Whole grains have been a central element of the human diet since early civilization. Once harvested, these grains have a very long shelf-life, providing energy during harsh seasons when fresh fruits and vegetables were scarce. Many hunter-gatherers settled down into farming communities as they began to cultivate grain crops and domesticate animals. Each region had their staple grains, including corn (the Americas), rice (Asia), sorghum (Africa), wheat (Middle East and Europe), and buckwheat (Russia). Because of varying lifestyle and dietary factors, very few people were overweight.

Whole grains are an excellent source of nutrition, as they contain essential enzymes, iron, dietary fiber, vitamin E and B-complex vitamins. Because the body absorbs grains slowly, they provide sustained and high-quality energy.1

The quickest way to create great grains is to experiment and find what works for you. Remember one cup of dry grain yields enough for 2 to 4 people. Here are basic directions:

1. Measure the grain, check for bugs or unwanted material, and rinse in cold water using a fine mesh strainer.

2. Optional: soak grains for one to eight hours to soften and increase digestibility. Drain grains and discard the soaking water.

3. Add grains to recommended amount of water and bring to a boil.

4. A pinch of sea salt may be added to grains to help the cooking process, with the exception of kamut, amaranth and spelt (salt interferes with their cooking time).

5. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for the suggested amount of time, without stirring during the cooking process.

6. Chew well and enjoy every bite!

All liquid measures and times are approximate. Cooking length depends on how strong the heat is. It’s a good idea, especially for beginners, to lift the lid and check the water level halfway through cooking and toward the end,

making sure there is still enough water to not scorch the grains, but don’t stir. Taste the grains to see if they are fully cooked or starting to burn.

Cooked grains keep very well. Busy people can prepare larger quantities of grains and simply reheat with a little oil or water later in the week. Also, keep in mind that roasting grains makes them more alkaline.2 Cooking larger grains like brown rice, barley and berries in a pressure cooker speeds up cooking time and creates softer grains.

*The texture of grains can be changed by boiling the water before adding the grains. This will keep the grains separated and prevent a mushy consistency. Do not add kasha to cold water, as it will not cook properly. For a softer, more porridge-like consistency, boil the grain and liquid together.

**Technically not a grain, but a small pasta product made from wheat and does not require soaking.

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With the standard American diet (S.A.D.) being so nutrient poor, it’s no wonder so many of us are deficient in one thing or another. The soil we grow our crops in is over farmed and filled with chemicals, and the produce is picked way too early and ripened with ethylene gas. The animals we get our milk, eggs, and meat from are fed a terrible diet and filled with hormones and antibiotics that enter the food we eat.

One of the most common supplements any practitioner will start their patients on is a multivitamin and mineral supplement. It’s very difficult to accurately test for all vitamin and mineral deficiencies, because the levels in the blood and urine may not reflect the levels that make it to the tissues.

So let’s just assume that a “multi” is a good fit for the majority of us, especially those with a health problem. One thing we have to consider is the quality of the supplement. The cheap drugstore brand may save you a few bucks, but the abortion rate of these may be way down compared to the good ones. We want to avoid any supplements with fillers, binders, or additives. Plus, the muftis our bodies really like are food based, meaning the vitamins and minerals in the supplement are source from whole foods. For example, synthetic vitamin C has been shown to cause kidney stones. Why would we want to do that to our bodies? Let’s find a multi that has a high absorption rate and consider that probiotics can increase absorption by 50% or more, and provide our main source of vitamin k, biotin, and the b vitamins. Liquids are more easily absorbed than powders or pills, but all of them are better than nothing. We also want added fulvic acid if possible, which helps with chelation (removing toxic metals from the body). Fulvic acid can be provided by the soil bacteria in your probiotic, so it’s not imperative that we get it from our multi.

We also want to make sure we get as much of our vitamins and minerals from our food as possible. Eat your veggies as organic, fresh, and whole as possible. Eat your animal products (including dairy and eggs) from grass fed, free range, organic, happy, healthy animals. Include fresh pressed juices in your diet and you’ve hit the mother load! Fresh juice is concentrated vitamins and minerals in a tasty drink.

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What do you know about carbs? Carbohydrate intake is one of the most controversial topics in today’s dietary discussions. Some dietary theories recommend eliminating nearly all carbs, while others recommend eating little else. Where do you fit in on this spectrum? Where can we find a bit of clarity in the confusion that has become “carb warfare”? Well I’m here to help for starters.

I’ll say this time and time again because I really want people to take it to heart, one person’s is another person’s poison. What works for your best friend may not work for you, or may give you the opposite result you were expecting. The same applies to carbohydrate intake so I’m going to walk you through how to decide what your carbohydrate intake should look like.

First, think of all carbohydrates as sugar because that’s what they are. No matter what form they come to you in, they are sugars, plain and simple. Even complex carbs are built up of monosaccharaides or single sugars and these building blocks are fructose found in fruit, glucose found in other plant foods, or galactose found in milk. These are going to be the easiest sugars for your body to absorb as they require very little digestion. The nice thing about these sugars is that in nature they are found locked up in other foods that slow the delivery to your system. In fruit and veggies they are bound in fiber and that helps to give you a slow and steady release of energy as your body digests the whole food. In milk your body also has to digest the fats and proteins in order to get to the sugar, once again giving you an extended release formula courtesy of Mother Nature.

When you start to bind these single sugars together you get disaccharides (double sugars) and polysaccharides (more than 2 sugars bound together) and that’s what you see in things like grains and potatoes. In nature a potato is a big ball of starchy energy that takes a lot of work to break down into its single sugars so they can be absorbed. Grains work in the same way, until you grind them up into flour and strip away the husk and the bran. Then you are left with an easy to digest starch mixture without the beneficial fiber and vitamins that you would get from the whole grain.

Now, that we’ve made it through the boring stuff, we can get to the point! I’d say that processed carbs that are made out flour should be avoided in most cases. They contain very little nutritional value and put a heavy glycemic load on your body. The glycemic load is the total amount of carbohydrates a food contains, and processed foods like chips, cookies, cakes, crackers, pretzels, breads, muffins, pastries, and anything else made with flour have a large glycemic load because they are just big starchy, messy, carb attacks on the body. It takes a lot of insulin, the hormone that controls blood sugar levels, to break down these foods and it can wear on your pancreas, where insulin is manufactured. These foods can also have a high glycemic index, meaning that they create blood sugar spikes that your body has to respond to with super doses of insulin, again causing unnecessary strain on the body.

I do recommend whole grains and certain potatoes to my clients, and I’ve never told anyone to avoid fruits and veggies! The important part is that you understand what is best for your body. Some people do well with high carb diets while others can live almost entirely off of fats and proteins. I’m goin to help you decide what kind of carb intake you should be looking for in my next post. I have a few tips and tricks on how to experiment and find what works best for your individual body, so check in next week for more on carbs!

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