whole wheat is bad for you?

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oklahomascott
oklahomascott Posts: 15
in Food and Nutrition
i just watched a video linked from a Livestrong page and it said you should avoid whole grain bread and pasta. said your body just turns it into sugar or whatever. is this true? just when you think you're doing well on your diet you watch some video and it make you rethink your whole strategy....don't you hate that?
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  • CarolynB38
    CarolynB38 Posts: 553 Member
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    Can you post the link so we can see it? I would be interested to see their reasoning behind this statement.
  • Louise1247
    Louise1247 Posts: 670 Member
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    i still eat it and im losing. If what your doing now is working, keep to it! Just dont LIVE off whole wheat! :)

    Carbs are a good source of energy, speed your metabolism etc so dont panic too much. Find more sources, never rely on one site!
  • NeverGoinBack2012
    NeverGoinBack2012 Posts: 49
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    I was discouraged to read about this as well so time ago. However, it has pushed me in the direction of eating more of a Paleo diet - fruits, vegetables, and protein, good fats (olive or coconut). While I don't completely eliminate grains from my diet, they would not be of the amount suggested by the USDA food pyramid. Our grains have been altered and are mostly genetically modified. They are not the grains of decades ago - they have been scientifically changed as to produce larger quantities...as usual, it's about money, and at the expense of the consumer and their health. Try not to let it get you down. Change your focus and eat more "whole" foods. Your body will thank you :)
  • ruckerbenton
    ruckerbenton Posts: 94
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    As I understand it, any product made with white flour is directly converted into sugar. Whole grains are not. You have to watch food labels to be sure that you are really using whole grain products. Grain products are digested in the intestines and not converted to carbs or sugar.
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
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    If you have a gluten sensitivity or intolerance, it's bad for you.

    I don't avoid wheat and have some kind of pasta most days of the week.

    <--- If this is how I look all bloated from carbs, I'm afraid of what I'd look like without it! :laugh:
  • SideSteel
    SideSteel Posts: 11,068 Member
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    i just watched a video linked from a Livestrong page and it said you should avoid whole grain bread and pasta. said your body just turns it into sugar or whatever. is this true? just when you think you're doing well on your diet you watch some video and it make you rethink your whole strategy....don't you hate that?

    Is it true that it converts those into sugar? Yes. Does that mean avoid them? Hell no.

    Your body converts a whole lot of other foods into sugar as well so this reasoning is not valid.
  • Hendrix7
    Hendrix7 Posts: 1,903 Member
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    As I understand it, any product made with white flour is directly converted into sugar. Whole grains are not. You have to watch food labels to be sure that you are really using whole grain products. Grain products are digested in the intestines and not converted to carbs or sugar.

    All carbs are turned into sugar (glycogen). regardless of if their colour or if it's whole grain or not.
  • jonelaw
    jonelaw Posts: 28
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    Wheat causes spikes in your blood sugar as much as table sugar and is turned to fat if not used. I would suggest reading "Wheat Belly". It just might make you look to veggies, nuts and fruit as your main sources of carbs.
  • dave4d
    dave4d Posts: 1,155 Member
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    Your body is supposed to turn carbs into sugar. It's how your body gets fuel. It is what helps get the proteins into your muscles after a good weight training workout. Too many can cause your body to try storing it as fat, but whole grains can be good. They are also a good source of fiber.

    Unless you are gluten intolerant, I wouldn't worry about it.
  • blonde71
    blonde71 Posts: 955 Member
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    I eat whole wheat bread and pasta several times a week and I look terrible! :wink:
  • MinMin97
    MinMin97 Posts: 2,676 Member
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    i just watched a video linked from a Livestrong page and it said you should avoid whole grain bread and pasta. said your body just turns it into sugar or whatever. is this true? just when you think you're doing well on your diet you watch some video and it make you rethink your whole strategy....don't you hate that?
    Ughh...yes.
    I just don't believe it.
    If anything I wonder if the way things are grown and processed has more to do with food issues.
    I'm not at all convinced about this business about not eating grains.
    In fact I just don't believe it.
    I am curious, however, if it is appropriate to sprout grains, first, to make them more digestible.
    However, I doubt the food corps would be interested in doing this, from a profit standpoint.
    I have read that grains used to sit a bit, before being processed. And they sprouted a little while they did.
    Then they were dried...and THEN they were ground into flour.
    Well, anyway. I think there is wisdom in this, and is worth searching out.
  • MinMin97
    MinMin97 Posts: 2,676 Member
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    I eat whole wheat bread and pasta several times a week and I look terrible! :wink:
    You DO! A regular poster child for the ill-effects of grains!!
    J/K
    You look beautiful!
  • ruckerbenton
    ruckerbenton Posts: 94
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    Please take note of the new USDA suggestions on myplate.com. They are no longer using a food pyramid. Their focus has shifted to a "My Plate" concept. The idea is that you fill at least 1/2 of the food on you plate at mealtime with vegetables and fruits. Protein fills about 1/4 and grains and limited fats fill the remainder of the plate. It is hoped that this will be a more usable paradigm where consumers can focus on the practical and concrete. Was interesting to run across this.
  • blackcoffeeandcherrypie
    blackcoffeeandcherrypie Posts: 486 Member
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    All carbs are turned into glucose in your body, the health aspect is how FAST they turn into glucose. Foods which turn into sugar very quickly are called high glycemic index (high GI) foods. Foods which turn into glucose slowly are called low GI foods. Low GI foods such as wholewheat are healthier because they don't cause a blood sugar spike and crash. So although all carbs turn into energy in your body, some carbs do it very quickly and some do it very slowly. Slow is considered much healthier than fast. So no, whole grain foods are not bad for you. You probably saw a video promoting high protein low carb eating, whose advocates are opposed to carbs and so have presented a negative view of all carbs.
  • SueGremlin
    SueGremlin Posts: 1,066 Member
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    Sugar is not an enemy to be avoided. That is, IMO, extremist advice. Every cell in your body NEEDS sugar to function. The amount and type matter, sure, but you do need SOME. The "OMG YOU HAVE TO STOP EATING EVERYTHING OR YOU WILL DIE" mentality keeps people from developing new and healthy eating habits, I think.

    Giving things up entirely taxes will power.
  • oklahomascott
    oklahomascott Posts: 15
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    "i have to stop eating everything or i will die" lol that's exactly how they make you feel, they're very persuasive
  • Cocochickdeleted
    Cocochickdeleted Posts: 343 Member
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    Sugar is not an enemy to be avoided. That is, IMO, extremist advice. Every cell in your body NEEDS sugar to function. The amount and type matter, sure, but you do need SOME. The "OMG YOU HAVE TO STOP EATING EVERYTHING OR YOU WILL DIE" mentality keeps people from developing new and healthy eating habits, I think.

    Giving things up entirely taxes will power.

    ^^This! Sugar is food for cells. Carbohydrates are broken down to sugar so they can be used quickly to give energy. It's important to eat protein, too, because protein isn't broken down as fast. It helps you feel full longer and give you the energy you need after the glycogen has been used up. If you live on a strictly carbohydrate rich diet, you will suffer the sugar spikes and drops, and find yourself feeling hungry more often. When I tried the Atkins diet (twice), I felt tired and cranky, and I think it's because my body didn't have the quick, easily accessible energy provided by carbs.

    I am not an expert, and I will never claim to be one, but my own experiences have demonstrated to me that a balanced diet will give better results than giving up categories of food completely. That, in my mind, constitutes a fad diet, and for most people, that is unsustainable. Do your best to make healthier choices (whole grains over processed white flours, for example), and you may find that you feel better and stronger than you ever thought possible.
  • bpmartyr
    bpmartyr Posts: 141
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    Set a realistic calorie goal, get plenty of protein and healthy fats and eat what calories you have left in carbs, whatever their source. As long as you are not taking in more than you are burning, sugar will not make you fat.
  • blonde71
    blonde71 Posts: 955 Member
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    I eat whole wheat bread and pasta several times a week and I look terrible! :wink:
    You DO! A regular poster child for the ill-effects of grains!!
    J/K
    You look beautiful!

    haha...thanks! You do too. :smile:
  • skylark94
    skylark94 Posts: 2,036 Member
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    Wheat causes spikes in your blood sugar as much as table sugar and is turned to fat if not used. I would suggest reading "Wheat Belly". It just might make you look to veggies, nuts and fruit as your main sources of carbs.

    Anything you eat can be turned into fat if it's not used. That's what a calorie deficit is for...using up what is consumed.

    I read Wheat Belly. I saw some science mixed with scare tactics. Scare tactics sell books. Yes, you can do without wheat, but I don't for a second believe that everyone needs to give it up to be healthy.

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