Integrative Health Blog

How Many Times A Day Do You Eat This Food?

Posted by admin on Tue, Jan 15, 2013

Anita Capizzi RN, CHC

spaghetti anita

Anita's Healthy Tips                             

I’m reading a really interesting book these days....it’s been sitting on my shelf for quite awhile and I finally picked it up. It’s a New York Times bestseller called “Wheat Belly”, by William Davis, MD.

I have quite a few people in my life that could benefit from the author’s conclusion that wheat can aggravate a variety of conditions from migraine headaches to diabetes to arthritis. He notes that the average American consumes 133 lbs. of wheat /year which translates in to more than half a loaf of bread daily!

Now, not everyone consumes that much bread, but how about cereals, cookies, crackers, cakes, pretzels, pizza, burgers, bagels, muffins, pastries, pasta, wraps.........you get the picture.

Wheat is SAD

The SAD (Standard American Diet) would be a healthy diet capable of producing steady levels of blood sugar were it not for the heavy inclusion of wheat which is found in just about all processed foods.

Most flour based foods turn rapidly in to sugar in the body. When there is sugar present, the pancreas sends out insulin. So now there is a high level of sugar and a high level of insulin to get the sugar out of the blood and in to the cells. Insulin promotes fat, particularly belly fat or visceral fat. Belly fat produces inflammation.

The Inflammation Cycle

Inflammation causes cells to be less responsive to the insulin that’s already there (insulin resistance ) . The pancreas thinks it has to make more insulin to get the job done. So NOW, there is even more insulin floating around that promotes more belly fat and the cycle starts again. And to make matters worse, this whole cascade of events makes you hungry all the time!

Eliminating wheat from the diet can break the cycle!! Eliminating other foods that send  blood sugar soaring can break the cycle!!

Check your own belly fat with a tape measure placed at your belly button. Do not rely on pant size for this!

If you are a male, is your waist > 40 inches?

If you are female, is your waist > 35 inches?

If so, then please consider that the sooner you lose those inches the faster optimal health will be yours!

I have seen blood sugar levels drop accompanied by weight loss with the elimination of wheat in my 3 month program, Deconstructing Diabetes.

I believe that the less we rely on flour -based foods the healthier we can become.

 

Anita Capizzi, RN, CHC, is a Certified Health Coach at National Integrated Health Associates and graduate of the Institute for Integrative Nutrition. Her philosphy is to meet people where they are and upgrade their level of holistic nutrition and wellness, one step at a time. She is a nutrition and lifestyle coach and has a 3 month program for those with Type II diabetes or for diabetes prevention, called Deconstructing Diabetes.

Topics: belly fat, inflammation, insulin resistance, weight loss, integrative health