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This is going to be the chapter that everybody faults me for and I’ll surely be skewered from all sides. People may resent how puritanical and/or radical this sounds, but I can’t just leave this one alone. It’s far too important and my job is to give you the tools to be successful and truly eliminate your health problems. If you’re eating foods that cause toxicity and acidic conditions within the body, then you’re going to be sabotaging your own success and stopping it even from happening.
With that said, the choice is yours and you are free to eat whatever you want. But I will at least present to you the information so you have an understanding of what these foods are, why they are so tempting, and the effect they have upon your body when you indulge in them.
After you transition to a more healthy way of eating, these things are going to be calling out to you, tempting you, beckoning for you like those midnight snack cravings did back in the day: Breads, pastas, tortillas, chips, crackers, beans & legumes, hummus, bean burgers, soy ‘fake meat’, rice, oatmeal, starchy desserts of all kinds, bagels, cakes, pies, muffins, potatoes, corn and corn products.
I know what you are thinking — what other fun things are there left to eat if these are off the menu? This is a fair point. There are some pretty inventive substitutions — for example, tortillas made from coconut, hummus that’s made from sunflower seeds, chips made from dried vegetables and seeds, and numerous other products (which are covered in greater detail in the segment ‘Foods to Cheat With’.
But why even go through all this extra effort to eat goofy substitution specialty products that have to be special-ordered and can’t even be found in most restaurants and many grocery stores? Are grains, beans and starches really that much of a bad thing to eat?
The short answer is that grains, beans and starches, in my opinion, while they may not be as bad as other things like dairy, GMO-type fake foods, chemicals and additives, sodas, and conventionally raised meat, they are still right below those other foods on the list and they are still quite harmful to the human body when consumed, for a few different reasons which I would like to outline.
By the way I would like to point out at this point that I personally had a really hard time giving up these foods. From the beginning of my journey into more healthy and raw foods, it took me almost three years before I had basically completely stopped eating from this category (my indulgence was the irresistible crunch of corn chips). But I must return back to the point at hand which is describing the problematic aspects of these tasty food products that give us that satisfying, delectable bliss-point factor.
Typically, these foods are cooked as part of the preparation process. As you can see outlined in another segment, ‘Cooked vs. Raw Foods’, if your goal is thorough detoxification and regeneration, you will want to minimize the amount of cooked foods you are consuming. Cooked foods lower the overall energy of the individual as opposed to raw foods raising it (electrically speaking in terms of angstroms). Repeated consumption of cooked foods depresses the electrical energy of the individual over repeated occasions.
It is very difficult to eat these foods raw, although there are some exceptions. Have you ever tried to eat some raw wheat? Raw beans? Raw, uncooked potatoes or corn? If these foods don’t naturally, intuitively make sense to eat, in a nature-type context, then why are we eating them? I venture to say that it is only because they are delicious when cooked (especially with a little salt and oil).
So it seems like we are going outside of our own nature to eat them. Human beings, after all, are not true herbivores. Cows and rhinos and giraffes are designed to eat plant foods which are very complex and difficult to digest, due to their grinding teeth, their multiple stomachs, complex digestive system, and long length of the gastro-intestinal tract — but we humans do not have these things. I do believe I am in line with the Paleo crowd here as well, who understand the negative impacts of these foods and the fact that it is not really natural to our species to eat (it typically must be farmed or cultivated which humans largely did not do for most of our existence).
Let’s go through each of the three food categories to better understand them, and then you can have a better sense of these foods as you go about your life from meal to meal and observe and become more aware of what goes on.
Grains are a complex food which are eaten by herbivores in natural settings, and are a great example of a complex sugar. Grains include foods like wheat, but also rice and things like oats.
As opposed to simple sugars which are processed easily, complex sugars are digested with great effort and complexity. The result is acidic chemistry which is created throughout multiple steps of the digestive process, leaving behind an acid wake in the body, which must be neutralized and cleansed out. This causes oxidative stress on the body and creates toxicity and over-acidity which can lead to all kinds of health problems (the same ones which you are trying to get rid of by going through this information, and worse).
Grains actually deprive the body of energy. It’s a net-negative-energy food. Simply put, by the time the body actually assimilates the units of energy derived from this type of food — because it’s so complex to digest — the body has expounded more energy in digesting the grains than the actual energy given to the body from the food itself.
Grains also are high in compounds which have harmful effects in our bodies— things like lectins, phytates (phytic acid), and saponins. Consider that in their own natural genetics for survival, a food like a grain is engrained with compounds that protect itself against bacteria and insects. These things can be harmful when consumed by us without the proper digestive tools like herbivores have. These elements are referred to as ‘anti-nutrients’ because they interfere with the body absorbing the fuel and minerals inside of the grains.
The grains which we eat are dried and concentrated, with a very drawn-out, involved digestive process. Keep in mind that grains are designed by nature for transport and storage (so they can be stored before sprouting a new plant) and so they have enzyme inhibitors. Enzymes are one of the keys to optimal health and a catalyst for high energy throughout the body — yet grains are containing a suppressive quality that inhibits enzyme activities after you eat them.
I will point out at this point that there are schools of thought out there who are well versed in soaking and/or sprouting beans, grains, as well as nuts and seeds for that matter. I will admit that I am not an expert on soaking and sprouting and I tend to just avoid beans and grains instead. However, I will absolutely give credit to the fact that sprouting these foods activates their enzymes and they go from a food with basically minimal nutrition to one which is more nutritious.
Are grains and beans still harmful overall or are they really beneficial after sprouting? It seems like sprouting makes these foods less harmful although they are still complex and still acid-forming. What I like to focus on are the foods which will have the most transformative, energetic effect on your body to put you on track to arrive at your health goal as quickly as possible. These foods when sprouted could still definitely slow down that velocity of regeneration, but if you’re already healthy and well, and want to indulge, absolutely knock yourself out and I take no issue with that.
How about beans? Beans, also called legumes, are like the protein-rich version of grains. While grains are a starchy, high-carb food, high in complex sugars, beans are a complex plant food which are very high in protein but typically low in sugars. Beans are also full of ‘anti-nutrient’ compounds like the ones found in grains. These acidic chemicals are harmful to tissue in addition to preventing absorption of nutrients from the beans. Beans are also filled with enzyme-inhibiting chemistry. They take a very long time to digest, are very complex for the digestive system to break down, and can cause excessive gas, bloating and constipation.
Similar to how digesting the complex sugars from grains causes acidic by-products in the body, by the time beans/legumes are fully digested and turned into energy, many acidic compounds are created. The problem is still the same, as this creates its own unique over-acidity and toxicity in the body.
You are giving your body a lot of extra work to do to clean up the mess. You thought you were just going to enjoy yourself and have some hummus dip and it was all just good innocent fun. But, it’s just important to be aware of all the implications and consequences of a situation.
Lastly, let’s address the whole truth about starches. Specifically, we’re talking about potatoes, as well as corn and corn products, and I know there are some other lesser known starch foods that I’m leaving out like palm starch and cassava and pumpkin. There are also vegetables which are on the starchy side like carrots, beets, cauliflower, and butternut squash (while regular squash/zucchini is not as starchy) — we’ll go easier on them keeping in mind that they are far less starchy than the aforementioned foods.
I know this is a tough one to accept because like me I am sure you were raised on things like potatoes for supper. It’s a cheap staple, filling, very calorie-dense, and tastes great (especially with a little butter and salt). How about corn chips? Corn tortillas? Cornbread? Trust me — it’s very challenging to throw these out of the window.
Chocked full of complex sugars, starches cause over-acidity in the body, due to their long, complicated digestion process that taxes your system and energy. The process of breaking these foods down is very energy-consuming and results in many acids being created in the body by the end of the process.
If you can accept this, than eat away, but the scope of Rapid Regeneration is to try and identify sources of over-acidity (which invites in inflammation, oxidative stress, immune response, and so many health problems) and figure out how to give you the tools to alkalize your body. The goal is to keep your body in a hydrated, alkalized, balanced state where it can focus on healing and regeneration. If you are already cleaned out and high-functioning and you want to have some fun and don’t mind a little abuse — by all means, throw some sweet potatoes in the skillet and have a ball.
It’s also worth pointing out that starches are very fattening — in fact, grains, beans and starches are all very fattening. They are fed to farm animals to fatten them up, and they do the same thing to you. If you can figure out how to kiss them goodbye, you could be amazed at how much better you may be able to control your weight and attain your ideal waist size.
As tasty as potatoes are, whether mashed, fried up French-style, prepared as a fancy complement to a gourmet dish, or served as a humble spud cut open in the middle, and as delicious as all the corn products are including chips (my old favorite), I hope it will sink in for you that these are antagonistic starchy foods which wouldn’t make sense to eat in their raw, natural form, and which work to sabotage your health goals.
Of course, all the grain products, breads, pastas and pastries are amazing and mouth-watering. And who doesn’t love a good hearty lentil soup, rice and beans, or garbanzo bean hummus? I don’t expect anybody to be perfect and I understand it’s tough to transition off eating these staples which are so ubiquitous in cultures all across the world. But just increase your awareness about what these things are and really what is happening inside your body when you eat them.
Some people can eat them and have amazing genes and don’t seem to be affected badly. But if that was you, you probably wouldn’t be going through this material in search of solutions to your health problems. If you are reviewing this information, you are most likely interested in how to go to the next level and not so interested in what Joe Schmoe is fixing for supper next door. Quite frankly, Joe may wind up with health issues later in life if he keeps it up, even if he’s got a handle on it now.
This is the big test, the dividing line, on who gets to go to the next level, health-wise, longevity-wise, and energy-wise. Just about anybody could (if they really wanted to) give up eating McDonalds and sodas and chemicals and start eating organic. This category here about grains, beans and starches is what will separate the boys from the men and the ladies from the girls.
It’s daunting, and you don’t have to puritanically abstain from all of these foods overnight. It took me almost three years to find the gumption to stop eating them, and the cravings were intense throughout that process — until they weren’t. You should trust that there is a powerful force that will come to your aid and assist you with the willpower, when the time is right, to eat the things which will make you the most healthy and well.
You don’t have to give it all up now, or even decide that you’re going to give it all up later. Just absorb the knowledge and have the awareness about what these foods are and do. If you truly are committed to eliminating your health problems and achieving your health goals, then you’ll get there one way or the other, and you will receive special divine assistance if you really commit.
Knowing the truth about how this works can only help you navigate the precarious waters between you and your goals. So continue to have that awareness and pay attention to how these foods make you feel after you eat them, and where the cravings come from before you eat them. If you are experiencing overwhelming cravings for these foods, it’s probably not all your fault and could be time for a parasite / harmful organism cleanse.
Stay strong, and keep learning and arming yourself with knowledge and the truth.