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SaraP
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| Posted: Nov 25 2011 at 10:33am | IP Logged
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DH was diagnosed as diabetic a few years ago and my reading has led me from the advantages of low carb eating into dabbling in the realm of grain-free eating.
But I am stuck on the fact that Christ chose wheat as the substance to consecrate. The physical facts of the material elements of sacraments are in no way accidental or unimportant and surely we are supposed to understand the Eucharist as feeding and nourishing us. So how can wheat be a toxic food if it is the food which Christ chose to change into His body?
Any thoughts?
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JennGM
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| Posted: Nov 25 2011 at 10:57am | IP Logged
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I've been doing a similar journey, and echo some of your thoughts.
As far as wheat, I am not ready to throw it all out. I know Wheat Belly: Lose the Wheat, Lose the Weight, and Find Your Path Back to Health mentions that the current wheat we have has been changed so much it is not the same wheat as what it would have been in Christ's day -- so not as complete or nourishing. But I still think there could be some kind of compromise, such as eaten in moderation, organic and non-genetically modified wheat to really get the benefits.
I really stumble over the "idea" of paleo diets, mainly because of the name and lack of evidence. I am not convinced of the long existence of a "cave man" era, and really because there is no historical and scientific evidence on what really factually the "stone age" ate, it's all based on theory.
So that's my hang up.
That being said, I know I'm at high risk for Type II, and probably insulin resistant right now due to two pregnancies requiring insulin. I've found the approach by Rob Thompson in his The Low-Starch Diabetes Solution: Six Steps to Optimal Control of Your Adult-Onset (Type 2) Diabetes and The Glycemic-Load Diet: A powerful new program for losing weight and reversing insulin resistance and his other titles very practical, not extreme, and very helpful. It has helped me greatly.
So much of his books applies the knowledge found in Gary Taubes books, ">Good Calories, Bad Calories: Fats, Carbs, and the Controversial Science of Diet and Health or the easier to read version, Why We Get Fat: And What to Do About It.
Partnered with Real Food: What to Eat and Why by Nina Planck I see a moderate and practical way to looking at food.
However, I do think that as a result of so many changes to the earth in general by industrialization, there can be many people who cannot consume grains, and they are feeling better not consuming grains. I tend to think it's because the grains are not the nutritionally packed sources as they were originally created by God. I do think as a human we can adapt to all sorts of food, and do think we can break down grain. Is it the best for all of us? Probably not, because we are diverse. But I don't think there is a one size fits all solution mainly because just looking at our planet we have so many different climates and geography which would mean if we ate naturally off our area, our diets would be all different. It seems off to say God's design means we can't be healthy eating differently (i.e., landlocked people might not have as much access to seafood, or shorter growing seasons so less fresh fruits and veggies, etc.).
Anyway....I've been thinking and reading about this quite a bit. I'm always wary of any latest fad, so I approach the paleo very, very slowly.
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CrunchyMom
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I don't really buy the "paleo" eating as named. I'm not sure it is better simply because it is how we ate as hunter gatherers or anything.
However, I think that in general, we've abused the privilege of eating grains by modifying them and using them in excess to the point that many people are unable to digest them. I think there are lots of other environmental and lifestyle choices that contribute to poor gut health.
AND I believe poor gut health is the root of a host of chronic problems many people suffer today.
Many people have experienced significant healing by cutting out grains and eating modified diets, much of which would be described as "paleo," and some have even been able to heal to the point that they are once again able to consume grains in moderation without ill effect.
So, philosophically speaking, I'm not sure that I agree with paleo, but practically speaking, we use a lot of "paleo" recipes because we have decided to drastically reduce our grain intake as a family. There is a family history of thyroid disease, diabetes, and mental illness in our families,and as none of us appear to have severe symptoms of these diseases yet, we hope that we can avoid them all together by avoiding aspects of the modern diet which seem to contribute most to them.
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Aagot
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How funny that this topic should come up now as I was just talking to irl friends about this very thing. I have two thoughts about this. One is that wheat started out fine but it has been so contaminated recently that many people are reacting to those contaminations. And secondly, "who" would have an interest in making the "bread of Life" non consumable by so many people? I can only think of one.
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lapazfarm
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| Posted: Nov 25 2011 at 1:56pm | IP Logged
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I don't have much of an opinion on paleo diet, per se. But I do think I have a little to contribute on the Eucharist aspect of the discussion.
I agree that Christ chose bread for a reason and though I cannot know what that reason is, I trust completely in His choice.
I agree that wheat has changed somewhat since Christ's day, but I also have faith that He KNEW that was going to happen. Still, He chose bread.
He chose bread even though he knew I, and many others, would become gluten intolerant and have to make a choice every Sunday whether or not to receive Him.
I am gluten intolerant, but I still take communion. And I end up with a painful stomach ache every Sunday. I know I could just take the wine and it would be just as valid, and less painful for me, but I refuse to give it up.
The way I see it is that this may be the way Christ is asking me to suffer for Him, so I gladly do it and accept the pain as a small sacrifice for Him. Many people suffer much more than me every day, so I am really doing a very, very small thing.
Let me be clear that I do not advocate others with gluten issues (and CERTAINLY NOT wheat allergies) to do the same. This is MY choice, my sacrifice, and I cannot make it for others.
I just wanted to offer my perspective. Wheat IS good for most people, the staff of life, so the choice of symbolism makes sense. For others, it is a source of suffering. Which also makes sense.
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Erin
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CrunchyMom wrote:
Many people have experienced significant healing by cutting out grains and eating modified diets, much of which would be described as "paleo," and some have even been able to heal to the point that they are once again able to consume grains in moderation without ill effect.
So, philosophically speaking, I'm not sure that I agree with paleo, but practically speaking, we use a lot of "paleo" recipes because we have decided to drastically reduce our grain intake as a family. |
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Ditto here. Very much mirroring our journey and philosophy. Having some great results.
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JennGM
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| Posted: Nov 25 2011 at 3:43pm | IP Logged
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Beautiful, Theresa. Good point that He would know what would happen.
And nodding my head at your observation, Aagot. Something like this would be more from the Evil One.
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StephanieA
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I am on a gluten-free diet due to chronic hives (attacks daily) and Hashi's disease. The hives lessened tremedously after 2 weeks of gluten-free eating. Where to compromise? I do take the wine...but it bothers me somewhat. It really bothers me when the wine runs out and I am in the back with the baby and can't receive Our Lord. In fact, I told my husband, "Forget the doctors, forget the hives....I NEED Our Lord." But I haven't gotten the guts to take the host again. Hives kept me away for hours at night....I guess I fear that again and my antibodies have never gone down much.
It is a dilemna. But I never thought the Devil apart of it. I thought it as a suffering with hives though.
Blessings,
Stephanie
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stellamaris
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Stephanie, don't mean to highjack the thread here, but remember you can make a spiritual communion if you are unable to physically communicate. Jesus desires to be united to you!
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CatholicMommy
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Another piece of information on the wheat too --- not just processing that we do so much now; but the *lack* of processing of a different sort....
At the time of Jesus, wheat harvesting took days to complete; before the wheat was separated, it had a bit of time to germinate (making the wheat more palatable/digestible). These days, it could potentially be growing in the morning and separated (non-whole-wheat) flour in the evening.
Even our whole wheat flour is not the same whole wheat even from say Laura Ingall's time.
If something is not digestible, our bodies build up defenses too it - sometimes to the wrong thing in it (in this case, it is usually gluten-intolerance, that then applies to other foods (usually yeast-related, since yeast is also naturally found along with the wheat on the plant).
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Claire F
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Here's a great article addressing this very question .
Her website, Wellness Mama, has a lot of great information. Here's another one talking about grains -
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Karen T
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I have not yet made the leap to paleo per se but began eating very low-carb in august on the advice of my doctor. B/c of this I cut out all grains (I do make a very easy microwaveable "bread" from flaxseed that I use for sandwiches occasionally). Within a week of eating like this, my severe gastric reflux disappeared, my migraine headaches went away, the rosacea on my face cleared up and my asthma improved dramatically. My bp went down enough that my dr cut my med dosage by half, even though I'd only lost 6 lbs at that point. Best of all, I lost most of my sugar cravings entirely, and gained a lot more energy.
Now, 4 months later, I've lost 27 lbs, had my bp meds lowered again, and none of those other physical symptoms has recurred, except when I inadvertently have wheat! I had no idea I was wheat sensitive, although in retrospect I had some GI issues too, that have cleared up. I've tested myself a few times by just having some sugar (high carb) but no wheat, vs having the wheat without sugar. It's definitely the wheat. Within 30 min of taking Communion at church I developed a severe headache; same thing happened the other day when I tasted a few bites of the cookie dough I was making for ds's class. Maybe coincidence but I don't think so.
I'm currently reading Wheat Belly, which Jenn mentioned early in the thread. a big part of his book (he's a cardiologist by the way) is that not only is the wheat we eat different nutritionally, but it's highly antigenic, and that a large part of the population probably has antibodies against it, and will eventually develop either celiac disease or other related autoimmune diseases. Considering I already have Hashimoto's, I fit the profile. Also, a big thing which struck me in his book was that whole wheat bread has a higher glycemic index than table sugar! All these years when i've believed I was doing something more healthy for myself and my family, and instead I was pushing our blood sugar higher, leading (in myself definitely, and probably in at least one of my children who has the same tendency) to insulin resistance.
I just got one of the paleo books from the library to explore it further. I currently eat very little fruit b/c of the carbs but I'm not willing to give up dairy (cheese and cream, occasionally high fat yogurt), so I doubt I'd switch over entirely. But we eat mostly meat, eggs and vegetables and we are all healthier. btw, my triglycerides also came down more than 100 points eating this way! I still have about 50 lbs more to lose but I plan to eat this way the rest of my life b/c I feel so much better on it!
Karen
p.s. Jenn, I agree that all those books you listed are excellent, except I haven't read the Rob Thompson one yet. I try to read a lot of different sources and see what makes sense from all standpoints.
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JennGM
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Karen, what a coincidence, because that's exactly my same experience! I did the low starch diet because I felt I was getting insulin resistant. My feet stopped hurting (I was contemplating surgery, on constant pain meds, wearing orthotics and ankle braces!), I've lost about 12 pounds now, no reflux anymore, either. My brain fog has lifted, I have energy
No cravings, either. I have lots more to lose, but to see the progress is so encouraging.
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Topic: talk to me about paleo eating
