10 Reasons NOT to eat bread, no matter what Oprah says...

The reason to eat or not eat bread is more than just a weight loss debate... here are 10 reasons (there are more) why you shouldn't eat bread, and only 1 of them has to do with gaining weight! 

1. Increases blood sugar levels: Wheat contains amylopectin A, a type of molecule that is more efficiently converted to blood sugar than just about any other carbohydrate. After the consumption of wheat your blood sugar levels increase and in a matter of 2-hours you’re bound to be foraging through the fridge once again in an effort to satisfy your appetite. Wheat consumption puts the body through a series of highs and lows, where the body becomes stuck in a vicious cycle of constant hunger.
2. Bread is addicting: Researchers from the National Institute of Health discovered that the gluten found in bread tickles the brains opiate receptors eliciting a sense of euphoria when consumed. Meaning quite simply, the more we eat it, the more we want it.
3. Difficult to digest: Bread almost always contains gluten, a protein composite found in foods processed from wheat and other grains. Gluten is very difficult for the human body to digest and it requires a very strong acid in the stomach to process it. It can sometimes take as long as 4-weeks to digest a meal containing mostly wheat.
4. Nutritionally deficient: During the refining process, bread is stripped of its healthy elements including bran and germ. This means most of the vitamins and minerals are lost leaving you with nothing but a mucus forming, addictive slice of bread to butter your toast in the morning.
5. Bread Contains Other Harmful Substances: Most commercial types of bread contains sugars or high fructose corn syrup. Sugar causes many adverse effects and eating processed foods that contain it is likely to have detrimental effects on health.
6. Bread contains phytic acid: Phytic acid is a molecule that strongly binds essential minerals like calcium, iron and zinc, preventing them from being absorbed. Soaking grains before baking can degrade the phytic acid, which should improve the availability of minerals.
7. Mucus forming: Bread is part of the refined grain family joining other grains like barley, oats and rye all of which produce mucus in the body. Mucus is the body’s natural defense mechanism to protect our cells, tissues and organs from the harmful acid found within bread. While mucus forms as a means of protection it is not side-effect free. A build up of mucus often means the lungs and nasal passages become congested and digestion is hindered.
8. Breads (even gluten free) can cause weight gain – All breads that contain a grain are high glycemic, which means that it breaks down to sugar in the body and need to be burned off before you can use fat for fuel. The starches in bread get broken down quickly in the digestive tract and enter the bloodstream as glucose. This causes a rapid spike in blood sugar and insulin levels. Learn more about this is Six Week Slim Down.
9. Whole grain breads are not any healthier: Even whole grain bread usually isn’t made out of actual “whole” grains. They are grains that have been pulverized into very fine flour. Even though this process reserves the nutrients, it causes these products to be digested rapidly.
10. Bread can speed aging! Elevated blood sugars can also cause glycation at the cellular level when the blood sugars react with proteins in the body. This is one of the components of ageing.

To lurn more about eating healthy, visit www.mywelllnessexperience.org and take the online program Six Week Slim Down!
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