Since much of the Maker’s Diet Revolution is centered upon cleansing and reducing excess pounds, I thought this would be a good place to talk about two important factors that will keep those pounds off and increase the amount of toxins leaving your body.
When it comes to managing weight, supporting healthy blood sugar levels, and effectively promoting detoxification of the body, we have two dietary allies, or as I call them, faithful friends—fat and fiber.
The former is a macronutrient, and the latter is a component of the carbohydrate portion of plant foods that the body can’t digest or absorb. Although dietary fiber is not digestible, it is very important for digestion, elimination, and overall health. Fiber keeps the digestive tract healthy, particularly the colon, pulls out excess hormones and toxins from the body, provides a food source for the good probiotic bacteria, and promotes healthy cholesterol levels.
I’ll be getting into more detail about fat and fiber soon, but let me set the stage a bit by reminding you that one of the biggest essentials for maintaining a healthy weight comes from balancing appetite-regulating hormones such as leptin and ghrelin, the “hunger hormones” that can reduce or spike hunger. But there’s another hormone that we have to pay attention to, and that’s insulin.
Insulin is a hormone produced by the pancreas to deal with blood sugar known as glucose that comes into the body via our diet. When you consume a high-sugar food, even a piece of fruit, the pancreas secretes insulin with orders to either shuttle the sugar into the cells for energy or store it as excess fat.
I’ll give you one guess where that excess fat is stored.
Sugars, as well as starches, are carbohydrates. It’s generally accepted that the more refined the carbohydrates—think about the ingredients in most any processed food you find on a supermarket shelf—the harder the pancreas has to work to produce insulin to deal with that sugar, either as energy for the cells or as excess fat.
Carbohydrates come mainly in two forms—monosaccharides and disaccharides. (There is a third form called polysaccharides, but for the sake of argument, disaccharides and polysaccharides have two or more sugar molecules, so for this discussion we’ll consider them essentially one and the same.)
Monosaccharides are comprised of a single sugar. Most fruits, vegetables, natural cheeses, cultured dairy products, raw honey—and nuts and seeds— contain carbohydrates that are mainly in the form of monosaccharides. The gastrointestinal tract finds monosaccharide foods easier to digest because these single-molecule carbohydrates can be absorbed through the lining of the small intestine without having to be digested or broken down first.
Disaccharides are composed of two molecules of single sugars that are linked together. Examples of disaccharide-rich foods are grains, potatoes, table sugar (sucrose), and corn. The most common American dietary sources of disaccharides are foods containing refined white or brown sugar or processed grains such as boxed cereal, bread, bagels, dinner rolls, and blueberry muffins.
Disaccharides are much more difficult to digest. When unabsorbed carbohydrates remain in the large intestine undigested, they feed harmful bacteria and upset the balance of the intestinal flora—prompting digestive problems to strike. Eating an abundance of disaccharide-containing foods can also result in malabsorption in the gastrointestinal tract, which means that food travels too rapidly through the digestive tract, leading to nutrient deficiencies and digestive issues.
When you consume foods high in sugars or starches—even those commonly believed to be healthy, such as carrot juice or grapes—with a fat or a fiber, or both, something good happens in the body. Fat and fiber slow the absorption of the sugars and, therefore, cause a decreased insulin response, which promotes balanced energy levels and mood and leads to a longer period of post-meal fullness.
In recent years, there has been much discussion about this topic based on the development of the glycemic index, which measures how foods affect blood sugar levels and, specifically, how quickly the carbohydrates in foods are broken down into sugars. Here’s some good news: when you add a fat or fiber to food with a high glycemic index—a food whose sugars are quickly absorbed by the body, such as juice or a piece of fruit—the glycemic index is lowered.
I’ve noticed that some weight-loss companies are basing their entire message on a “low glycemic” diet. Based on the science of the glycemic index, the way you manipulate the glycemic index is by increasing fiber and fat in food.
One of the secrets of success for the Daniel Diet is the consumption of meals that are balanced with healthy fats and fiber. If you look at the balance of protein, carbohydrate, fat, and fiber in the foods recommended on the 10-Day Daniel Diet such as seeds, nuts, avocados, coconut, and the EA Pulse blends, you’ll find that these foods are slowly absorbed and the sugars are very slowly released into the body, which makes them ideal for supporting healthy blood sugar levels.
About Those Carbs …
I have a saying that I’ve repeated for years: Don’t eat carbs naked.
What I mean is that it’s not a good idea to eat carbohydrates—starches and sugars—naked, or by themselves. You should be consuming fat and fiber along with your carbs because they slow the absorption of sugar into the bloodstream, which keeps insulin levels in check.
Those insulin levels are something you want to pay attention to, especially if you’re the parent of young children. I know it’s popular to hand your kids a boxed juice, but even if they’re drinking a healthy, natural juice not made from concentrate, that juice quickly turns to sugar in the bloodstream, which ramps up insulin production. This could set your youngster down a path that leads to insulin insensitivity, which could lead to pre-diabetes. Likewise, constant and excessive insulin production is one of the culprits of obesity and diabetes.
The next time your child reaches for a glass of healthy juice, be sure to have him or her eat a handful of sprouted seeds or nuts—good sources of both fat and fiber.
That’s why fats and fiber are your allies. You’re not going to get fat eating foods with good fats; you gain weight by consuming high-carbohydrate foods loaded with sugars and starches that quickly release into the bloodstream as glucose and cause a spike in insulin, triggering fat storage. You certainly don’t gain weight by eating high-fiber foods such as celery, cucumber, soaked and sprouted nuts and seeds, and berries.
I encourage you to add healthy fat to your diet. I want you to add fiber to your diet. And I want you do be intentional about adding both in combination whenever possible.
I’m amazed at how many people still think that fat is bad for you. They’ve been told by “health experts” for decades that fat makes you fat, which reveals a huge misunderstanding in the way the body works. It’s eating foods with excess carbohydrates, especially processed foods, that kicks up the insulin levels and cause the body to store the surplus around your midsection.
Fats are vital factors in the diet, necessary for normal growth and proper function of the brain and nervous system. The right fats protect our bodies’ organs and systems and help us maintain optimum energy levels. Good fats are found in a wide range of foods, including those of animal origin such as pasture-raised beef, lamb, poultry, eggs, fish such as wild-caught salmon, and organic dairy products such as Amasai, butter, and cheese.
When I formulated the Daniel Diet, I wanted to find healthy foods and meals that contain both fat and fiber in the right ratio. Topping my list, once again, is my faithful friend, the humble avocado.
Avocados may have a little more fat than fiber, but there’s a reason why avocados are a part of my daily diet and have been for years. Avocados are high in healthy monosaturated fats as well as important vitamins and minerals.
Fiber? The creamy flesh contains 10 to 13 grams of fiber (for a medium-sized avocado), right up there with broccoli, cauliflower, and artichokes—foods that are best consumed cooked, as compared to avocados, which are almost always eaten raw.
There’s nothing better than several thick slices of a ripe avocado garnishing a salad, which is why I made sure that avocados were part of the Daniel Diet (for those choosing to prepare their own foods). The creamy flesh is not only delicious, but it’s really a “two-fer” when it comes to giving your body the fat and fiber it needs during the 10-Day Daniel Diet and every day on the Maker’s Diet Revolution eating plan.
Another food that can bat from both sides of the dietary plate is coconut. The coconut meat scraped from the inside of its shell contains copious amounts of fiber and powerful medium-chain fatty acids. Coconut can do a clean-up number on stored toxins, leaving your digestive tract spic ’n’ span.
The benefits of coconuts have been known for centuries. Early Spanish explorers, who called the hairy nut a coco (meaning “monkey face”) because of the three indentations or “eyes” on the shell, soon discovered that coconuts provided a nutritious source of water (or coconut juice, as some call it), milk, meat, and oil. Many island civilizations in the Caribbean and South Pacific depend upon the coconut as a staple in their diet.
Coconut is best eaten fresh or dried. The biggest problem with eating fresh coconut meat is that coconuts have a very short shelf life, and getting to the meat is not for the faint of heart. If you do it yourself, you’ll need leather gloves, an ice pick, a hammer, and curved-ended oyster knife. I’ve split dozens of mature coconuts over the years, and I can assure you there is a learning curve. Young coconuts and Thai coconuts can be good for you, but there’s not a lot of fiber in the meat, which has a jelly-like appearance. Best to choose mature coconuts for your fat and fiber needs.
For those who prefer to leave the ice pick and hammering to someone else, dried coconut is available in many forms. As long as the dried coconut is certified organic and hasn’t been heated above 114 degrees Fahrenheit, you have a great source of raw fat and fiber. If you’re wondering about extra-virgin coconut oil, which I’ve touted in all of my books, that’s a great source of fat but you’re missing the fiber.
After avocado and coconut, the other high fat and fiber foods that I want to encourage you to eat are the “Seven Seeds” that I introduced in Chapter 4, “The Power of Pulse.” I’m referring to chia seeds, flaxseeds, sesame seeds, black sesame seeds, hemp seeds, pumpkin seeds, and sunflower seeds.
Soaking seeds in water neutralizes the enzyme inhibitors present in all seeds and encourages the production of beneficial enzymes. They’re a lot easier to digest when soaked. The amount of time you soak depends on the size and the nature of the seeds.
A good way to soak/sprout nuts and seeds at home is to soak the seeds overnight in water, drain and rinse, and then put them in a dehydrator to give them some crispness. It does take a little planning, but once you soak your chia seeds or flaxseeds the first time or two, you’ll get the hang of things.
Soaking your seeds for one to three days gives them a chance to sprout, which increases the nutritional profile of your seeds—and nuts. Sprouting increases vitamin B content and neutralizes phytic acid, which is a substance that inhibits the absorption of calcium, magnesium, iron, copper, and zinc. Numerous digestive enzymes are produced during the germination process.
You might find it more convenient to consume our Beyond Organic EA Live foods and snacks, which use an ancient symbiotic culture—in the soaking and sprouting process—to create these foods high in healthy fat and fiber. The enzyme-activated process can be described as “super sprouting” and unlocks the nutrition inside the hulls of seeds and nuts in ways that will make these ordinary foods into superfoods.
Visit www.LiveBeyondOrganic.com for more information.