Part 1: When White Is Not Alright

Part 1: When White Is Not Alright

I grew up eating white bread, white rice, and white pasta—and loved every bite of them! Who wouldn’t? They were easy to chew, sweet to swallow, and downright affordable. Imagine my surprise when, as an adult, I learned that my favorite “snow white” foods were not created to be colorless.

When God created grains, He fashioned them in a state of completeness, full of fiber and nutrients. Unfortunately, we humans figured out how to take only the most palatable part of the whole food God intended for us, and tossed out the rest. As a result, these man-altered foods digest into sugar molecules much faster than if they were still wearing their “fiber-jackets”. This rapid digestion causes wild blood sugar spikes which must be brought down by heavy doses of the hormone, insulin. Over time our bodies become less effective at controlling those sugar highs.

Tragically, eating a diet chock full of these “not-alright, white foods”  will give rise to a condition known as insulin resistance (the culprit behind such plights as heart disease, pre-diabetes, Type 2 diabetes, certain cancers). One great way to avoid or even reverse insulin resistance is to save all those fiber-stripped foods for special occasions, and even then, be sure to eat them in only small amounts.  Purpose, instead, to regularly eat whole grain breads, pasta, and brown rice.

Here’s a handy tip: If you’d like to make this change, but are convinced that your family will resist, try mixing in ¼, then ½, then ¾ of fiber and nutrient-dense substitutes into their “not alright, white” foods until you are serving them 100% whole grain goodness. (FYI, brown rice freezes well.) As for improving the quality of their bread, move from white bread, to wheat, to whole wheat before attempting to introduce multigrain or sprouted grain breads—if that’s what you wish to finally serve.

Next week: Part 2, One Dynamite White Food