The Great Grain Debate: Why are grains "bad"?

Why are grains so “bad”?…

Grains are one of those controversial topics this day in age—seemingly as divisive as other topics, like dairy, vegetarianism, politics, religion and which girl the Bachelor should choose come the final rose ceremony.

Grains:

Healthy or unhealthy?

Good or bad?

Since the inception of the food guide pyramid in 1992, the USDA has asserted grains are part of a “heart healthy” necessity of any balanced diet—prescribing 6-11 servings of grains per day—at least half of those being “whole grains” (more servings than any other food group in the pyramid!):

• Whole wheat bread
• Sprouted grains
• Brown rice
• Quinoa
• Multigrain wraps
• Wheatberry Bagels
• Barley
• Quinoa
• Oats
• Cereal
• Whole grain pasta
• Tortillas
• Couscous
• Bulgur

As long as its wheat, brown or sprouted, many believe ‘whole grains’ must be good for us, right?

Advocates claim whole grains:

• May reduce the risk of heart disease.
• May reduce constipation.
• May help with weight management.
• Are important sources of many nutrients, including dietary fiber, several B vitamins (thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, and folate), and minerals (iron, magnesium, and selenium).
• Dietary fiber from whole grains or other foods, may help reduce blood cholesterol levels and may lower risk of heart disease, obesity, and type 2 diabetes.

On the flip side, fast forward to 2016, a time now where words and phrases, like “gluten-free”, “paleo”, and “grain free” are becoming more and more mainstream.

“Grains are bad,” is a newer school of thought—completely negating the ‘health’ advice we’ve been told for the past two decades in particular.

BUT WHY?

Why these claims now that our former heart healthy whole grains are “not good” for us?

Unfortunately, even many proponents of a grain-free lifestyle don’t even have a clue why they assert grains are “bad”, except that it’s what they’ve been told; it’s a health trend they SHOULD believe.

No matter what camp you fall into, get the facts on the trending stance against the 6-11 grain servings/day prescription–why there’s so much hype around going “grain-free.”

The Problem with Grains

1. Difficult to digest. First things first, before moving any further, it’s vital to understand: what is a grain? Grains are the hard, edible seeds of grass-like plants, such as rice, corn, wheat, barley and oats. They are comprised of a hard outer layer (bran), an endosperm (supports growth of the seed by providing a starchy food source to the plant), and the Germ (core of the seed)]. These structures in and of itself help protect grains–Besides phytates (explained below), grains contain other antinutrients such as enzyme inhibitors that can inhibit digestion and place stress on the pancreas; tannins, that irritate our digestive tract; complex sugars that the body cannot break down; and gluten and related proteins which humans have difficulty digesting. Anti-nutrients are present because they prevent germination until conditions are right for growth and survival.Given that a grain is comprised of all these complex structures, when our bodies consume these grains—they have a hard time breaking them down. It’s like trying to eat a whole potato—without roasting it; or a dinner-plate full of just raw broccoli for supper (i.e. your body would have hard time breaking it down.

2. Irritate the gut. Piggybacking off point 1, grains are often called “gut irritants”—up there with sugar, alcohol, dairy and medications. They are called gut irritants because, not only are they more complex and difficult to break down, but they also contain these two substances—posing threat to an otherwise healthy gut.

• Lectins-Also known as “anti-nutrients”, lectins are sticky, glue-like proteins, found in foods like grains, that bind to carbohydrates. Once a grain is ingested, the lectins from the rice (or pasta or bread) you just ate, look for other carbohydrates to bind to inside your gut. Many times, the carbohydrates they “find” are embedded in the cell membranes of your intestinal cells, resulting in attachment to intestinal cells. This attachment leads to cell death, the wearing down of the small intestine lining wall, increased inflammation and gut permeability.
• Pesticides-In agriculture world, grains are heavily sprayed with herbicides and pesticides—like Roundup (check out the facts here) Humans were not made to consume herbicides and pesticides and thus, the gut is irritated.Over time, if grains are a regular part of consumption, this irritation can lead to leaky gut—increased intestinal permeability wherein, instead of being digested completely, any food and food particles can “leak” into your bloodstream, outside the digestive tract.

3. Ain’t what they used to be. Funky processing. “Back in the day”—did your grandmother ever used to say that? They don’t make grains like they used to. Compare a stone ground or sprouted grain from Biblical times to now, for instance—or even your grandmother’s turkey and cheese sandwich to today’s turkey and cheese sandwich, and there is no denying that the quality and chemical makeup of the bread is quite different. Grains, after all, are a “10,000 year food tradition”. But in the last few generations, something’s gone wrong.  What’s changed? In fact, almost everything (The way we grow it, the way we process it and the way we eat. The very wheat itself).In the 1870’s, the modern roller mill was invented, replacing the ‘old way’ of grounding grains in whole form, with stones, to the first method of food processing– separating the parts of the whole grain and using the starchy endosperm to create an inexpensive and very finely ground white flour.In addition, the world’s wheat crop was transformed in the 1950s and 60s in a movement called the “Green Revolution” that “involved the development of high-yielding varieties of cereal grains, expansion of irrigation infrastructure, modernization of management techniques, distribution of hybridized seeds, synthetic fertilizers, and pesticides to farmers. [source]

4. Poor preparation. For those of you who do eat grains, how do you prepare them? Eat them straight out of the box or bag? Chances are you open your packet of Instant Oatmeal or measure out a cup of rice with no second thought. Most people skip the step of at least doing what they CAN to make grains more whole in form, and remove the gut irritants (lectins, phytic acid). The step? Soaking your grains. By soaking your rice; your oats; and even your beans, you save yourself (gut included) irritation in the long run.Check out the directions for doing so from Nourishing Traditions.Soaked Rice

   Ingredients

1 cup of organic rice (I prefer Jasmine); or Steel-Cut oats

1-2 tsp raw apple cider vinegar (or lemon juice)

2 cups warm filtered water

1/8 teaspoon of Celtic sea salt

         Directions

• Add above ingredients to a medium ceramic (or glass) mixing bowl and thoroughly combine.
• Cover the bowl and place it in a warm area of your kitchen overnight (8-12 hours).
• After soaking time is completed, drain mixture using a fine-mesh strainer and gently rinse.
• Place drained rice in medium saucepan and add approximately 1 3/4 cups water (or *bone broth). Bring to a boil. Then, immediately cover and reduce heat until you achieve a gentle simmer.
• Cook approximately 25-40 minutes until rice has absorbed the liquid and reached the consistency you desire.

5. Low nutrition profile. Despite the claims that grains contain ‘lots of heart healthy nutrients’—there is no comparing a piece of colorless pasta, airy-bread, or bland rice to a nutrient dense and rich piece of broccoli, rainbow chard, bright yellow squash and carrots, etc. (i.e. there are way more vitamins and minerals in these real foods, as opposed to the processed grains from the fields). Even though whole grains are higher in many nutrients (than refined grains), the fiber, B vitamins, magnesium, iron, phosphorus, manganese and selenium they contain still can’t compare to a diet rich in veggies, meats and healthy essential fats.
6. Energy Rollercoaster. Grains, like all carbohydrates in particular, have the power to drive insulin levels up (spike in blood sugar when we ingest them), followed often by a ‘dip’ or ‘crash’ in energy levels—leaving you riding the waves of “ups” and “downs” throughout your day.

7. Brain fog. If you haven’t read “Grain Brain” yet—put it in your Amazon shopping cart, Kindle store, or Audio-book collection. Grains (and many starchy carbs in general), do funky things to our bodies—brains included. Poor mental acuity, sluggishness, sleepiness, difficulty concentrating, ADD/ADHD, and autism are just some of the mental effects ‘brain fog’ can take over.

8. Rob the body. Grains contain Phytic Acid, a substance that reduces absorption of calcium, magnesium, iron, copper and zinc. This Phytic Acid is found in the bran of all grains as well as the outer coating of seeds and nuts, ultimately compromising all the other great nutrition we get from other food sources.

The bottom line: Grains contain no nutrient that you can’t get from other sources—like vegetables. This coupled with the side effects and toll grains can take on our bodies to digest and process, and you’ve got the reasons WHY the “grain-free” advocates opt for cauliflower rice, no-oatmeal, spaghetti squash and almond-flour or coconut-flour based breads.

HOWEVER (disclaimer)…Playing devil’s advocate here…within a balanced diet there can certainly be a time and place for grains [properly prepared and less gut-irritating] in the diet—ESPECIALLY for active individuals, using the glucose energy as muscle fuel, as well as those sometimes with hormonal imbalances (i.e. I see this often with restrictive eaters who have avoided carbs, gone ‘strict paleo’ to the detriment of meeting their energy needs or chronically under eat).

Rice and steel-cut (gluten free) oats, in particular are sources some individuals thrive upon; and even gluten-free breads and corn tortillas can have a place.

How do you know if grains are impacting you or your health?

An elimination diet, followed by a re-introduction experiment—cutting out all grains (breads, rice, pasta corn, wheat, oats, etc.) for 30 days, at least, then gradually re-incorporating one food at a time—focusing on that one food alone for at least 3 days before adding something else back in.

You CAN have your cake and eat it too.

It all comes down to listening to YOUR body.