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Lesson #4: Hormonal Reset #5 – Thyroid

HORMONAL RESET - THYROID

THYROID Reset

Majority of people who struggle to lose weight will have an issue with grains. 
When your goal is getting lean, eating grains is like throwing gas on a fire and may slow down your weight loss progression.
 
Most grains have a fairly high-glycemic index, meaning that after one to two hours, your blood sugar surges. Unfortunately, foods that spike your blood sugar are chemically addictive. They cause inflammation in your body and keep you in a state of craving foods. 
 
It’s important to recognise why both gluten and grains can be bad for your gut—and your weight loss efforts. Gluten is a protein found in some grains, but not all. If you love your carbs, there are plenty of healthy non-grain alternatives, such as sweet potatoes.
 
Grains (yes, even gluten-free ones) cause blood sugar spikes that lead to your body depositing more fat, usually at your waist. These types of carbs enter your bloodstream very quickly, in the form of glucose, causing your blood sugar to spike, followed by an insulin surge. This is the pattern that is linked to storing more fat. 
Grains, bread, and potatoes are the most positively correlated foods when it comes to how much a food raises your blood sugar.
 
 
Long before refined grains, we ate vegetables, seeds, nuts, and wild game. Our Paleolithic ancestors were adapted to a diet high in fibre, clean (and anti-inflammatory) proteins, and phytonutrients. So, it makes sense that many of us haven’t adapted to eating grains.
 
That they don’t provide adequate nutritional support, and our bodies weren’t designed to digest them. 
 
We can’t have a conversation about grains without speaking about gluten, which is in so many of our favourite products. It is the protein found in wheat, barley, and rye that provides elasticity to baked goods, such as bread, cereal, and pizza.
 
The problem is that gluten may make you fat. When ingested, gluten can sound an alarm in your gut and brain, trigger immune overreaction, increase appetite, and cause you to overeat. It can reek havoc by causing you leaky gut, leading to bloating, creating an aching belly, limiting nutrient uptake and causing your immune system to malfunction.
 
Here is an example of what gluten can do inside your body:
Did you know that 60 percent of your immune system is directly below a single layer of cells in your small intestine (that’s the connector between your stomach and large intestine)? That single layer of cells protecting us from the outside world makes us quite vulnerable.
Now, with gluten not able to be broken down in the body efficiently, it acts as the perfect storm, causing problems for your gut lining. 
 
I understand what you all must be thinking… How can I avoid bread, pasta, pizza, rice, potatoes, porridge, cake, pastries and just give them up?
There is no way I am expecting anyone to give them as I would not myself…
 
BUT
 
There may be a point where you may feel like you are affected from ingesting grains when you eat them so it might just be a good idea to give your body a reset for a week or two if you suffer from such symptoms below:
 
– Recurring abdominal bloating and/or pain? Frequent or smelly gas? Food poisoning? (Food poisoning puts you at greater risk of problems with gluten.) Constipation or diarrhea? Diagnosis of irritable bowel disease or acid reflux (GERD)?
 
 
– Anxiety, depression?
 
– Migraines or other headaches?
 
– Unexplained weight gain? Difficulty losing weight?
 
     – Feeling tired and lethargic within 30 minutes of eating a type of grain?
 
  
– Attention deficit? Autism?
 
– Joint pain or aches? Bone pain?
 
– Brain fog? Chronic fatigue?
 
– Hair loss? Chronic eczema or acne? 
 
– Unexplained skin rashes?
 
– Vitamin and/or mineral deficiencies? Iron deficient anemia?
 
– Unexplained infertility? Menstrual disorders? Repeated miscarriages (three or more)?
 
– A loss of balance and coordination? Difficulty walking or walking with a wide gait?
 
– Restless legs syndrome?
 
– Thyroid antibodies, also known as autoimmune thyroiditis or Hashimoto’s disease, or another autoimmune condition?
 
If you can see 5 symptoms here that you may be experiencing, it is a good chance you have a problem with grains/gluten
 
 
GRAIN FREE RULES: DO THESE EACH DAY
 
 When you go grocery shopping, try to stock your pantry with enough foods that don’t contain grain to sustain you for at least five-seven days.
 
  1.  Avoid all grains, including flour (even gluten free).
 
 Bread, cereal, pasta, pizza, pastries, rolled oats, quinoa or other food made with any grains (even gluten-free).
 
Wheat, rye, barley, oat, corn, durum, rice, spelt, or any type of grain flours or ingredients and byproducts made from those grains.
 
    Processed foods containing grains, wheat, gluten derivatives, or thickeners. These foods include hot dogs, luncheon meats, mustard, 
pickles, ice cream, salad dressings, canned soups, dried soup mixes, processed cheeses, cream sauces, beer, spices with additives. 
 
    Gluten-free carbohydrates. Don’t trade gluten filled refined carbohydrates for gluten-free refined carbohydrates.
 
    Artificial seasonings and flavours. The food industry keeps these ingredients hidden, so it’s hard to know sometimes exactly what contains gluten. You should be always be cautious. Look for ingredients like “flavouring,” “natural flavouring,” “hydrolysed vegetable protein,” “maltodextrin,” and “modified food starch,” which could be derived from wheat and contain gluten.
 
Eat 250gm of high-fibre vegetables per day.  
 
Eat clean proteins, such as seafood, organic poultry, and eggs—approximately 8 to 12 ounces per day (about 80–110 grams). If they don’t make you bloated and miserable, eat one half-cup per day of fresh or cooked beans.
 
  5.  Eat only limited fresh fruits: avocado, olives, berries and coconut. 
AVOID fruit juices and dried fruits.
 
Always keep in mind, these resets are not about eliminating everything out of your daily food intake. They are simply the steps needed to reset your body and bring back the correct balance if you feel they are needed and you have been struggling to get results in the past. 
 
Once you have completed the reset you can slowly introduce them back in. 
Good quality choices of course…
 
 
SWAPS FOR GRAINS
 
    Coconut wraps—these are tasty alternatives to carb-dense wraps and are made from coconut meat and water.
 
    Romaine lettuce instead of bread or buns
 
    Coconut flour
 
    Baked sweet potatoes
 
    Kelp noodles 
 
  If you’re looking for a salty, crunchy taste, try roasted seaweed. It’s a rich source of iodine and available at your local supermarket 
 Good treat to eat when the rest of your family is eating potato chips or biscuits. 
 
    Flaxseed and dehydrated vegetable crackers
 
If you are still not sure about giving up the grains but feel you suffer from some of the symptoms above, just give a shot for a few days to see how your body feels overall. 
 
Worst case scenario: You will just go back to what you are familiar with
 
This is a powerful reset for a lot of people and I have seen some dramatic results in just a week of going through the 5th step. 
 
Any questions just let me know.