Looking Beyond the Ingredients

I was talking to Karen, my friend and fellow weemunch blog partner (www.weemunch.blogspot.com), the other day and we were discussing the pros and cons of rice cakes. She's a fan (or at least was), I am not. And here are my reasons...
They have undergone a method called 'extrusion' in their processing and therefore the protein and other nutrients within will have become de-natured...aka: not good for you.
This goes for anything puffed, shaped or flaked unfortunately, which is why we holistic nutritionists do not recommend having commercial cereals (meaning the boxed ones not plain grains) as part of your regular diet. Further, they are usually made with grains that are loaded with phytic acid (which as I explained in a previous blog entry "To Soak or Not to Soak?" plays havoc on your digestion over time with regular consumption).

My point to this blog is to make people think beyond the label.
If you stop after reading the label and see, for example, organic brown rice, salt - you may think "well, that's sounds pretty simple and healthy" but you also want to ask yourself "Now how was this product processed?" "Does it resemble its natural form?" "Has it required a lot of industrial heat and pressure to be in this form?" and "Can I do better?"

A healthy alternative to almost all commercial cereals (I say "almost all" because there is one that I recommend: Ezekial brand sprouted grain cereal) is to buy your grains as minimally processed as possible (ie: whole, steel cut, rolled...) and make them yourself into porridge or mueslix etc. Or if you're really keen you can sprout them and dehydrate them in order to store them and have them 'dry' (such as with Ezekial's cereals).

You may ask, is this really worth my effort? And I say YES it is!

It may seem like a big change but improving your grain quality intake is a huge step toward better health. I have had several clients now who have seen significant improvements just by improving their grain quality in their diet(in some cases cutting out gluten-containing grains and just focusing on preparing their non-glutenous grains to reduce phytic acid content, in others by just pre-soaking their porridge overnight)

Gastro-intestinal distress (stomach/small intestine/colon) is amongst the highest reason for hospital visits and prescription drug use in our country. Almost everyone has some distress to varying degrees and the vast majority can be prevented. Do you experience occasional constipation or loose bowels? Do you ever feel bloated or gassy? Are you ever full for a long time after eating? Do you ever feel an urgency to have a bowel movement? Do you ever experience heartburn or indigestion? Perhaps discomfort in your stomach or abdominal area? These are just some of the most common symptoms.
Some people feel symptoms more than others but this doesn't mean that if you have no obvious symptoms that there aren't any or that you may not at some point.
I'm not trying to instill fear here, really, just awareness and hopefully prevention of future maladies as digestive stress is a very real and very potentially serious issue today. A bit of prevention can go a very long way.

Stay tuned for more next week :) And please email me if you wish to be added to my mailing list.

Until then, be well-nourished!
Lisa Marie