With all the new-fangled diets and diet fads out there these days, we asked our West Hartford Connecticut personal trainer—who is also educated in nutrition—what he thought about grains in general.
His answer may surprise you.
“Aside from those people who truly have an allergy to wheat gluten—a naturally occurring protein found in grains but—grains in general can be, and should be, in your diet,’ says our personal trainer in West Hartford Connecticut. “If you have celiac disease (an allergy to wheat gluten) or are highly sensitive to it, then you should stay away from wheat, but there are other grains you can eat, since it is mostly the wheat gluten that causes sensitivity. Other grains—specifically whole grains– can be a healthy addition to your diet.”
“Some grains do not have any gluten,” says our West Hartford Connecticut personal trainer. “Those include sorghum, quinoa, rice, buckwheat, amaranth and millet. The ones you would need to stay away from, if you are sensitive or allergic to wheat gluten, are wheat, obviously, and wheat-based products, rye, barley, spelt, bulgur, triticale, farro and kamut.”
Our personal trainer in West Hartford Connecticut goes on to say,
that many people falsely presume—because of all the hype that is around now—that gluten is bad for everyone. Even if you feel you are sensitive to gluten, all grains are not bad for you.
Eating WHOLE grains is always preferable to eating refined grains, says our personal trainer in West Hartford Connecticut.
“Whole grain” simply means that the three original parts of the grain are present: the bran, the germ and the endosperm. Once the grain is refined, the protein is reduced by about one fourth and the naturally occurring nutrients are reduced by at least two thirds.
“I would never recommend cutting out all grains,” continues our personal trainer in West Hartford Connecticut. “It is not smart to cut out a major part of an entire food group or an entire food group in general, unless there are medical reasons.”
There are many reasons to include whole grains in your daily diet.
“Firstly,” says our West Hartford Connecticut personal trainer, “whole grains are high in nutrients–including protein, antioxidants, and trace minerals (which are necessary but hard to get sometimes) –and fiber.”
All this in plant-based format.
Another reason to keep whole grains in your diet is because studies have shown they lower your risk for disease—those like heart disease, one of the biggest killers in the United States, stroke and Type 2 Diabetes. There is even evidence to that whole grains can reduce the risk of certain cancers. Whole grains are definitely the carbs (good carbs) you should be eating.
“As a trainer,” says our personal trainer in West Hartford Connecticut, “one of the things I see most often are clients who are trying to lose weight. As it turns out, eating whole grains, and other fiber-filled foods, will reduce your risk of obesity. Experts believe this is due to the fact that whole grains will keep you fuller and satisfied longer than refined grains.” With reduced risk of obesity comes reduced risk of a lot of diseases and complications associated with obesity as well.
Whole grains have also been shown to reduce the risk of premature death, and that goes for dying from any cause, not just the diseases that whole grains help to prevent.
Our West Hartford Connecticut personal trainer recommends that you try different, more exotic-sounding grains, especially if you need to stay away from wheat. Read the labels, he says. Make sure packages state “whole” or “stone-ground” in the title. Opt for brown rice, versus white rice, when you can. Go online to research new and exciting recipes for all these new, and interesting grains. You will likely also find more info about bone density with training and eating the right foods.
And, of course, if you need to avoid wheat gluten, always check the labels, since the labels have to disclose allergens.
