removed. More importantly, as companies continue to create more-resistant varieties of crops to support greater yields, these defenses will only grow in number and power.
As the quality of our food and the soil it grows in continues to diminish, the proper breakdown and absorption of the remaining nutrients in foods grows in importance. All nutrients are absorbed through the walls of our gut, which is why the integrity of our intestinal lining is so important, and why we must avoid foods that compromise it. Although the standard recommendation is to consume a high fiber diet, full of cereal grains like Bran, this results in damage to our intestinal lining and compromised digestive health. The digestive damage from lectins becomes increasingly detrimental with frequent consumption, as is characteristic of the majority of the population who eats some form of grains at every meal. The cereal for breakfast, sandwich for lunch, pasta for dinner regimen we discussed earlier, introduces toxic lectins frequently and continuously. When there’s constant irritation it leaves no opportunity for repair, which can result in a higher severity of damage over time. For instance, if the intestinal lining is compromised and more lectins are introduced our risk of leptin resistance is elevated.
When absorption is minimized because of decreased gut health, one has to question whether adding insoluble fiber to ‘speed u p’ transit time is beneficial.
This is likely why David Southgate, one of the world’s leading authority’s on fiber, suggests that infants, children, and pregnant women that have greater mineral needs should disregard the recommendation to eat more fiber.
High Fiber = High Carb
Aside from inflammation and digestive distress, an increased intake of whole grains and cereal fibers adds to our daily carbohydrate (sugar) intake. These polysaccharides (‘many sugars’) generate a blood sugar response as high as table sugar, leaving you with excess body fat and elevated triglycerides. As I’ve illustrated, triglycerides are a much better predictor of heart disease, and researchers point to insulin resistance and a sedentary lifestyle as key risk factors for colon cancer.
Regardless of the evidence, the general public continues to be misled by the government and various medical associations with statements like this (from 2011):
“Higher intakes of dietary fiber and whole grain also protect against weight gain and type 2 diabetes, and it is possible that part of the potential effect of fiber intake is mediated through improved weight control and reduced insulin resistance, although these may not be the main mechanisms.”
“The more people that believe it’s true, the more likely they are to repeat it, and thus the more likely you are to hear it. This is how inaccurate information can create a bandwagon effect, leading quickly to a broad, but mistaken, consensus.”
― Barry Schwartz, The Paradox of Choice
Mistake #8
Thinking Protein Causes Health
Problems
The eating habits we thrived on for millions of years that resulted in minimal (if any) incidences of degenerative disease, had nearly 4 times the protein the average North American consumes now. Yet, in 2001 The American Heart Association made the following statement:
"Individuals who follow these [high-protein] diets are at risk for ... potential cardiac, renal, bone, and liver abnormalities overall.”
There is no convincing evidence to support such a claim, and drawing a conclusion like this is extremely misleading to the public. Interestingly, the research on higher protein diets suggests the exact opposite.
High Protein Does NOT = Kidney Damage
I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve been in a discussion where someone made the statement:
“H igh protein diets cause kidney damage.”
It’s like we were all born with an instruction manual that reads:
Dietary Cholesterol = Heart