Going Against the Grain: How Reducing and Avoiding Grains Can Revitalize Your Health

5 Responses to “Going Against the Grain: How Reducing and Avoiding Grains Can Revitalize Your Health”

1. Anonymous says:

   May 27, 2010 at 1:51 pm

   Instead of asking Ms. Smith, perhaps readers would be better suited to turn to the recommendations of the National Cancer Institute, National Cancer Society, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, the World Health Organization, the Physicians Group for Responsible Medicine, and countless university-based studies. A diet consisting only of whole grains, fruits, and vegetables is the best defense hostile to diabetes, obesity, heart disease, and cancer. The fiber in whole grain food escorts carcinogens and other toxins out of the body, even as vitamins and minerals otherwise make sure proper functioning. In time, this latest version of the low-carbohydrate fad will look as ridiculous and baseless as every other fad diet. This book is just another example of commercial exploitation of people looking to be healthy without making any meaningful changes to their diets and lifestyles.
   Rating: 1 / 5
2. Anonymous says:

   May 27, 2010 at 4:08 pm

   Going Hostile to the Grain -Roger Mason

   Folks, you want to hear about the stupidest, most asinine, ignorant book written so far this year? It is “Hostile to the Grain” by Melissa Diane Smith (don’t you just like people who need three names? That’s so you won’t confuses her with all the other Melissa Smiths you know). She tells you whole grains are the most terrible food on earth and we should all basically stop eating them. That’s aptly, the very foundation of your diet is killing you according to her. She says “Grains are connected with many nutritional problems that most people are absolutely unaware of. Most of us would experience far better health if we reduced our intake of grains and ate more vegetables. Some of us would do better with no grains at all in our diets.” That’s a quote.
   She then yaps on and on about refined grains. Well, we all agree that refined grains are no excellent for us; no one is promoting refined grains except the corporations that yield that nutritionless junk white flour, white bread, white rice, white pasta, degermed corn meal and the other such foods.
   She says whole grains are high in carbohydrates and low in antioxidants like vitamin C and beta carotene. Of course they are high in complex carbohydrates- that is the main food we should eat. And this is why we eat vegetables to get the other vitamins, sterols, lignans, and minerals we need that aren’t in whole grains. Eating whole grains as our basic food by the side of with beans, green and yellow vegetables, salads, seafood and some fruit is what is called a balanced and varied diet.
   She goes on to say wheat is “high in calories”. Hardly. All whole grains are low in calories and you would have to eat four pounds of whole wheat rolls a day to get 2,500 calories. May possibly you eat four pounds of whole wheat rolls in a day? Shows how ignorant she is of basic nutrition despite her claim she graduated from the American Academy of Nutrition. Maybe she slept thru class.
   Now she says that whole grains, “also control more of the anti-nutrients”. She never tells us what an anti-nutrient is. Do you know what an anti-nutrient is? I don’t. I’ve never heard of an anti-nutrient really. It would sure be nice to know more about these dreadful anti-nutrients. She then keeps ranting on and on about “whole grains are more acidic…”and “the only alkaline foods are fruits and vegetables”. Folks, this woman is a complete nincompoop. I’ve seen stupid people in my life, but she takes the cake. If you would eat only whole grains for a month and have your blood pH tested you can bet it would be aptly at the ideal of about 7.4 (alkaline). If you ate nothing but fruits for a month and had your blood tested you can bet it would probably be down to a very perilous 7.0 or lower due to a severe sugar overload. Whole grains yield a healthy alkaline bloodstream and fruits yield a pathological acidic one. Melissa can’t figure out a simple fact like this.
   She admits that many whole grain eaters are healthier than other people, but credits this to the fact “whole grain eaters tend to live healthier lives” and tend not to smoke, drink alcohol and they eat more fruits and vegetables! Unreal. This woman lives in a fantasy land.
   Now she goes on to rant about gluten sensitivity and says up to half of Americans- up to 140 million of us- have gluten sensitivity. Where does she get this incredible statistic? She doesn’t say, of course, as she never backs up ANYTHING she says.

   You’ll reckon I made this up but here is a quote: “In addition, grains, such as wheat, corn and barley control morphine-like substances called opioids or exorphins that are similar in structure and function to narcotic-like drugs.” Now you reckon I made that up to make her sound stupid don’t you? Judge me, there is nothing I may possibly do to make her sound any stupider than she already does.. She says we are “grain junkies” and “we crave these foods and want more of them to get our `hit’. We’re right grain junkies at that top- just like an alcoholic who needs fixed hits of alcohol throughout the day.” She really keeps on ranting and says, “grain addiction may be a key factor in many cases of alcoholism.”
   Parents, if you catch your children eating brown rice, oatmeal or whole wheat bread please call the narcotic squad and get them into a treatment facility immediately! And all those fall down drunks I see all the time in the health food store buying 50 pound bags of organically grown brown rice are just an abomination! Now we can see the whole drug and alcohol epidemic is due to all the whole grains people are hooked on.
   All these quotes are taken from her interview in Whole Foods magazine (May) so they must have run out of excellent articles to print.
   Please go read my book, “Zen Macrobiotics for Americans” so you can see why whole grains are THE best single food we can eat, and why they are the very staff of life and basis of our diet and have been in near all cultures for the past thousands of years of recorded history. And please also read Dean Ornish, Robert Pritikin, Neal Barnard, Gary Null, Terry Shintani, John McDougall, and Susan Powter to see why they eat lots of whole grains. Whole grains have been the staff of life and everlastingly will be. Eat lots of brown rice, whole grain bread, whole wheat pasta, oatmeal, polenta, barley, cornbread, buckwheat and other whole grains for optimum health and long life. The highest lived and healthiest people on earth are the Okinawan Japanese whose staple food is brown rice. The highest lived people on earth eat whole grains as a staple. Top made
   Rating: 1 / 5
3. C. Sylvester says:

   May 27, 2010 at 5:03 pm

   Um………..WHOLE grains do not cause obesity, REFINED grains do. WHOLE grains do not contribute to type II diabetes, REFINED flours and FAT do.

   If you really want to “Revitalize Your Health”, read books by:

   Drs. Ornish, McDougal or Bernard, they have THOUSANDS of patients whom they have saved their lives and continue to do so through diet.
   Rating: 1 / 5
4. Hailey London says:

   May 27, 2010 at 5:08 pm

   This book provided some of the most misleading, slanted view of nutrition I have read in a even as. As the author demonized grains in general I found myself so very frustrated. As a Dietitian I am quite aware of the benefits of a whole grain based diet. I am quite aware that one of Americas downfalls is an overconsumption of refined grain products, but equally so, one of Americas number one problems is its underconsumption of whole grains. This book is a set up for environmental and long term health disaster. This book seems to promote the overconsumption of protein which can ruin a persons health almsot as quick as it destroys resources. In addition, treating the general broadcast as Diabetics is a sure way to set up for failure.
   Rating: 1 / 5
5. Abroekhuizen says:

   May 27, 2010 at 7:18 pm

   The info in this book is clearly written, simple to know and I can see where she is appearance from.
   
   I want to see more variety for the breakfast receipes.
   
   Excellent price for quality info.
   Rating: 4 / 5