Initial Reaction from the kids

So, what did the kids say?  How did you explain it to them?

The older two came home first, and over snack I just kinda said, "Oh, by the way, we'll be trying something new at home."  They thought it was some weird diet thing and they were right, sorta.

I told them that based on J's eating issues and blood sugar issues (or so we thought), we'll be making adjustments to how we eat in order to help resolve some of these things she deals with, and that there was benefits for them as well.

C's initial reaction was to make fun... of everything.  For afterschool snack, I served them popcorn, "Mom, is there wheat in this?"  ha ha, and at dinner, as I serve him a baked potato, "Mom, is there wheat in this?"   ha ha Funny Boy.  But seriously, there is definitely an educational opportunity here.

Some kids I guess just do what you want them to.  For my kids, they need information.  The why.

I said to them, "the wheat we eat today isn't what it used to be.  It's a GMO, a genetically modified food."  WHAT?

Yep, they used millions of dollars in the 60's to create a super strain of wheat.  One that is hardy, grows quickly, produces a high yield, is disease resistance, drought tolerant.  Oh, and they... uh... didn't... test it for human consumption.  SERIOUSLY.  They DID NOT TEST IT FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION.  Did you know that...

This new modern wheat may look like wheat, but it is different in three important ways that all drive obesity, diabetes, heart disease, cancer, dementia and more.

1. It contains a Super Starch -- amylopectin A that is super fattening.
2. It contains a form of Super Gluten that is super-inflammatory.
3. It contains forms of a Super Drug that is super-addictive and makes you crave and eat more.

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-mark-hyman/wheat-gluten_b_1274872.html  

So then, I gave them some facts I learned and how it might apply to them.  I started simple.  C, for you, it's going to help your IBS issues.  You won't get such stomach cramps and that overwhelming need to hit the john so quickly after you eat something.  He laughed at me.

N, for you, it will mean less gas.  Her comment? "But I like my gas.  It makes me laugh.  I have so much gas I could power a car!"   When I told her that I could give her beans and that would do the same thing, she laughed.

We all have ways of dealing with things, I guess.  But that was initial reaction. More questions arose.  "What about pizza?  How will we make sandwiches?"  I told them that removing pizza for a month won't kill them.  I actually told them that we could have pizza once in a while, but most likely they might feel sick afterwards.  That got their attention.

Sick?

What do you mean by sick?

More facts for my WHY kids.

Wheat causes inflammation in your body.

From: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-mark-hyman/wheat-gluten_b_1274872.html 


Most of the increased risk occurs when gluten triggers inflammation that spreads like a fire throughout your whole body. It damages the gut lining. Then all the bugs and partially-digested food particles inside your intestine get across the gut barrier and are exposed your immune system, 60 percent of which lies right under the surface of the one cell thick layer of cells lining your gut or small intestine. If you spread out the lining of your gut, it would equal the surface area of a tennis court. Your immune system starts attacking these foreign proteins, leading to systemic inflammation that then causes heart disease, dementia, cancer, diabetes and more.

Dr. Alessio Fasano, a celiac expert from the University of Maryland School of Medicine, discovered a protein made in the intestine called "zonulin" that is increased by exposure to gluten.[5] Zonulin breaks up the tight junctions or cement between the intestinal cells that normally protect your immune system from bugs and foreign proteins in food leaking across the intestinal barrier. If you have a "leaky gut," you will get inflammation throughout your whole body and a whole list of symptoms and diseases.

Did you hear that????    



There's more.

From: http://nourishedkitchen.com/against-the-grain-10-reasons-to-give-up-grains/



Due to a high starch content, grains are inflammatory foods.   The more refined the grain, the more inflammatory it is.   For example, unbleached white flour is more inflammatory than whole grain flour; however, whole grains are still moderately inflammatory foods and certainly more inflammatory than other foods like fresh vegetables and wholesome fats.   Chronic inflammation is linked to a myriad of degenerative, modern diseases including arthritis, allergies, asthma, cardiovascular disease, bone loss, emotional imbalance and even cancer.   Unbleached white flour earns an inflammation factor of -421 or strongly inflammatory on NutritionData.com while whole wheat flour earns an inflammation factor of -247 or moderately inflammatory.   Similarly, whole cooked millet earns an inflammation factor of -150 and cooked brown rice earns an inflammation factor of -143 – also moderately inflammatory.



Yep, I did tell my older two kids this.  They asked.  They wanted to know.

Why in 2012 do we not know this information?

We have seen a rise in obesity, a rise in cancers, a rise in heart disease, a rise in bone loss.  Billions is spent on Pharma to find an answer BUT we can control a lot of this by removing wheat and most if not all grains.

If you knew that you could cut your risk of cancer, wouldn't you do that?????????   I would.  I will.