Eating For Health

It is amazing how many people have no idea what a whole grain is and what foods are whole grain and which are just refined grains.   To have a healthy diet, one needs whole grains in their diet, yet so many people have no idea what that means.    I was presenting at a high school class while the students ate their lunches.   All the students said they ate whole grains.   When I asked them what on their lunch tray was whole grain they pointed to the white roll, the breading on their fried chicken, the mashed potatoes.   Of course, none of these foods are whole grain.  Fortunately, I was there to help them learn what whole grains were.     I’ve asked many adults what whole grain bread is and they respond, if the bread is dark in color, any brown at all, it is whole grain.   Not true. What is whole grain?   To be whole grain, the food needs to contain 100% of all parts of the grain seed including the bran, endosperm and germ. ...

There is so much talk in the literature and at gyms, schools, meetings about people who have chosen to go gluten-free.   Not that they have celiac disease which requires a gluten- free diet but because they think it is “healthier”.   A lady friend has told me she has gone “gluten- free”.   When I asked why she was on this diet, she said, “to be healthier”.   So does going on a gluten-free diet make you “healthier” if you don’t have celiac disease?   What is gluten?      Gluten is a protein found in certain grains, wheat, barley, rye and triticale.   . How popular are gluten-free diets?   These diets have become big business.   Amazing how someone who does not have celiac disease pays extra money to go on a gluten-free diet they not only don’t need but may actually be less healthy.   If you do a title search on Amazon.com you will come up with over 7,000 books.   Some celebrities have gone gluten-free and then sell...