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Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Need to Lose Weight? Lose the Wheat – Plus Improve Your Health

This may seem a little surprising to you since wheat is considered "healthy" by most so called "experts". But the fact is wheat is an ingredient in many foods that will make you fat. Bread, pasta, gravies, cereal, baked goods, and many other processed foods. Wheat is even in ice cream! You will have an extremely difficult time dropping any pounds if you're eating these types of foods and they have very little nutritional value. Besides the empty calories you get, when you eat these highly refined and processed foods, you consume many different chemical additives that are not good for your health.

 When you eliminate wheat, just about all that's left are foods that are lower in calories and full of nutritional value like poultry, fish, lean meats, beans, nuts, fruits and vegetables. Because you're automatically reducing the amount of calories you consume (without counting calories) you'll find it much easier to drop that stubborn belly fat.  In addition to weight loss, reducing or eliminating wheat from you diet has a lot of health benefits. Wheat contains gluten, which can contribute to digestive disorders and joint issues. Eliminating wheat from your diet can help to alleviate these problems. Do remember not to confuse gluten free with wheat free. These diets are not the same. Wheat products do have gluten in them, but a gluten free diet also involves eliminating rye and barley. With a wheat free diet you don't have to be that strict and only have to do away with wheat based products.

 Wheat can also lead to digestive problems such as irritable bowel syndrome. IBS leads to gas, bloating, cramping and can lead to severe stomach pain. You can have both diarrhea and constipation within a short period of time. This can lead to some uncomfortable situations like being in a place where you're not able to use a restroom and getting diarrhea. Doesn't sound to fun does it?
 IBS symptoms aren't always present. And they will vary depending on the person. If you have gluten intolerance, that can stimulate or increase irritable bowel syndrome. Because gluten is in wheat, simply removing wheat from your diet can go a long way to cutting down or even eliminating the symptoms.
 But another thing to remember is that wheat can still be a problem for your digestive system even if you don't have IBS. Wheat can plug your digestive system and make it difficult for you to properly digest your food. By eliminating wheat, you can free up your intestines and allow for proper digestion.
 Reducing your weight can help reduce joint pain, especially if you have osteoarthritis or osteoporosis by taking a lot of pressure of the joints. And if you lost that weight in part by eliminating wheat, which of course eliminates gluten, then you also reestablishing your bodies natural defenses against joint pain, because gluten can impede those natural defenses.
 Wheat is a big part of most people's diets, so it can seem a bit daunting to reduce do away with it all together. So if you find it challenging, take it slowly. Eliminate it in portions. One food type at a time. Before long you'll have completely eliminated wheat from your diet and will be long down the road to weight loss and improved health.
 It's really surprising how misinformed we are when it comes to what's "healthy" and what's not. I know I always assumed wheat was healthy for us, I'm sure you did too.

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