Re-Organize Your Diet

If however we consume food coming from farms that use chemical fertilizers (to be avoided in any case!) it is better to favour the pearled grain as most of the chemical residue is found on the external husk.

Another advantage of pearled grain is that it does not require soaking as other types of cereals do.

Gluten

The graph shows the average amount of gluten content of various cereals. Wheat contains the greatest quantity.

Gluten is the wheat protein. The name comes from gluten which means 'glue' and it is the gluey part of the grain, the part that with a bit of water holds the flour together during the preparation of bread and pizza.

Some cereals without gluten might state on the package “May contain gluten” due to the fact that it is produced industrially in a factory where other types of cereal are also produced and runs the risk of coming into contact with other grains or flours that do contain gluten, for example a production line that works on other cereals.

For those who are intolerant even to the tiniest contact, this can bring about nasty side effects such as cramps and intestinal pains.

Then there are those who are not so sensitive to the ingestion of this protein in tiny amounts, but if taken in regularly they can be left feeling tired, drowsy and bloated.

Even those who do not have an intolerance should however reduce consumption, because consumption every day year in year out increases the risk of becoming intolerant.

If we have to avoid gluten, we should not only be aware of food containing this protein, such as crackers, bread sticks and rusk, but also anything with a breaded covering such as cutlets of meat or fish, fried food and even many vegetarian foods that are usually prepared with soya or wheat.

Not to forget beer, which contains malt in other words barley and certain liquors. We need to be careful with puddings, biscuits, certain types of ice cream and yoghurt and try to find gluten-free alternatives or prepare delicious dishes.

It could be trying to start with, but there are always more and more gluten-free products coming onto the market, clearly marked as such on the packaging, so you don't have to waste time at the supermarket, and once you have got the correct product in your hand things are a lot more simple.

Even if we are not gluten intolerant it is best to limit its consumption but not cut it out altogether.

Honey and Fruit

Fruit can also be considered a carbohydrate as it contains fructose, which is a sugar that is naturally present in it. Fructose consumption does not cause glycemic peaks, because like all natural things it is balanced. However it is best not to exaggerate its consumption and, if we had to choose between the two we would include it with the complex carbohydrates.

On the other hand honey is assimilated rapidly, it has excellent properties but high quantities of fructose, so it is best not to have too much of it. It is, however, certainly better to use than sugar.

Simple Carbohydrates

Simple carbohydrates rapidly release sugar into the blood causing sudden fluctuations of glycemia.

This results in dangerous peaks and the consequent collapses of energy, causing weakness, hunger, a longing for sugar and coffee, which in the long run causes weight gain and for whom is predisposed, diabetes.

Sugar is quintessentially a simple carbohydrate; it is easily and quickly digested, creating the above mentioned fluctuations.

Bread and pasta, which we regularly consume, are also derived from white flour.

We include in the same category biscuits, sweets and sugary drinks, that should not be consumed too often.

In addition, having lost all the valuable nutrients in the refining process, pasta is less filling and we then tend to eat a lot more of white pasta than wholemeal pasta, consequently gaining weight.

For this reason diets that avoid carbohydrates and prefer proteins are fashionable at the moment, but this is a big mistake because as we will see in the chapter on proteins, an excess of simple carbohydrates causes weight gain and in the long run problems with the liver and kidney.

As with all things one has to make compromises.

Be careful also with caffeine and tobacco; they also cause glycemic fluctuations.

To sum up; the refining process that foods are subjected to causes a loss in their nutritional value.

Challenge °2

As we have learnt, most of the food we consume is a result of a lengthy process of refinery which makes it more tasty but decreases the nutritional value, so we risk not only in failing to maintain our ideal weight, but also, even worse, developing problems with our health.

The first challenge consists of substituting, every so often, the foods which we are used to eating with wholemeal foods such as bread and pasta.

At first we might not like them, as we are accustomed to a more delicate flavour, but it is just a question of developing new habits.

So consider opting for whole wheat bread and pasta, or variants like kamut pasta or spelt, or something new we want to try. We can also try to substitute every now and again rice salad with grains of spelt, millet, oats or amaranth and experiment with new varieties and new flavours that are beneficial to our organism.

Chapter 3

Protein (what are they and what do they do?)

Protein structures

Vegetable protein

Animal protein

Today's farming

Meat

Milk

Eggs

Fish

Becoming a vegetarian

Challenge n°3

“The extreme aversion that some adults and many children show towards meat of any type is attributed to Fitch and an atavistic tendency, namely a primitive survival instinct from our prehistoric ancestors who did not eat meat”

John Harvey Kellog

Protein

Proteins are the structural elements of living organs, meaning that they are the materials that make up cells; they are in fact composed of protein muscle and some of our organs.

Every day the proteins that we ingest are used to reconstruct our cells, produce hormones and antibodies, but, contrary to what we are used to thinking, the nutritional basic need of man is limited when it comes to protein. Protein, in fact, should make up only 10-15% of our daily food intake because it can influence our health and how we age.

The fact is, if an excess of carbohydrate is turned into fat, the protein does not get stored; whatever there is in excess gets expelled, forcing the liver and kidneys to work hard: In the long run, this tires them out and damages them, leading to illness and problems of various types.