Myth #1 Whole Wheat Is a Health Food and an Essential Part of a “Balanced” Diet”
Remember the food pyramid at primary school? Do you remember the large portion at the bottom? It represented bread and grains – advising to eat this the most out of any other food group! Have you also seen all the cereals that say ‘wholegrain’? Please disregard the truth in this immediately as these often have the same affect as refined carbohydrates.
Wheat was a huge part of our diets for decades in the early to mid 1900’s. It has become engrained in our Australian culture. In the decades approaching the 20th century genetically modified foods began to become extremely prevalent causing our wheat to become much more unhealthy than what their original forms use to be.
Multiple studies have shown that compared to previous wheat sources, modern day wheat is associated with increased cholesterol and inflammatory markers.
Wheat, and the gluten associated with it can also cause symptoms such as pain, bloating, tiredness and reduced quality of life in patients with irritable bowel syndrome.
Wheat is found in carbohydrate dense foods and therefore has a higher metabolic effect and increased body fat.
Take home point. : wheat is not essential for energy.
Myth #2 ‘Insulin makes you fat’
This myth does make sense when there is some context around it. However, insulin on its own does not cause you to be fat. Carbohydrates spike insulin, therefore it is Carbs that make you fat.
Over consuming carbs causes the pancreas to work overtime (which makes insulin). The glycogen that is converted from carbohydrates can no longer be stored in the liver and muscles meaning we inevitably store our glycogen as fat.
Take home point:
Insulin and carbs will only make you fat if you overeat.
Myth #3 ‘Eating fat makes you fat’.
Most of us understand this better now. Having said that people born in the 50s right through to the late 90s will still be buying low fat foods based on that belief. *Cough my dad cough* (please change this dad).
Dietary fat which is great for a number of things has a high hit of calories. So you need to be very conscious of the total amount you intake per day.
It is easy to turn a meal into a calorie surplus with a few too many splashes of oil or butter.
Fat has a hefty 9 calories per gram as opposed to the 4 we find in protein and carbs.
Take home point:
Dietary fat does not make you fat, overconsumption of calories does.
Dan and the TWM Team.
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