Because we're constantly bombarded with advertisements and nutritional information promoting a diet rich in grains -- especially (though not limited to) whole grains, it's difficult to imagine a life without them. It is even more difficult to allow ourselves to consider the idea that a life totally or mostly grain-free could even be healthy at all. After all, there are grains in most everything (especially when it comes to processed foods) and just as many health professionals encouraging us to get adequate servings of them each day. Even our government is a proponent of a diet full of grains, and their food pyramid is evidence enough.
However, upon looking further into grain consumption, we inevitably run into a few problems. And indeed, many health writers and authors have also begun to thoroughly examine how and why we eat grains, and have compiled their research and findings into some most interesting books.
Going Against the Grain: How Reducing and Avoiding Grains Can Revitalize Your Health, by Melissa Diane Smith, is a book totally devoted to the health complications and serious illnesses that occur from grain consumption, as well as the vibrant health that can also take place once they are eliminated. And we're not just talking gluten here. Gluten is by far the most demonized grain protein (and for good reason), but Smith takes aim at all grains and delineates why they just don't contribute to good health. Among these reasons, antinutrients.
Antinutrients are, actually, just what they sound like: entities in grains that block the absorption of other essential vitamins and minerals found in the foods you're consuming alongside the grain (that is, of course, unless the grain has been soaked or fermented). In addition, grains spike blood sugar and contribute to fatigue and weight gain because they are high on the glycemic index.
Going Against The Grain also details the science behind gluten and why so many people have such adverse (and varied) reactions and allergies to it. Everything from skin rashes, to Autism, Celiac Disease, autoimmune illnesses, diabetes, and memory loss and concentration problems -- grain intolerance can play a role in all of them.
Also included in the book are grain-free recipes to get you started on the fast track to better health.
Comments
Liz, thank you for your review of this book. It is so important to take initiative and open the eyes that most of us are on a not-so-healthy diet, and that this habit can result in serious complications in the long-term. I liked especially how you pointed out the antinutrients contained in grains, and what it says on the cover seems to be very true: "Everyone, including doctors, should read this book"!
Thanks, Hajo! Grains are all around us, and the staple of most people's diet, so it's important to understand the drawbacks.
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