Eating Whole Wheat

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mtresler
mtresler Posts: 5 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I have read numerous articles on eating whole wheat products and most say it is bad for you. I eat Shredded Wheat cereal every morning (loaded with fiber). Could this be the cause of my weight gain?
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Replies

  • ilovedeadlifts
    ilovedeadlifts Posts: 2,923 Member
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    why is eating whole wheat bad for you?

    fiber isn't really useable so it isn't going to attribute to weight gain.
    you're gaining weight because you're eating more than your body requires to function.
  • inkandsheep
    inkandsheep Posts: 101 Member
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    Why would it be bad? If anything, whole wheat is the best type of wheat as it's the whole grain and less processed. I'm sure Shredded Wheat cereal is full of sugar, though, and probably all sorts of additives, so that would be a good reason to avoid it. It won't be why you're gaining weight unless you're eating lots of it, though.
  • beckajw
    beckajw Posts: 1,738 Member
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    I have read numerous articles on eating whole wheat products and most say it is bad for you. I eat Shredded Wheat cereal every morning (loaded with fiber). Could this be the cause of my weight gain?

    No. It's not the cause of your weight gain. Calories are the cause of your weight gain. There is nothing wrong with whole wheat. Just as with anything else, don't overdo it.
  • 1holegrouper
    1holegrouper Posts: 323 Member
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    Wheat, like gluten, dairy, sugar, alcohol, excess fruit and artificial sweetners is one of those things that will and should come into question as we are evaluating our strategy. Many people are allergic to wheat and/or gluten and don't know it. I cut it out and it was then and only then that my excess weight started falling off.

    There is a book out there "Wheat Belly" which I think is overhype but it does point out one thing. Bringing wheat and flour into our diets (and the difference between white and whole wheat is negligible) is one major factor why we are so fat in today's society. It has highly addictive properties and it's just too convenient for us to obtain. You can lose weight on Snicker bars but are they the best strategy? The same goes for wheat and most processed foods. We have to choose our poisons, develop our system of justifying them and then balance it all out. Losing fat, especially the last stubborn pounds is hard enough. So, many of us choose to become more strategic and strict about what we put in our mouths by letting go of some of our 'loves' in order to reach our goals more quickly and with less hunger pangs during the process.

    So, when looking at wheat I would just decide on if you want to include it at this point in your journey and then to do so in a manner that will allow you to reach your goals. It is a good thing also to experiment and see what effect cutting it out of your diet might have- but you can save that experiment for later-or never.
  • Danied13
    Danied13 Posts: 117 Member
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    Wheat + your body = sugar --> (Insulin spikes + insulin dips)*multiple times per day --> weight gain. Check out some articles (from credible sources) on wheat's effect on blood sugar and your digestive system.
  • cerise_noir
    cerise_noir Posts: 5,468 Member
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    1holegrouper wrote: »
    Wheat, like gluten, dairy, sugar, alcohol, excess fruit and artificial sweetners is one of those things that will and should come into question as we are evaluating our strategy. Many people are allergic to wheat and/or gluten and don't know it. I cut it out and it was then and only then that my excess weight started falling off.

    There is a book out there "Wheat Belly" which I think is overhype but it does point out one thing. Bringing wheat and flour into our diets (and the difference between white and whole wheat is negligible) is one major factor why we are so fat in today's society. It has highly addictive properties and it's just too convenient for us to obtain. You can lose weight on Snicker bars but are they the best strategy? The same goes for wheat and most processed foods. We have to choose our poisons, develop our system of justifying them and then balance it all out. Losing fat, especially the last stubborn pounds is hard enough. So, many of us choose to become more strategic and strict about what we put in our mouths by letting go of some of our 'loves' in order to reach our goals more quickly and with less hunger pangs during the process.

    So, when looking at wheat I would just decide on if you want to include it at this point in your journey and then to do so in a manner that will allow you to reach your goals. It is a good thing also to experiment and see what effect cutting it out of your diet might have- but you can save that experiment for later-or never.

    No. The cause of weight gain is excess calories, not wheat and/or sugar....

    One shouldn't cut wheat out of their diets because they feel as if it's causing problems, one should go to a doctor and get tested for allergies and sensitivities. No need to cut foods or food groups unnecessarily.
  • marelthu
    marelthu Posts: 184 Member
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    People have been eating wheat for thousands of years. There's nothing wrong with it. When we started taking the whole grain away and only ate white flour things started to go wrong. Please don't believe these BS websites and books from "experts." All things in moderation.
  • L1zardQueen
    L1zardQueen Posts: 8,754 Member
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    Necro thread
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
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    Tiny_Dancer_in_Pink wrote: »
    Necro thread

    One of the necro-est necro threads, in fact.
  • Nony_Mouse
    Nony_Mouse Posts: 5,646 Member
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    Tiny_Dancer_in_Pink wrote: »
    Necro thread

    Ha, glad you pointed that out, cos I was going to write a long-winded, fully referenced archaeological essay pointing out how blimmin' long we've been eating wheat for (clue - it well predated the Neolithic Revolution/domestication of cereals), and yet obesity at the rates we see it now is a recent phenomena. Thanks for saving me the time :)

    It's not the wheat that's the problem, it's the amount (of food in general) that people are eating.
  • Macy9336
    Macy9336 Posts: 694 Member
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    I agree wheat is probably not the problem unless you have gluten intolerance /celiacs disease.

    However I would like to point out that we have not been eating the same exact wheat for thousands of years.

    Modern wheat is genetically and biologically very different from the wheat eaten ten thousand years ago up through to 1960 when modern wheat was created through cross hybridisation.

    The wheat eaten in ancient times were einkhorn, emmer, and kamut. These types of wheat were lower in gluten, and higher in protein and nutrients than modern day wheat. They also had only 14 chromosomes vs the modern wheat 42 chromosomes. Modern wheat is a type of dwarf wheat which has an open hull (exposed grain so absorbs pesticides) whereas ancient wheat is tall with a closed hull ( protected grain so cannot absorb pesticides).

    Why does it matter? The high gluten content in modern wheat is too much for celiacs.
    Celiacs who ate einkhorn wheat tolerated it better than they tolerated rice. So the studies you may read about wheat being bad for you are usually basing that generalisation on the fact that modern wheat is harmful to celiacs and has a lower nutritional value than ancient wheat. So, in sum wheat is not bad for anyone who doesn't have celiacs and is still a good food...even if it is slightly less good than it was for our ancestors.
  • JeromeBarry1
    JeromeBarry1 Posts: 10,182 Member
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    I bake my own whole wheat bread using 50% highly processed bread flour and 50% whole wheat flour.
    I eat a little every day and I lose weight. I don't lose weight because of the bread, but because I stay in a calorie deficit.
  • Fallfrenzy
    Fallfrenzy Posts: 118 Member
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    I am careful about looking at labels and making sure it is whole wheat versus enriched wheat or something along lines most of the time I am having it. Eating it has not impacted my weight loss, but I will add that I'm pretty sure that I do not currently any any gluten issues.
  • Lillymoo01
    Lillymoo01 Posts: 2,865 Member
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    mtresler wrote: »
    I have read numerous articles on eating whole wheat products and most say it is bad for you. I eat Shredded Wheat cereal every morning (loaded with fiber). Could this be the cause of my weight gain?

    If this is the case I would look for more reliable soucres for information.eating whole wheat products is recommended as it is an excellent source of fibre and other nutrients. Carbs give us energy and feed our brains.
  • Lillymoo01
    Lillymoo01 Posts: 2,865 Member
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    Danied13 wrote: »
    Wheat + your body = sugar --> (Insulin spikes + insulin dips)*multiple times per day --> weight gain. Check out some articles (from credible sources) on wheat's effect on blood sugar and your digestive system.

    You should realise that fibre decreases the absorption of sugar into your system which decreases the amount of insulin spikes and dips, keeping it at a more consistant level. Maybe you need to check out some reliable sources for how complex carbs affect your blood sugar levels. Diabeyes foundations are a great place to start being that insulin and blood sugar levels is what they deal with.
  • Gamliela
    Gamliela Posts: 2,468 Member
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    Lots of shredded wheat products are made without sugar, many have two or three ingredients; water, whole wheat and sometimes salt. Not much harm there, and not exactly highly processed junk food either.

    .
    inkandsheep wrote: »
    Why would it be bad? If anything, whole wheat is the best type of wheat as it's the whole grain and less processed. I'm sure Shredded Wheat cereal is full of sugar, though, and probably all sorts of additives, so that would be a good reason to avoid it. It won't be why you're gaining weight unless you're eating lots of it, though.

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