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Just adjusting quantity is not enough; you could also be consuming the wrong kind of grains. They could be crops that are farmed with greater reliance on fertilizers and pesticides or highly refined grains. These processes lower the nutritional value of grains and add to the toxic load. If properly planned, a diet low in grain content or even grain-free can be nutritionally sufficient (you need professional help to guide you), provided high-nutrient foods are used as alternatives.

Gehu khao to phulo [If you eat wheat, you bloat] Jowar khao to jhoolo [If you eat jowar, you float]’ —old Gujarati saying

also, cereals and grains are not the only carbohydrates we consume; whether it’s white or brown sugar, jaggery, honey or maple syrup, sugars provide you with extra calories—and no added nutrition (see Chapter V on glucose). It makes sense to very carefully limit our ingestion of sugars. If you have a sweet tooth, then healthy sugars like jaggery, dry fruits and honey are certainly better than refined sugar.

so, attentive planning of the quality, quantity, choice and variety of carbohydrates that are ingested is an important part of the directive principles of healthy eating.

your choice and quantity of cereal/grain should depend on several relevant factors, which are detailed in the box below.

A GRAIN OF SENSE

The Grain Guide depends on:

• What Your Gut Can Tolerate: If you are gluten-sensitive, you can easily replace gluten- containing grains like wheat, barley and rye with others, such as millet flours, sorghum (bajra), quinoa or teff. one warning though: if you need to go gluten-free, it’s not enough to simply pick up products that say ‘gluten-free’. Many commercially prepared foods may contain too much starch, added sugars or additives.

• Cross-Reactive Grains: people who have a gluten sensitivity or intolerance are often also sensitive to grains such as buckwheat (kuttu), soya, oats, amaranth, spelt or sago (sabudana). This kind of cross-reaction means that ingesting these cereals is likely to create symptoms similar to those caused by gluten.


To be continued....