SECOND WTF CHALLENGE INFO SESSION IS TONIGHT AT 7PM.

With a continuously running clock do one pull-up the first minute, two pull-ups the second minute, three pull-ups the third minute… continuing as long as you are able.

Number 2 is Eliminate Gluten but this is best described by first touching on Number 3: Eliminate Grains. Read on!

No Bread?!

Bread has become a staple in the American diet, and its effects are seen everywhere. Our nation is the most obese in the world and the most obese in its history. For the first time ever our generation has been given a decreased life-expectancy over our parents. Over the last 50 years there has been a 400% increase in individuals who are gluten intolerant (celiacs). And even after all this, you ask someone to give up grains and they IMMEDIATELY roll their eyes (yet those same people criticize the lung cancer patient who “can’t” quit smoking).

So what’s the problem with grains? Let’s take a step back and look at the history of the human diet. Man has been around for about 3,000,000 years. Grains were introduced about 10,000 years ago. If we were to picture human evolution as a 24hr clock we would place our beginning at 12am and not until 11:57pm would we introduce grains. Simply put, our bodies have not evolved to be able to digest grains.

Grains cannot be eaten in their raw state because they contain toxins, or anti-nutrients. It’s nature’s way of protecting itself, no different than the peel on a banana or skin on an apple (except those foods do not contain the anti-nutrients grains do). When we cook grains some of these anti-nutrients are destroyed but not all and a diet that is high in grain can have bad cumulative effects. The main anti-nutrient that we are concerned with is phytate, or phytic acid.

Phytates have a very strong affinity for certain minerals and act to bind to them after they are ingested. These minerals include calcium, magnesium, iron, and zinc. Once these minerals have been bound to phytate they are no longer available for absorption into the body. It is because of this that a diet high in grains can cause a severe mineral deficiency.

In addition to robbing our bodies of vital minerals, grains also have a large impact on our insulin levels. Grains are mostly carbs and like all carbs, after ingestion they are broken down into their simpler glucose molecules. Glucose enters the blood-stream (blood sugar) which then triggers insulin to be released by the body to control our blood sugar levels. Every cell in our body contains insulin receptors. When insulin flushes over these receptors it signals the cells to store glucose for later use (fat), but frequently spiking insulin levels can cause our cells to become insulin resistant (type 2 diabetes). When cells become insulin resistant, it requires more and more insulin for the cell to react as it once did. In severe cases, the pancreas can become so overworked with producing insulin that it eventually ceases to work properly (type 1 diabetes).

Our goal should be to try and maintain an even flow of insulin through our bodies throughout the day. How? Eliminate grains and replace them with quality carbs (veggies) that not only provide a more efficient source of energy but also provide us with vitamins and minerals that are essential to our health. These carbs will still elicit an insulin response but because they are simple carbs they have a much smaller effect on insulin release.

Challenge rules for Number 3: Eliminate all Grains. This includes but is certainly not limited to:

Barley
Corn (corn on the cob, corn tortillas, corn chips, corn starch, corn syrup)
Millet
Oats (steel-cut oats, rolled oats, and all processed foods made with oats)Rice (brown rice, white rice, top ramen, rice noodles, bas mati rice, rice cakes
Rice flour (all processed foods made with rice)
Rye (rye bread, rye crackers, and all processed foods made with rye)
Sorghum
Wheat (bread, rolls, muffins, noodles, crackers, cookies, cake, doughnuts, pancakes, waffles, pasta, spaghetti, lasagna, wheat tortillas, pizza, pita bread, flat bread, and all processed foods made with wheat or wheat flour)
Wild rice
Amaranth
Buckwheat
Quinoa

Hidden sources of grains include artichoke heart jar liquid, salad dressings of all kinds, marinades of all kinds, sauces, soups, gum, spice mixtures, dried fruit.

RESOURCES:

Amber Waves of Pain
Paleo Diet Helps Autoimmune Disease
Against the Grain: 10 Reasons to Give Up Grains