The Grain Drug

EXCELLENT commentary, and perfectly timed for me. I will now avoid ALL dairy, w/ my being both (1) an NIDDM as well as (2) having vasculitis, an inflammatory-vascular issue. Having lost 27% body weight (70 lbs) is NOT enough, although I thought (and you might) it would be. "27%" is merely mindless "QUANTITY-THINK", and David is speaking to the "qualitative" of what one is taking onboard. The, often intertwined, dual aspects of "addiction" and "inflammation" are fascinating to me in that they INDEED for me (for you?) ARE the really core issues. 

Thank you.. Wow ! That is amazing about grains.... sometimes I feel we crave carbs because it can calm us also.  I want to mention that I just tried an Organic Non dairy

frozen dessert called "Purely Decadent" from Turtle Mountain.  I tried it tonight because it is sweetend with agave syrup.  I am not on meds, and so far I have had a great response -- as far as its glycemic index.   This is made with coconut milk, and I saw it in vanilla and chocolate.  Even though there are many sugar free ice creams, I don't love sugar alcohols.  This also has 6 grams of fiber, which may be why it hasn't spiked.   Only seven ingredients... I got the chocolate one.... and added some nuts.  Speaking of addictions, I have to have chocolate especially during this darker season ( SADS).  I hope this is a healthier choice for me.

I am getting more and more discouraged every time I read something here (and other places) about what NOT to eat.  I don't know what to eat.  I wish I didn't have to eat.  I'm almost 66 years old and I'm just sick of it all.  Is it really supposed to be this hard? It CHANGES all the time.  WHO is one supposed to believe?  Sorry to vent - but it seems as tho I just keep spending money reading one book after the other by experts with differing opinions.  The only thing I can think of they are secretly authored by members of Congress. 

My "carb addiction" has never been to sugars and sweets -- always to wheat, particularly white flour. Other grains are tasty but not nearly as "addictive" IMO.

Did the authors you cite do tests on non-wheat grains (corn, rye, oat, spelt, barley?)

It sounds like Ms. Keith wasn't a vegetarian, but a starchatarian.  I've yet to hear of anyone who was harmed eating a diet of fruits and vegetables and nuts.

A correspondent who is also named David wrote me privately that somehow he wasn't able to post this comment and asked me to post it for him. So here is David's comment:

Hi David

I read your blogs and articles with great appreciation and have been meaning to email you about my lap banding.

Unable to tolerate Metformin I have been slowly stacking on kilos with Diamicron and more so with a top up from Actos (I tried Avandia also but had side effects of a daily 11:00AM sneezing session).

So after thinking about the operation for 18 months I finally went in for it Sept 21, stayed overnight and then home sore with 3 holes and one slit in my stomach.

I noticed that on the post operative clear liquids with diabetes drugs suspended my sugars were normal. So 48 hours later I decided to try a carb free diet. And guess what acceptable sugars.

Since starting the procedure including the 2 weeks before the op on Optifast & a bowl of vegetables a day I have lost over 10 kilos in just 7-8 weeks. Dropped the supplementary Actos tablet for the 2 weeks and reduced my Diamicron intake to 2 MR per day then zilch from the operation forward.

My endocrinologist last week was not overly surprised by my ability to stop medicating and I am determined to try and keep my diet carb free as far as possible.

I did note however that when I had a splurge on soft blue cheese and crackers one lunchtime I was hungry all day after that. Therefore it seems true for me I am addicted to Carbs and they do make me hungry. Even a little sweet corn kernels mixed in with other vegetables (from one of the easy to use micro steam packs we get here in the freezer section) will make you crave to eat and eat.

What doesn't seem to make me hungry is fruit...in the small quantities I have tried to date.

Oh and I had a run in with the Emergency Department of the local teaching hospital 2 days after I came home due to muscle freeze up that wouldn't allow me to empty my bladder. I got a free full medical examination and an essential drain and was as right as rain from then on.

The lap band operation here is not on our Medicare all inclusive public health scheme yet - they are talking about it - so you end up using part Medicare funding, part private health scheme and pay a gap which depends on your surgeons and excess for hospital stay. All our hospital stays are private rooms under our private health care cover, my excess is A$500 and the gaps amount to about A$3500.- all up. Medicare pays for band fills with my surgeon.

The lap band is filled 4 weeks after and again 4-5 weeks on from that. It doesn't stop you eating the wrong things but restricts quantity you can eat in one go and slows your eating speed down. Also beef steaks are out but corned soft beef can be tolerated without causing a blockage, however trial and error will show you quickly what is suitable. I am eating lots of salmon, tins of Alaskan, or fresh or smoked salmon from Tasmania depending on where I am a 100g tin of salmon travels well to work, as does smoked, otherwise chicken and recently for a special occasion treat Duck breast (skinless). Turkeys good too!

Other things, bacon (weight watchers 98%fat free brand), 1 egg scrambled, & 1 tomato for breakfast and vegetables with other meals, mixed. Add a daily vitamin pill and some fat free yoghurt as a gap filler or low calorie jellies with small amount of fruit and that’s it aside from tea, white (as in white with milk), white (as in tea type) and water. No coffee - it makes you hungry!!! and just water to suit. I also eat (virtually suck) a small bag (snack pack) a day of nuts and raisins if I get hungry due to boredom.

I tried to post this to the site but ether my password was wrong and then it went on maitainenece so here it is. Do post if you want to.

Hope this helps some other Type II's - BTW my pre op BMI was 38.5%, not overly high but 35% is considered to be suitable for banding diabetics here and there was no way beforehand I was even holding my weight stable!!! Now...10-20 years have been gotten back providing I stick with it.

Kind regards and thanks as always for your valuable information.
 
David

Interesting article, David. Just like to mention  that  opioid peptides called rubiscolins have also been found in  spinach too

Regards

Joan

David,

thanks for articles, always so informative.

Re: addictive grain.... did you know lsd was first produced from a fungus in rye grain?