that there was never any scientific basis for the “lipid hypothesis”- the fraud foisted upon us mainly by Dr. Ancel Keys in cooperation with the US Government (shocking that they’d lie to us, I know…)- then I strongly suggest you start reading and immediately abandon your fear of fat. A high-fat diet is a healthy diet. A low fat diet is what will actually kill you.
