Why are grains (and soy) bad?

[peterbassi]

Brent posted this on the blog:

We talk a lot around here about not eating grains and that grains (and soy) are bad. But why?

- Grains are not edible without processing. Therefore, we did not evolve with them as a food source and hence are not equipped to digest them.

- They contain lots of starch which ultimately turns into glucose.

- One slice of bread equals about 3 teaspoons of sugar

- Refined grains are void of minerals and vitamins

- Refined grains leach vitamins and minerals from your body in order to digest them

- Grains contain a lot of allergens which are problematic for your immune system and lead to development of more allergies.

- Unrefined grains contain a high level of anti-nutrients which bind to any remaining vitamins and minerals rendering them useless or impossible to absorb.

Grains also require a two step process for digestion. First, the starches of the grains must be broken down into two glucose molecules. The second step is the intestines need to produce enough enzymes to digest the two glucose molecules to elemental glucose molecules. This is a lot of work and our body is not equipped to handle this. This leads to leaky gut syndrome which leads to inflammation and pretty much every modern disease.

So grains are a double edged sword. They increase insulin resistance as well as wreak havoc on your digestive system.

Soy has all of these same side affects as well as an additional hormonal load. Eating soy leads to higher levels of estrogen which is no good for anyone. There is a lot of data out there on this. Feel free to research further.

There is a ton of information out there on the Internet. This does not begin scratch the surface. Below are two links as a good start on further reading:

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/definitive-guide-grains/

http://beyondveg.com/cordain-l/grains-l ... s-1a.shtml