The Truth About Bread And Other “Healthy” Foods
The Truth About Bread And Other “Healthy” Foods
Do you ever wonder what the culprits are for your weight gain, lack of energy, low motivation and even the occasional depression?
What if I told you it’s the foods you’ve been eating all your life, your parents have been eating all their lives, and even doctors recommend us to consume?
What if I told you it’s the foods you think are good for you that are making you tired, gain weight, bloated, experience mood issues or even depressed?
Has this happened to you…
Out of nowhere, you find yourself sluggish and unmotivated… you can’t put your finger on it, but you just don’t feel like yourself.
You can’t muster up the energy or enthusiasm for anything. Waking up every morning is a drag. Making breakfast for the kids is a chore. Putting together their school lunches is torture.
The only thing that gets you out of bed is the large skinny latte you get after dropping the kids off – the most blessed, anticipated highlight of your day. The rest just passes in a blur, as if you were on autopilot.
And then the weight starts to pile on. You wake up with a headache no matter how long you slept. You get aches and pains with no apparent reason. There are days when you literally can’t get off the couch after 2pm so you just take a nap there and call it a day.
That was me, three years ago.
I thought I was doing the right thing. I was on a low-fat vegetarian diet, and worked out daily. Doctors and dieticians would be so proud of me.
I was eating whole wheat bread with peanut butter for breakfast; lentil soup with a piece of rye bread for lunch; more soup with a piece of bread and maybe some hummus and a salad for dinner. Plus my daily latte.
But I got more and more tired. The weight wouldn’t come off. In fact, I started to gain weight.
I was perplexed. Frustrated. Ready to give up.
Then I came across a nutritionist who helped me through a 10-day detox/elimination diet.
Long story short, I uncovered the root cause of my health challenges – inflammation.
When I removed grains, processed food, caffeine, dairy, sugar, nuts, corn, eggs, protein and beans for a short period, my digestive system got a much-needed break to heal from its inflamed state.
As I reintroduced the foods I used to eat after this 10-day cleanse, I was amazed and baffled to find out that what I considered to be “healthy” foods were turning my body against itself.
I found out that all grains (e.g. breads, pasta, rice – even healthy “whole grains”) and most nuts did not agree with me and were probably the cause of my inflammation.
As I experimented, I discovered that every time I had a piece of bread, even whole wheat bread, or a handful of peanuts, I’d get a headache and my shoulder would start to hurt. Weird? Yes. But incredibly true.
By removing these allergens, I managed to “reset” my body back to optimal health.
Now you may wonder – what’s inflammation? And why’s it making you gain weight, feel sluggish and even depressed?
Certain foods we eat can trigger inflammation in our body, decreasing the effectiveness of our digestion, which in turn leads to poor assimilation of nutrients and minerals.
When we eat foods that do not digest properly, it can cause gut imbalances, food allergies, and even depression. And of course, weight gain.
Inflammation is often a silent foe, causing multiple (and seeming unrelated) complaints such as brittle nails, chronic colds, hormonal imbalances, dry skin, dry hair, constipation, moodiness, brain fog, lethargy and headaches, to name a few.
When you understand what triggers inflammatory reactions in your body, and eliminate them from your diet, your weight will fall off naturally and effortlessly.
No more counting calories. No more weird low-fat foods that come out of a cardboard box (and taste like one.) No more dealing with a scale that won’t bulge.
Imagine no longer being a slave to arbitrary “food rules” and portion control. Imagine having the energy and vitality to savor every minute and live your fullest potential.
There IS a connection between what (and how) you eat, and how you live.
You really are what you eat. The foods you consume can either make you energetic, happy, optimistic and passionate or tired, bored, moody and unfocused.
Dana Dinnawi is an Integrative Nutrition health coach specializing in empowering women to improve their health and family life. She received her training from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, where she studied more than one hundred dietary theories and a variety of practical lifestyle coaching methods. She can be reached through her website and Facebook page.
