To Tell the Truth

Truth is a hard commodity to find today. It seems that almost everyone has an agenda in which it is necessary to deviate from the truth in order to accomplish it. This includes the politician running for office or a manufacturer selling a product or the dairy industry telling us that milk is necessary for good health.

It seems we need a program like the once popular game show To Tell the Truth - first aired in 1956 - to get at the truth. When information is being withheld, studies manipulated, or facts cherry picked, the truth is being withheld - or at least kept out of view.

Certain agendas run rampant in the food industry and in healthcare. For instance, because of strong lobbying by the dairy industry and millions of advertising dollars for the "Got milk?" commercial, Americans are brainwashed into believing milk is the answer to osteoporosis and overall health.

Conventional healthcare and the pharmaceutical industry suppress alternative cancer cures and therapies. Truth is hidden and camouflaged whenever tactics are used to promote one protocol and suppress any alternative.

Agribusiness too is guilty of skirting the truth in its program to promote grains as necessary to good nutrition. Nutritional and health authorities are on board with agribusiness in the media blitz of grains, including whole, to the American public. Simultaneously, high protein sources like steak and eggs are made the enemy by associating them with high cholesterol and contributing to heart disease.

"Big Agribusiness companies want you to eat more of their grains, but to get you to do it, first they had to convince you that what you'd been eating up until then was deadly, and that grains are the answer" (Doctor's House Call; Al Sears, MD. April 18, 2012)

In reality, nothing could be further from the truth. Eggs from pasture-raised chickens and meat from free-ranged cattle are teeming with hunger satiating protein, good fats, and other vital nutrients your body craves. Grain on the other hand contains phytic acid which prevents the body from absorbing calcium, magnesium, iron, copper and zinc.

You may ask yourself the question, "What about whole grains? Aren't they good for you?"

The truth of the matter is that grain - whether whole or processed - promote insulin resistance as well as block vital nutrients from being absorbed. Insulin resistance from the overconsumption of grain, processed food, and soft drinks is a major factor in escalating obesity in the United States.

If you refuse to give up eating grains entirely, you may want to consider eating sprouted grain. The sprouting process not only dramatically reduces the phytic acid content, but enhances nutrient density. Sprouted grain has more protein and a lower glycemic rating too.

(This website - nourished kitchen.com - gives step by step instructions on how to sprout grains.)

I too at one time was an advocate of dumping processed grain, and replacing it with whole grain. My father ate whole grain in the form of stone ground whole wheat bread and denounced white, i.e., processed, bread. He often told me that back in the day (early 1900s) white bread was used as glue to hang wall paper.

But through the course of time I discovered articles by natural health advocates like Dr. Joseph Mercola and Al Sears, M.D. who wrote contrary views of grain. They revealed the other side of the coin. There exist facts about grain which are kept hidden by food manufacturers and mainstream health authorities.

If you follow the links in this editorial and a few subsequent links, you will see that I wrote positively about whole grain. But when I wrote those articles, I didn't know the "whole" (pun intended) truth about whole grain.

Now that I am aware of the other side of grain - the side that agribusiness companies don't want you to know about - I write this editorial to you.

Take a minute to think about how much grain you eat on a daily basis. On a typical day you may eat a bowl of cereal, bread in the form of toast or for a Subway sandwich, or maybe even a bun for a burger or hotdog. Or you may drive to a Dunkin' Donuts and buy any of dozens of sweet treats. You may also snack on a seemingly endless variety of cereal and protein bars.

Lunch and dinner may consist of some form of pasta whether it be macaroni and cheese or spaghetti and meatballs. And let's not forget the crackers, cookies, pastries, and rolls.

That's a lot of grain!

The key to supplying your body with the nutrients it is looking for, and to satisfy those hunger pangs, is to give it plenty of protein and vegetables. Protein from free-ranged animals (cow and buffalo) is full of omega-3 fatty acids, saturated fat, and conjugated linoleic acid (CLA.)

Protein from pasture-raised poultry like chicken and turkey is good too. And don't forget wild fish like salmon, mackerel, or sardines.

And contrary to what is commonly being broadcast through the media, your best source of fiber is vegetables, not grain. They don't contain substances which inhibit nutrient absorption.

Adequate protein is necessary to put your body in its fat-burning mode. Whether you are an athelete or not, it is crucial to get enough protein in your diet. The recommended daily allowance for children and adults doesn't even come close.

Get at least one gram of protein for each pound of lean bodyweight (weight of bone, water, and muscle - not fat.)

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