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Feature Article

Why Wheat and Other Processed Foods Are Making You Fat 09/06

"Hold the pickle, Hold the lettuce, Special orders don't upset us," or “Have it Your way,” so goes the fast food hamburger commercial from yesteryear. If I wrote the commercial, I would ask to "Hold the bun.” “Hold the bun” —you probably gasped. Americans have bought into the fast food industry hook, line and sinker with total abandon. We have made fast-food purveyors; millionaire's at our own peril.

• Twenty-two million of the world's children under five (5) are overweight or obese," said Mary Bellizzi, an expert with the International Obesity Task Force who presented the research to health ministers.

• The organization estimates that 300 million people worldwide are obese and 750 million more are overweight.

• Sixty-five percent of American adults are overweight or obese, as are nearly 13 percent of children.

People are struggling with obesity because they have no idea how consuming processed foods including sugar and the holy-grail, favorite food staple—wheat flour—creates weight gain.

Wheat was originally a wild grass—which has been hybrid into six different classes in the United States. Soft red winter wheat and soft white wheat are grown east of the Mississippi River. West of the Mississippi, the wheat grown includes hard red winter, hard red spring, durum, hard white, and soft white. Soft white wheat is grown in the Pacific Northwest while spring and durum wheat are grown in the Northern Plains.

Evidence exists that this wild grass first grew in Mesopotamia and in the Tigris and Euphrates River valleys in the Middle East nearly 12,000 years ago. As early as 6,700 B.C., Swiss lake dwellers used this wild grass to make flat cakes. It was the Egyptians who discovered how to make yeast-leavened breads between 2,000 and 3,000 B.C. Since this wild grass is the only product with sufficient gluten content to make a raised or leavened loaf of bread, this wild grass quickly became favored over other grains grown at the time, such as: oats, millet, rice, and barley. The workers who built the pyramids in Egypt were paid in bread.

This hybrid grass (wheat) does not digest. It ferments in the stomach spewing off toxic waste that causes acid reflux, bloating and inflames tissues and joints—thus creating swelling in both. If people stopped eating ‘wheat’ and initially use a highly effective acidity detox remedy, within a few days you will lose inches from every part of your body. Furthermore, once you stop consuming processed foods and instead eat whole foods such as fruits and vegetables, under normal conditions, with moderate exercise, the body will release its excess weight on its own. I speak from experience on this.

The low-carb craze has done a great disservice. Contrary to popular belief, all carbohydrates are not bad. The issue is the type of carbohydrate. There are two natural forms of carbohydrates— simple and complex. Then there is the ‘refined’ carbohydrate.

Simple carbohydrates such as—fruit, honey and maple syrup, which are quickly digested, enabling the body to absorb the glucose necessary to provide short energy bursts. Complex carbohydrates such as—fresh vegetables and whole grains (not wheat), take longer to digest, providing energy over a longer period of time.

A ‘refined’ carbohydrate is a carbohydrate that has been chemically altered to increase its shelf-life. The refinement process transforms a complex carbohydrate into a simple carbohydrate by removing the original natural elements such as—fiber, healthy oils, vitamins and minerals. Relying heavily on commercial food products, the American diet is rife with refined carbohydrates found in white sugar, white rice and white wheat flour.

Although most people don’t understand their bodies' nutritional requirements, their bodies' still do. There is no mystery why scientists have been unwilling to explain this to the masses. Chemically engineered food and cheap to raise and process wild grass (known as wheat) makes for high profits for manufacturers.

Let me be the first one to tell you the secret of weight loss and maintaining weight. All food found in nature, when eaten in their natural whole state, contain the corresponding nutrients and enzymes the body requires to properly digest that particular food.

For instance, the minerals required to digest sugar are calcium, phosphorus, chromium, magnesium, cobalt, copper, zinc and manganese. Sugar cane in its natural form is rich in these vitamins and minerals, which work synergistically with the cane’s fiber and enzymes to nourish the body. Not so with refined sugar.

Refined sugar is devoid of the nutrients and built-in enzyme systems that exist in naturally sweet foods. When we eat refined sugar, the body calibrates that in order to properly digest the sugar, it needs these minerals and the corresponding enzymes. When these minerals and enzymes are not eaten along with the sugar, the body adapts by pulling stored nutrients from its own bones and tissues.

When refined sugar is ingested in the absence of the calcium necessary to digest it, calcium is drawn out of the bones and tissues where it is stored. The depletion of calcium from the bones and tissues on a regular—even daily—basis weakens bones, potentially leading to osteoporosis and other degenerative diseases.

As mentioned above Wheat flour has an even worse effect on the body. In addition to spewing toxic waste into the tissue and joints and triggering acid reflux, the body turns to its own bones and tissue in an effort to access the stored nutrients to digest a substance that does not digest. This upsets the body chemistry, resulting in degenerative diseases--such as arthritis, weight gain and osteoporosis.

My challenge to you is to take control of your own weight by avoiding processed foods including wheat and sugar. If you do, in a few short weeks, you will find a healthier and lighter you. If you stick to this food plan, like me, you will find a permanently healthier and lighter you. I wish you well on your change to a healthier and lighter body. ###

Dorothy M. Neddermeyer, PhD, author, specializes in: Mind, Body, Spirit healing. As an inspirational leader, Dr. Neddermeyer empowers people to view life's challenges as an opportunity for Personal/ Professional Growth and Spiritual Awakening.

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Thoughts to Ponder

When you know that what you're doing is right, nothing will be able to stop you. When you are absolutely convinced of the true value of your efforts, you'll have the courage and the persistence to see them through. To believe in what you're doing is not just important. It is everything.

Anything less cannot possibly succeed. For any accomplishments you reach while living a lie will ultimately be of no value.

It is not always easy to live true to your highest values, true to your authentic self, true to what you know is right. Yet it is always your best choice.

When you deny what you know is right in order to follow the expediency of the moment, the benefits you gain are trivial and fleeting. Choose instead to live each moment true to the highest values you know.

Then, who you become will be the fulfillment of who you truly are. Why would you ever want to be anything less? —Ralph Marston

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