We talk a fair amount about nutrition around the Zone, often with a heavy focus on the Paleo Diet. For those of you who are familiar with Paleo eating, you will know that grains are on the naughty list for mealtimes. Why is that, you may ask? Well, have a look at this blog I came across by Mark Sisson of Mark’s Daily Apple, called, “Why Grains Are Unhealthy”. It’s a fairly lengthy post, so I’m only including an excerpt. But I would encourage you all to click on the link provided at the end here, and read this information in its entirety. Then, let us know YOUR opinion about grains and their involvement in a healthy diet!
“Apart from maintaining social conventions in certain situations and obtaining cheap sugar calories, there is absolutely no reason to eat grains. Believe me – I’ve searched far and wide and asked everyone I can for just one good reason to eat cereal grains, but no one can do it. They may have answers, but they just aren’t good enough. For fun, though, let’s see take a look at some of the assertions:
“You need the fiber!” Okay, for one: no, I don’t. If you’re referring to its oft-touted ability to move things along in the inner sanctum, fiber has some unintended consequences. A few years back, scientists found that high-fiber foods “bang up against the cells lining the gastrointestinal tract, rupturing their outer covering” which “increases the level of lubricating mucus.” Err, that sounds positively awful. Banging and tearing? Rupturing? These are not the words I like to hear. But wait! The study’s authors say, “It’s a good thing.” Fantastic! So when all those sticks and twigs rub up against my fleshy interior and literally rupture my intestinal lining, I’ve got nothing to worry about. It’s all part of the plan, right?
Somehow, I’m not convinced that a massive daily infusion of insoluble grain fiber is all that essential. And that “lubricating mucus” sounds an awful lot like the mucus people with irritable bowel syndrome complain about. From personal experience I can tell you that once I completed my exodus from grains, the IBS completely stopped. If you’re not yet convinced on the fiber issue I’ll refer you to Konstantin Monastyrsky’s Fiber Menace. Anyway, there’s plenty of fiber in the vegetables and fruit I eat. Which takes me to the next claim:
“You need the vitamins and minerals!” You got me. I do need vitamins and minerals, like B1 and B2, magnesium and iron, zinc and potassium. But do I need to obtain them by eating a carb-heavy, bulky grain? No, no I don’t. You show me a serving of “healthy whole grains” that can compete – nutrient, vitamin, and mineral-wise – with a Big Ass Salad. What’s that? Can’t do it? Thought so.
“But it forms the foundation of the governmental food pyramid!” You know, I should have just started the entire post with this one. I could have saved my fingers the trouble of typing and your eyes the trouble of reading. Governmental endorsements are not points in your favor, grain-eater; they are strikes against you. An appeal to authority (unless that “authority” is actually a preponderance of scientific evidence, of course) does not an effective argument make. Conventional Wisdom requires consistent, steady dissection and criticism if it is to be of any value.
There’s a reason grains are first and foremost on the list of foods to avoid when following the Primal Blueprint: they are completely and utterly pointless in the context of a healthy diet. In fact, if your average unhealthy person were to ask for the top three things to avoid in order to get healthy, I would tell them to stop smoking, to stop drinking their calories (as soda or juice), and to stop eating grains. Period. Full stop. They really are that bad.”
To read the rest of this in-depth post from Mark’s Daily Apple about some of the fundamental reasons why grains and their toxic anti-nutrients may not be good for you, click here … Then post to comments with your opinions!
Today’s Workout:
Buy-in: 10 minutes of thruster and floor-to-overhead practice
WOD: The Crucible
Strap on your courage hats gang and let’s dig in. Should be a toughie but a goodie.
Elite – 4 rounds for time of:
- 400m run
- 10 thrusters (65/95)
- 10 floor to overhead (65/95) – can be one movement (snatch) or two movements (clean to push press) or anywhere in between – if new to this, focus on clean to push press.
- 10 knees to elbows
Zone 4: scale number of reps to 6 of everything each round
Zone 3: scale weight to 45/65, substitute double crunch for kte
Zone 2: scale thrusters as needed, remove fto (i.e. just do thrusters for 10 reps every round)
Zone 1: scale workout weight, exercises, and/or rounds as needed
Cash-out: Hip mobility stretches (coaches’ choice)