Wednesday, February 23, 2011

So, about this whole grain thing...

Grains, what can I say about grains? Hummm.  Sure, they smell good, and can be tasty when prepared right, but that's about it.  I'm sure that many people would argue, that they are "good for you" and they are "an excellent source of nutrition", but are they? Where are you getting your sources?  Because my sources confirm otherwise.
  
Since turning Paleo, I've heard nearly every argument that pro-grain people can think up.  I think people get blind-sighted when I tell them that I don't eat grains.  As far as they know, grains are part of a healthy and balanced diet; that is what we were raised on after all.  But if you go back enough generations, eating grains was just plain silly; I mean, seriously... why go through all the trouble of collecting these small particles, and somehow processing them into something that's semi-edible when you use more energy than you gain? Plus, as an added bonus, after you eat it you get to experience the horrible feeling that you get from them (and, oh yes, that feeling does exist, you just don't know it because you've lived with it all your life).  The grain, which is seemingly defenseless wreaks havoc on your digestive system.  Haha, now that i think about it, can you imagine that first renegade caveman who thought it would be a good idea to eat the stuff?  They probably got the same 'looks' that I get when I say that I don't eat them.

The bottom line here is this, HUMANS WERE NEVER INTENDED TO EAT GRAINS.  Many have posed the query that surely after 10,000 years of adding them into our diet, our bodies have evolved to process them...unless you're a bird, then no, they haven't.  This is why there are so many diseases in today's modern world. Our paleolithic ancestors never had to worry about testing their blood sugar, or autoimmune diseases, but we do, thanks to grains.  

The trouble with not eating grains in a grain obsessed world is that it's hard to find things without them.  Nearly everything at the grocery store is infused with them in one way or another, and if it isn't the grain itself contaminating a food, then it's some form of a grain by-product... here, corn is typically the grain of choice. 

Can't go wrong with a big juicy steak... well, actually you can.  Remember that adage, you are what you eat... well if you are looking at a steak, guess what that cow ate?  Yeah, you're lookin' at a big pile of grains. The trick is to find 100% grass fed beef (or pork, or mammoth, whatever kind of meat suits you), then you know you are getting something closer to what nature intended, which is indeed where our food should come from. Also, organic is preferred with any food, the less human tinkering the better.

 It's not always easy to make to switch to grainlessness, sure, it gets easier over time, but sometimes you have to make a conscious effort to not eat them. I'm not gonna lie, a small part of me was saddened when I didn't buy my yearly boxes of scout cookies (yes, there was a small, neolithic, voice in the back of my head that was weeping for thin mints), but I know that I made the right choice; I'd rather eat a nectarine anyway.

Humans survived fine for millions of years not eating grains (and dairy, but that's a different story for another day), in fact, they were much better off than we are, so here's to you cavedudes, thanks for setting the example! 


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